Planning a Trip to Seychelles: What to Book, How to Island-Hop and What It Costs
I expected planning a trip to Seychelles to feel complicated and wildly expensive. Three islands, separate ferries, hire cars, bikes and accommodation booked only two days before flying in sounded like a recipe for stress. Somehow, once we arrived, it was one of the easiest island-hopping trips we have done!
We spent twelve days travelling through Mahé, Praslin and La Digue in August 2026. This guide is the practical version of that trip: which islands I would keep, how I would divide eight days, what needs booking first and the small ferry detail I really wish somebody had told me.
Planning a Trip to Seychelles: My Quick Answer
For a first Seychelles trip, I would allow at least eight days and visit Mahé, Praslin and La Digue in that order, then return to Mahé before flying out. Hire a car on Mahé and Praslin, use bikes on La Digue and book La Digue accommodation before everything else.
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| Decision | My recommendation |
|---|---|
| Minimum trip | 8 days across three islands |
| Best order | Mahé, Praslin, La Digue, Mahé |
| Transport | Car, car, then bikes |
| Book first | La Digue accommodation and ferries |
| Best paid day | Curieuse and St Pierre from Praslin |
| Weather lesson | Choose beaches by which way they face |
Our full trip lasted twelve days, which gave us time to work, cook and travel more slowly. The 8 day Seychelles itinerary and private map is the tighter route I would give somebody taking a normal holiday.
Which Seychelles Islands Should You Visit?
Visit all three main islands if this is your first trip. They are not interchangeable, and that surprised me more than anything.
Mahé gives you the greatest variety. We used it for Beau Vallon, the south-coast beaches, Copolia Trail, Takamaka Rum Distillery, groceries and the international airport. It is the island where a car felt essential.
Praslin gave us the best swimming at Anse Lazio and our favourite paid activity, the Curieuse and St Pierre day trip. It feels slower than Mahé but still needs a car if you want freedom.
La Digue was our 10 out of 10. We hired bikes for SCR100 a day, rode between beaches and wished we had booked three nights instead of two. It looked the most like the Seychelles I had imagined before arriving.
How Many Days Do You Need in Seychelles?
Eight days is the minimum I would recommend for Mahé, Praslin and La Digue without making every day a transfer day. If you have ten to twelve, the trip becomes much slower and easier.
This is how I would divide eight days now:
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| Day | Island | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mahé | Arrive, collect a car and settle into Beau Vallon |
| 2 | Mahé | South-coast beaches or Copolia and Takamaka |
| 3 | Praslin | Ferry, collect a car and explore Anse Lazio |
| 4 | Praslin | Curieuse and St Pierre day trip |
| 5 | La Digue | Short ferry, collect bikes and explore the north coast |
| 6 | La Digue | Anse Source d'Argent and Grand Anse |
| 7 | Mahé | Return ferry, collect another car and stay near Beau Vallon |
| 8 | Mahé | Final swim, airport and fly out |
I would add an extra night to La Digue first. I said it on the morning we left: three nights would have been perfect. That is the one change I would make before adding more time anywhere else.
How Do You Travel Between the Seychelles Islands?
We booked all three ferry legs directly through seyferry.com. Mahé to Praslin took about one hour and fifteen minutes, Praslin to La Digue took around fifteen minutes, and La Digue back to Mahé was the expensive final leg.
The detail we nearly missed is that the digital ticket was not enough. We had to collect a printed ticket, drop our bags and then join the boarding line. We arrived about one hour and fifteen minutes early, which gave us enough time without rushing.
Our Mahé hire-car return was about twenty metres from the terminal. We dropped the keys, walked across with our luggage and were finished in roughly five minutes. It was far simpler than I had built it up to be in my head.
The Mahé to Praslin crossing was rough. People around us were getting sick and I spent most of it staring closely at my phone because I have a genuine phobia of people throwing up. If you get seasick, take something before boarding and sit where you can see the horizon. Praslin to La Digue was completely different and over almost as soon as it started.
Do You Need a Car in Seychelles?
You need a car on Mahé, I would hire one on Praslin, and you do not need one on La Digue.
We used K Rent for both Mahé stays and OLA on Praslin. On Mahé, the beaches, trailheads and food stops are too spread out for me to enjoy relying on taxis. Praslin is smaller, but having a car made Anse Lazio, our accommodation and the ferry port far easier to connect.
On La Digue, bikes are the whole experience. Ours came through the accommodation for SCR100 a day. Test the brakes and seat before leaving because the ride towards Grand Anse includes a real hill!
If you want to compare the wider market before choosing, you can compare car rental prices, but K Rent and OLA are the companies we personally used.
Where Should You Stay in Seychelles?
For a first trip, I would stay near Beau Vallon on Mahé, choose Praslin based on whether you want a local apartment or beach access, and stay centrally on La Digue with bikes available.
Peponi SelfCatering Apartments
Our final Mahé base. Beau Vallon was the easiest place to combine a swim, sunset, groceries and dinner without making a full day of it.
Chez Rona
Our host made this stay special and cooked us a complimentary Creole dinner. It is at Anse Possession, so having a car was useful.
MAZU Apartments
Our largest Seychelles apartment, with a pool and bikes organised through the property. Book earlier than we did because La Digue sells out quickly.
We also stayed at D&M Holiday Apartment in Beau Vallon for our first three nights. All four apartments had kitchens, which gave us some home normality and meant we could cook because we genuinely enjoy it, not just because restaurants were expensive. My full where to stay in Seychelles guide compares every base and what we paid.
How Much Should You Budget for Seychelles?
Our twelve days cost A$3,994.33 in-country for two people, or roughly A$166 per person per day. That included eleven nights of accommodation, three ferry crossings and everything we spent after landing. International flights took the all-in total to A$6,722.87, but our Dar es Salaam to Seychelles to Mauritius routing is not a useful return-flight estimate for most readers.
The expensive parts were the bed and the boat. Accommodation and ferries made up about 68 per cent of our in-country spending. Groceries were only seven per cent because every apartment had a kitchen.
I have put every category and the honest last-minute-booking mistake into our complete Seychelles cost breakdown.
Food was much easier to manage than I expected. We used local takeaways for ordinary nights, cooked in every apartment and still chose a few special meals. Village Take Away on Praslin cost A$13.27 for two, Rey and Josh on La Digue was A$11.73, and Beach Shak gave us a full dinner on the sand at Beau Vallon for A$45.44. At the other end, Les Rochers on Praslin was A$86.88 and became our special night out. It arrived with curries, rice, salads and coconut chips, so it felt like a meal we had deliberately chosen rather than another expensive necessity.
That balance is how we travel full time. We love restaurants, but we also love buying fruit and vegetables, cooking something familiar and having a quiet night at home. In Seychelles, a kitchen did more than reduce the total. It stopped twelve days of island hopping from feeling like twelve straight days in holiday mode.
When Is the Best Time to Visit Seychelles?
We visited from 2 to 13 August, during the southeast trade-wind season. We still swam almost every day, but exposed beaches such as Grand Anse were rough enough that locals were warning people not to enter.
Our biggest lesson was to choose the beach by which way it faces. Beau Vallon and Anse Lazio stayed calm while exposed southern and eastern beaches could be wild. If you are travelling a long way specifically for swimming, I would compare April or October first. Our August Seychelles weather guide explains exactly what we experienced and what comes from research.
What Should You Book Before Arriving?
Book La Digue accommodation first, then the ferries, then Praslin and Mahé stays. We booked only two days before flying in during peak season and paid A$351 a night on La Digue because there were almost no options left. I am not going to pretend that was clever!
Protect one full Praslin day for Curieuse. We booked the Curieuse and St Pierre Island tour with hotel pickup and Creole barbecue lunch. It cost us A$111 each, with a separate SCR150 protected-area fee per person when we arrived.
I would also organise an eSIM before landing and keep some cash for small stalls and bike hire. I use this eSIM when we travel, and the Wise card I use for travel makes it easier to see the real conversion while paying in Seychellois rupees.
My Seychelles Planning Checklist
- Book La Digue first and give it three nights if you can.
- Keep the final night on Mahé before an international flight.
- Reserve ferry tickets and arrive early enough to print them and check bags.
- Take seasickness medication before the Mahé to Praslin crossing if needed.
- Hire cars on Mahé and Praslin, then bikes on La Digue.
- Keep one full day for Curieuse and St Pierre.
- Choose swimming beaches for the season, not only the famous name.
- Pick accommodation with a kitchen if you want normality between restaurant meals.
Want our complete 8 day Seychelles route?
The itinerary includes the island order, ferry mornings, private map, beaches, restaurants and every place we would save again.
See the 8 day Seychelles itinerary →Watch Our Seychelles Vlog
The vlog follows all twelve days and shows the ferry, apartments, cars, beaches and the weather across all three islands.
Watch our Seychelles vlog on YouTube
Still planning? Here is our honest verdict after twelve days and our complete Curieuse Island day-trip review and our exact Seychelles costs for two and the things we actually did across three islands and where to stay on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue and how the seasons affect each coast and the beaches worth planning around.
FAQs About Planning a Trip to Seychelles
How many days do you need in Seychelles?
Eight days is my minimum for Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. Ten to twelve days gives you room for weather, work or slower beach days without feeling as though every second morning is a transfer.
Which Seychelles islands should first-time visitors choose?
Choose Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. Mahé has the greatest variety, Praslin has Anse Lazio and the Curieuse day trip, and La Digue is the easiest island to explore by bike.
Do you need to prebook Seychelles ferries?
I would, especially in peak season. We booked through seyferry.com and still needed to exchange our digital confirmation for a printed ticket before checking our bags.
Do you need a car in Seychelles?
Hire a car on Mahé and Praslin. Mahé is too spread out for me to enjoy relying on taxis, and a car makes Praslin's beaches much easier. La Digue is designed for bikes.
Is eight days enough for Seychelles?
Yes, eight days is enough for the three main islands when the route is planned carefully. I would use two days on Mahé, two on Praslin, two on La Digue and the final two back on Mahé.
Which island should you book first?
Book La Digue accommodation first because inventory is limited and it became the most expensive part of our trip when we left it until two days before arrival.
