To be honest, I had never felt a burning desire to go to Seychelles. In fact, the only time I even thought of this tiny nation is during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games when I would wonder where it was!

When we were looking for flights between Mauritius and South Africa, it cost the same to fly via Seychelles as it did to fly direct. I couldn’t say no to the chance to explore a new country and the next thing I knew, we were in Seychelles.

I am so glad we visited Seychelles.

This tiny country surprised me by being incredibly awesome!

We loved hanging out at the picture perfect beach with the softest, white sand and bluest, calm water. We loved exploring the bustling capital, Victoria. We loved how easy it was to explore, the friendly locals and the delicious food.

In fact, there wasn’t anything we disliked about Seychelles.

Below you will find our guide to what to do in Seychelles, visiting Seychelles with kids, Seychelles tourist map, where to stay in Seychelles, how to get around and other information you need for a brilliant stay!

Top 10 things to do in Seychelles

Seychelles consists of over 100 islands. The main island is Mahe which is home to the capital and international flights. Many of the below Seychelles attractions are things to do in Mahe Seychelles as this is where we spent our time.

The other main islands are Praslin and La Digue but there are also many others you can visit.

Rather than big, purpose built tourist attractions in Seychelles, the best places to visit in Seychelles are the simple ones – the natural attractions. Most of your time will no doubt be spent on beaches and in the water.

Relax on the beach at Beau Vallon

Our favourite of the Mahe tourist places is Beau Vallon. The beach here is superb!

It’s perfect with powder white sand, aqua water and calm, lapping waves. It’s a beautiful beach to walk along, swim and enjoy.

It’s reputed to be one of the most built up beaches in Seychelles but you don’t notice it. From the stretch outside of our hotel, Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort, we could barely see anything but tree topped mountains. Just stunning.

I usually prefer pools over beaches but we spent a lot of time swimming here as it was just so perfect.

I found Beau Vallon to be a great mix of development versus nature. There’s plenty of services, like restaurants and shops, in easy reach, but it did feel like we were surrounded by nature.

Eat at the market stalls in Beau Vallon

On the weekends, one of the things to see in Seychelles is strolling through the stalls along the beach side footpath which runs in the middle section of the beach. You can buy some souvenirs and sample some local foods for a good price.

There was also music and plenty of locals around when we visited which gave it a fun vibe.

Explore Victoria

Victoria may be the capital of Seychelles but it is still very small! Despite this fact, we were surprised to find it had a very bustling, busy vibe and we enjoyed spending the best part of a day visiting the things to do in the Seychelles positioned here.

It’s also quite a picturesque city with the waterfront on one side and the hills on the other. They were capped by mist at the top when we visited which added to how exotic this city feels.

The main Seychelles tourist attractions located in Victoria are listed below. We also enjoyed visiting the different temples, the clock tower and some monuments.

There’s an active Hindu temple, Sri Navasakthi Vinyagar Temple, a mosque and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception which is worth a visit to see the grand colonial architecture.

It’s an easy city to explore on foot and our most recommended things to do in Victoria Seychelles involve walking around and soaking up the atmosphere. It’s fun!

Shop at the Market

Victoria’s main market is nowhere near the biggest I’ve seen. However, it is among the most colourful. It’s worth walking around this Seychelles places to visit to soak in the atmosphere, enjoy the energy and to get some delicious tropical fruit. You can also find some souvenirs.

There’s a cafe upstairs that sells good (but expensive) food.

Wander around the Botanical Gardens

The Botanical Gardens are a short walk south from the downtown area of Victoria. These gardens are beautiful, shady and well presented. They also include some Seychelles activities like viewing giant tortoises and finding fruit bats.

There’s also some smaller attractions like a spice grove, beautiful lily filled ponds and monuments. It’s a nice place to take a picnic.

Entry was Rs100 per adult when we visited.

Learn at the Natural History Museum

One of the low key places to see in Seychelles is the museum in the middle of Victoria. There’s information about the local flora, fauna and geology. There’s also a kid area upstairs with activities.

Entry was Rs15 per adult when we visited.

Dive and snorkel at Ste Anne Marine National Park

One of the main activities in Seychelles is snorkelling and Ste Anne Marine National Park is one of the best places to visit in Mahe to do this.

With such clear water, Seychelles is an ideal place to snorkel with plenty of colourful fish and beautiful coral reefs. You don’t have to be an expert and it’s easy to find tours that suit different skill levels.

You can also find tour companies offering glass bottom boat rides with lunch included. They can be expensive but worth it and it’s a great Seychelles activity with kids.

Hike at Morne Seychellois National Park

One of the best places in Seychelles is the Morne Seychellois National Park. Covering around 20% of Mahe it’s hard to miss and a great opportunity to soak up even more of Seychelles natural beauty.

Here, you can find hiking trails through thick forest with native animals and plants. You can do guided walks or go by yourself. The views from the top are simply breathtaking.

The trek isn’t too difficult for older kids and you don’t have to go the whole way, but it is far from flat and I would advise you to bring plenty of water.

This national park is beautiful and visible from many parts of the island and should definitely be on your list of Seychelles things to see.

Explore Praslin

If you have the time, I recommend you visit another island in Seychelles. Like Mahe, the main things to do in Praslin Seychelles centre around the water and the natural environment making Praslin an excellent diving destination (read more about diving holidays with kids here).

The other Praslin island things to do involve visiting the beaches. Anse Lazio is located on the northwest of the island and one of the most beautiful in Seycehlles. Another popular beach is Anse Georgette.

Praslin is also home to Vallée de Mai – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and beautiful natural park. This is the best place to see the beautiful local flora and fauna of the area.

Escape from it all in La Digue

The third largest island in Seychelles by populatuon is La Digue. With a tiny population of around 2800, the things to do in La Digue involve escaping the larger population of Mahe.

In La Digue, you can visit the beaches of Grande Anse, Anse Source d’Argent and Anse Marron. You can see wildlife in the Veuve Nature Reserve and hike to Belle Vue – the tallest point on the island.

Getting around La Digue is mostly by foot or bicycle. It can make for a great way to spend a day (or a few days!) in Seychelles.

Map of places to visit in Seychelles

Where to stay in Seychelles

When working out the best place to stay in Seychelles you will first need to work out the best island to stay in Seychelles.

We based ourselves on Mahe because we like a variety of Seychelles tourist places. This is the main island. It’s where you arrive and it’s the easiest place to stay.

With more time, I would have also liked to stay on Praslin or La Digue. It’s possible to skip Mahe all together and go straight to these islands or to day trip to them if time is short.

If you are staying on Mahe, the best area to stay in Seychelles is in Beau Vallon. This is very close to Victoria and has a lovely beach with all the services you need for an easy holiday.

Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort

We stayed at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort. This resort has a superb location at a great spot on the beach and by the road from Victoria making it quick and easy to get here and around.

The resort itself has a variety of room types. We recommend the deluxe room. We stayed in connecting deluxe rooms which was perfect for our family of 5.

The Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay has a ton of facilities. There’s a great pool area with a kids pool, garden area, playground, sporting facilities, shops and a beautiful stretch of beach. Non-motorised water sports equipment is free to use.

There are also many restaurants including Indian, Chinese, Italian, Japanese and buffet options. We had great meals at this resort for reasonable prices.

What I loved is that when we were standing in the pool area or beach that we could barely see the resort. It’s well designed so that you feel like you are surrounded by nature.

You can read my full review here.

Seychelles with kids

We visited Seychelles with our three kids aged 13 months, 5 and 7. We found it an excellent destination with kids.

Seychelles is mostly about natural attractions which work very well with kids. The beach at Beau Vallon was nice and calm and all of us could splash around for hours. The people are friendly and welcoming of kids. Baby J was treated like a rock star.

Seychelles is also set up well for tourists which makes everything nice and easy. There are some fun things to do in Seychelles for kids in the list above such as the Botanical Gardens and the Natural History Museum.

Getting to Seychelles

We flew to Seychelles with Air Seychelles, the national carrier. I found them absolutely terrible and I recommend looking at another carrier for your holiday.

We had a missed connection with them and the way they handled it was terrible. So bad in fact that we were forced to buy another fare after their 4 attempts to put us on another flight failed. This led to one of our worst travel days ever.

They have not responded to our complaints since. You’ve been warned.

Getting around Seychelles

There are boats between the main islands of Seychelles which are fast and convenient. There’s also flights and helicopter options.

On the island of Mahe, there is a good local bus service. We caught the bus between Victoria and Beau Vallon which was easy and great value at Rs5.

Taxis from the airport are expensive. The 20 minute ride to Beau Vallon cost Rs600 and Rs500 on the return.

Budget

There’s no denying it, Seychelles is an expensive destination. I was shocked when I was charged Rs270 for a tiny wrap at the market. Taxis are expensive. Hotels are very expensive.

Items at the supermarket are not too bad and our meal at the stalls along Beau Vallon was good value. If you are on a budget, I recommend self catering options or considering the half board option at the Berjaya Beau Vallon.

As a minimum budget, you are probably looking at Rs3000 a day for two people. For us, it was about double this although we could have done things more cheaply.

Our verdict

We loved Seychelles!

It’s an easy, beautiful place to visit with a different culture and some low key activities to do in Seychelles. In fact, I would say the only must do in Seychelles is to enjoy the beach making it the perfect place for a tropical break.

I wish I could describe better why I liked it so much. Maybe it was the perfect beach at Beau Vallon, maybe it was the interesting cultural mix, the good food or the gorgeous natural scenery that seemed to always surround us. Most probably it was all these things combined which make for quite a powerful combination.

Would we go back? Most definitely! If you are looking for somewhere that is just stunning for your next vacation, I definitely recommend Seychelles.

You may also enjoy our guides to some other Indian island destinations – Mauritius and the Maldives! We also wrote about our onward destination, the stunningly beautiful Cape Town.

Any questions? Is Seychelles on your bucket list?

Tags:  Seychelles Travel Blog