Most things to do in Seychelles sit on three islands. On Mahé, take a boat to Moyenne Island in the Ste Anne Marine Park, hike Morne Seychellois and walk Victoria. On Praslin, walk the Vallée de Mai and see the tortoises on Curieuse. On La Digue, cycle to Anse Source d'Argent and snorkel Ile Cocos.
A first trip to Seychelles mostly happens on three islands: Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. They are close together, connected by ferry, and between them hold most of the sights people come for.
This list is grouped by island so you can see what each one is for. Mahé comes first because you will land there, and because one of the best days in the country starts from Victoria’s harbour.
The Ste Anne Marine National Park lies about 5 km off Mahé, 10 minutes by boat from Victoria. It was the first marine park in Seychelles, decreed in 1973, and its six islands include Moyenne, the one worth landing on.
Brendon Grimshaw bought Moyenne in 1962 for £8,000 and spent the rest of his life planting it and raising Aldabra tortoises. It became a national park in 2009. You walk a short loop trail among free-roaming giant tortoises, past his grave and two graves said to belong to pirates. The park fee is Rs 200 (SPGA, October 2026), and Moyenne adds its own landing fee, usually included by tour operators. The Saint-Anne Marine Park and Moyenne Island Cruise includes that landing fee and a guided walk among the tortoises. Our how to visit Moyenne page covers the details.
Morne Seychellois National Park covers about 3,045 hectares, more than a fifth of Mahé, and rises to 905 m. SPGA maintains over 15 km of trails through it. Copolia (1.2 km, about an hour up) is the best short climb and looks straight down on the marine park. Anse Major (2.4 km) ends at a beach you can only reach on foot or by boat.
The capital is small enough to walk in a couple of hours: the 1903 clock tower, the 1992 Hindu temple, two cathedrals, the National Museum of History and the Botanical Garden with its tortoise enclosure. See the Victoria guide.
The ruins of Venn’s Town, a school for children of liberated slaves that ran from 1876 to 1889, sit in the hills above Victoria. The site has been on UNESCO’s tentative list since 2013, and the lodge looks out over the bay and the inner islands.
Takamaka runs free guided tours at La Plaine St André, a plantation estate from 1792 on Mahé’s east coast. It is a good rainy-afternoon option. More Mahé ideas are in things to do in Mahé.
Praslin is the second-largest island, about 45 km northeast of Mahé and 1 hour 15 minutes away on the Cat Cocos ferry.
The Vallée de Mai is a palm forest in the middle of Praslin, about 19.5 hectares, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. It protects the coco de mer, the palm with the largest seed of any plant, and the Seychelles black parrot, which nests in dead coco de mer trunks. The Seychelles Islands Foundation runs it and sells tickets online. Its fees change, so check the SIF site before you go.
Curieuse lies about 2 km off Praslin’s northeast coast, 20 minutes by boat from Côte d’Or. SPGA says hundreds of Aldabra tortoises were introduced between 1978 and 1982, and a nursery still raises young ones until they are five. A boardwalk crosses the mangroves at Baie Laraie, where six of the seven Seychelles mangrove species grow, and the ruins of the old leprosarium stand at Anse José. Entry is Rs 300.
La Digue covers just 10 km², and bicycles are the main way to get around. You rent them near the ferry pier at La Passe. It is 15 minutes from Praslin by ferry, or 1 hour 10 minutes direct from Mahé on the Cat Cocos sailings that go straight there.
Anse Source d’Argent is La Digue’s best-known beach, white sand broken up by huge granite boulders. You reach it through L’Union Estate, which charges an entry fee. Most of the Praslin and La Digue day tours we list from GetYourGuide include the estate.
The Veuve Reserve on La Digue protects the Seychelles paradise flycatcher, a critically endangered bird; Wikipedia puts the population around 100. The males have long black tail feathers. SPGA charges Rs 150 unguided or Rs 200 with a guide, and the reserve closes at 4pm on weekdays.
SPGA describes Ile Cocos as the best-known snorkelling spot in Seychelles. It is a cluster of three islets about 10 minutes by boat from La Digue, with hawksbill turtles and, roughly August to November, whale sharks. Trips leave from La Digue and Praslin, and the park fee is Rs 200. Our snorkelling guide compares it with the Mahé reefs.
Aldabra Atoll is over 1,000 km southwest of Mahé and holds more than 100,000 giant tortoises. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1982. The Seychelles Islands Foundation runs a limited and strictly controlled tourism policy: every visitor needs prior authorisation, booked through a tour operator. For most people, Moyenne and Curieuse are where they will meet a tortoise.
Base yourself on Mahé for the first few days (our where to stay in Mahé guide compares the areas). Do the marine park and Moyenne early in the trip, while you are still near Victoria, then move to Praslin or La Digue, or see both on a long day tour. The island-hopping guide compares ferries with day tours, and the best time to visit guide covers which months bring the calmest crossings.
If you are in Seychelles in October, check the Festival Kreol programme. The 2025 edition, the 40th, ran through the whole month.
One booking tip for the marine park day. Not every Ste Anne tour sets foot on Moyenne; some stop only at Cerf. Read the listing for a line that says the trip lands on Moyenne, and check whether the Moyenne landing fee is included or paid on the day.
Ready to book a boat? Compare the marine park and Moyenne tours side by side.
7 hours
A catamaran day in the marine park with snorkel stops, a Creole lunch and a guided walk among the tortoises on Moyenne, with the island landing fee already paid.
from$158
Check availability11 hours
A long catamaran day that goes inside the Vallée de Mai forest on Praslin, then takes an ox-cart to L'Union Estate and Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue.
from$298
Check availability8 hours
Ferry tickets, a bike and L'Union Estate entry, then a free day to cycle La Digue at your own pace.
from$171
Check availability8 hours
A shared bus tour that covers the Victoria market and clock tower, the Mission Lodge lookout and a spice garden, with Creole lunch included.
from$129
Check availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
Granite islands, giant tortoises and the coco de mer palm. Seychelles has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Vallée de Mai on Praslin, where the coco de mer grows wild, and Aldabra Atoll, home to more than 100,000 giant tortoises. Closer to the capital, Moyenne Island in the Ste Anne Marine Park is known for one man's 50-year conservation project.
Two or three on a first trip. Mahé is unavoidable because the international airport is there, and Praslin and La Digue are the usual additions. Cat Cocos ferries connect all three, with La Digue only 15 minutes from Praslin. If you have under a week, stay on Mahé and see Praslin and La Digue on a day tour.
The easiest places are Moyenne Island in the Ste Anne Marine Park, about 10 minutes by boat from Victoria, and Curieuse Island off Praslin, where SPGA says hundreds were introduced from Aldabra between 1978 and 1982. The National Botanical Garden in Victoria has an enclosure. Aldabra itself has the wild population but needs SIF authorisation to visit.
A lot. You can hike Morne Seychellois National Park, which covers more than 20% of Mahé, walk the palm forest of the Vallée de Mai, visit the Mission Lodge ruins above Victoria, tour the Takamaka rum distillery, and look for the paradise flycatcher in La Digue's Veuve Reserve. In October, the Festival Kreol fills the calendar with music and food.
Activities add up. When we checked GetYourGuide in October 2026, a shared Ste Anne Marine Park day trip with a Moyenne landing ran from $84 to $158, and Praslin and La Digue day tours from $171 to $298. Park fees are lower: Rs 200 for Ste Anne and Rs 300 for Curieuse per non-resident, according to SPGA.
The best things to do in Mahé split between the water and the hills.
Seychelles island hopping runs on the Cat Cocos ferry: 1 hour 15 minutes from Mahé to Praslin, then 15 minutes on to La Digue.
The best time to visit Seychelles is April to May or October to November.
The best Seychelles snorkeling is inside the marine parks.