The Seychelles is two archipelagos in one country and they are geologically unrelated. The inner islands — Mahé, Praslin, La Digue and about forty others — are granite, fragments of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana left behind when India separated from Africa, and they are the only mid-ocean granite islands in the world.
Everywhere else in the tropics, an island in the middle of an ocean is volcanic or coral. Here the beaches are white sand between rounded granite boulders the size of houses, weathered pink and grey, and that combination is why Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue appears on more posters than almost any beach on earth.
The outer islands, several hundred kilometres southwest, are coral atolls and a different proposition entirely.
The three main islands
Mahé has the airport, the capital at Victoria, the mountains and about 90 percent of the population. It has good beaches and it is a working island rather than a resort one.
Praslin, a fifteen-minute flight or an hour by ferry, has the Vallée de Mai, a palm forest that is a UNESCO site and the only place the coco de mer grows wild, along with Anse Lazio.
La Digue, a further short ferry, has around 3,000 people, almost no cars, bicycles as the transport, and the granite beaches that made the country's reputation.
The Seychelles is also outside the cyclone belt, which is unusual for the Indian Ocean and means there is no season to avoid outright, though the winds shift.
The eleven below are grouped by island.
Mahé
The main island, with the airport and the mountains.
Four Seasons Resort Seychelles occupies a hillside above Petite Anse on the southwest coast with villas stepping down through the trees to a private beach, each with a pool. It is the best hotel in the country.
Four Seasons Resort Seychelles
Petite Anse, Mahé · 5★ · $$$$
Hillside villas with private pools above a private beach
Check availabilityBanyan Tree Seychelles sits on a granite headland with villas among the boulders, two beaches and a spa. It is the most secluded property on Mahé.
Constance Ephelia occupies a large site at Port Launay with five beaches, a marine park offshore and full family facilities on 120 hectares.
Constance Ephelia
Port Launay, Mahé · 5★ · $$$$
Five beaches and a marine park on 120 hectares
Check availabilityHilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa sits on the northern coast in a low property built into the rocks, with a spa cut into the granite and a small beach below.
Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa
North Mahé · 5★ · $$$
Built into the rocks with a spa cut into granite
Check availabilityKempinski Seychelles Resort occupies a bay on the southern coast with a beach, several pools and a good rate for the island.
Kempinski Seychelles Resort
Baie Lazare, Mahé · 5★ · $$$
A southern bay with several pools at a fair island rate
Check availabilityPraslin
Fifteen minutes by air. The palm forest and Anse Lazio.
Constance Lemuria occupies a beachfront site with three beaches, the only golf course in the country and a turtle nesting programme on its sand.
Constance Lemuria
Praslin · 5★ · $$$$
Three beaches, the country's only golf course and nesting turtles
Check availabilityRaffles Seychelles sits on Anse Takamaka with villas, a spa and a beach on the island's quieter western side.
Raffles Seychelles
Anse Takamaka, Praslin · 5★ · $$$$
Villas and a spa on the island's quieter side
Check availabilityLa Digue
A short ferry. Bicycles, granite and the famous beaches.
Le Domaine de L'Orangeraie Resort and Spa occupies a hillside site on La Digue with villas, a pool and a short cycle to Anse Source d'Argent. It is the only property at this standard on the island.
Le Domaine de L'Orangeraie Resort and Spa
La Digue · 4★ · $$$
The only property at this standard on a bicycle island
Check availabilityThe private islands
Separate transfers, and considerably more money.
Six Senses Zil Pasyon, Seychelles occupies its own island in the Sainte Anne marine park with villas on the rocks, private pools and no other development.
Six Senses Zil Pasyon, Seychelles
Félicité island · 5★ · $$$$
A private island in the marine park with pool villas on rock
Check availabilityHilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa sits on Silhouette island inside a national park, with a long beach, a spa and a conservation programme.
North Island, a Luxury Collection Resort, Seychelles occupies a private island north of Mahé with eleven villas, an extensive rewilding programme and a level of privacy that is essentially total.
North Island, a Luxury Collection Resort, Seychelles
North Island · 5★ · $$$$
Eleven villas and an island-wide rewilding programme
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The self-catering guest houses across Mahé, Praslin and La Digue are excluded, and they are how a large share of visitors do the Seychelles at a fraction of the resort rates. They are guest houses rather than hotels.
What to do
Island-hop, which is the point. Ferries between Mahé, Praslin and La Digue run daily and the short flights are quick.
Cycle La Digue. There are almost no cars, the island is small, and Anse Source d'Argent, Grand Anse and Petite Anse are all reachable on a bike in a day.
Walk the Vallée de Mai on Praslin, which is a primeval palm forest and the only wild habitat of the coco de mer, the largest seed in the plant kingdom.
Snorkel or dive. Sainte Anne marine park off Mahé and the Curieuse and Cousin islands off Praslin are the accessible ones.
Eat Creole: grilled fish, octopus curry, breadfruit and the local ladob.
Practical notes
Mahé has the international airport with connections through the Gulf, Nairobi and Europe. Inter-island flights and ferries are frequent and reliable.
The Seychelles sits outside the cyclone belt. April, May, October and November are the calmest, between the two monsoon winds. December to March brings the northwest wind and warmer water; May to September the southeast trade wind, which is cooler, breezier and pushes seaweed onto some eastern beaches.
The country is expensive. Almost everything is imported.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Seychelles Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Why do the beaches look like that?
The inner islands are mid-ocean granite, a fragment of Gondwana, which exists nowhere else. The boulders are the rock itself weathered.
Which island?
Mahé for arrival and mountains, Praslin for the palm forest, La Digue for the beaches and bicycles. Do at least two.
Is there a season to avoid?
No cyclones, but May to September is windier and can bring seaweed to eastern beaches. April, May, October and November are the calmest.
How many nights?
Ten. The flights are long and two islands is the minimum that makes sense.