Seychelles Inner Islands

MAHÉ, Seychelles’ main island, is home to the capital, Victoria; the majority of the population; international airport and hub of the island’s tourism infrastructure. Mahé’s virgin forests cascade down lush mountainsides to more than 60 beaches where, often, the only footprints you will find will be your own.

PRASLIN, Seychelles’ second largest island’s many attributes are especially popular with visitors. The island was once known as Ile des Plames, probably because of its dense forest of coconut palms that prevented its greatest secret – the Vallée de Mai – from being discovered earlier. The Vallée de Mai is home to the fabulous Coco-de-mer or double-lobed coconut.

LA DIGUE, Seychelles’ fourth largest island, is the epicentre of Seychelles’ tourism. It is widely believed that La Digue, with its meandering avenues and sleepy, island ways, is most typical of Seychelles’ special brand of tranquillity, harmony and raw, natural beauty. It ranks among Seychelles’ most-visited islands, famous for beautiful beaches and bicycles.

There are many other smaller islands which are absolute jewels, like Curieuese, St Pierre, Cocos Island, Cuisine, Aride and Bird to name some of them. Listed below are some of the more well know bays & beaches to add to your sailing itinerary.

Feast your eyes on these gorgeous photos and start dreaming of when you will be sailing in Seychelles

Mahé - Port Launay

This breathtaking bay is located in a Marine National Park on the northwest coast of Mahé. Here you can swim at any time and see lots of colorful reef fish while snorkeling. The wide beach with its brilliant white sand offers plenty of shade trees and is also used by the residents of the adjacent Constance Ephelia Resort. On weekends you can also meet locals here at a barbecue on the beach.

Mahé - Anse Major

Anse Major is a romantic and secluded bay with very good swimming and snorkeling opportunities on granite rocks from March to October. You can reach the dream beach after a 1.5 hour hike from the end of the drivable road in Bel Ombre / Danzil over the granite rocks with a fascinating view of the Indian Ocean and the mountains of Mahé. Boat trips are also offered from the Beau Vallon. At the weekend, many locals use Anse Major as a destination for boat trips and social barbecues on the beach.

Mahé - Anse Takamaka

The bay Anse Takamaka offers an approx. 1 km long and narrow palm beach in the neighboring bay of Anse Intendance which, like most beaches on the Seychelles, is framed by granite rocks at its north and south end. The northern half of Anse Takamaka is quite narrow, especially at high tide, and drops steeply into the sea. There can also be dangerous currents here, so please pay attention to the information boards. At the southern end of the beach, the rocks offer nice swimming and snorkeling opportunities, except in the months May to July when the waves are sometimes very high, as there is no protective reef. At the south end there is also the small hotel Chez Batista with its open beach bar. On Sunday there is a Creole lunch buffet with live music, which is attended by many locals.

Praslin - Anse Lazio

The picture-perfect beach Anse Lazio is often among the top 10 on the list of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The best way to reach Anse Lazio is by rental car. The bus only goes to Villa Manoir / Anse Boudin, from there it is about 1.5 km to the beach. The way there is easy because it goes downhill. But the walk back is very exhausting. Anse Lazio is framed by picturesque granite rocks and the soft and approximately 500 m long sandy beach slopes gently into the azure blue sea. From May to September you can swim and snorkel wonderfully here, in the other months it can be wavy and the visibility is not so good. On the beach are the restaurants Bon Bon Plume and Le Chevalier, which offer various refreshments and lunches at fairly high prices. Be sure to check the little in the forest at the western side of the beach.

Praslin - Anse Georgette

Anse Georgette is one of the most breathtaking beaches in the Seychelles. The small bay is only about 300 m wide and offers a perfect and powder-soft sandy beach with ideal conditions for swimming. Imposing granite rocks border the bay at both ends of the beach, but the snorkeling opportunities here are rather mediocre. Anse Georgette can only be reached on foot, e.g. over the golf course of the Lemuria Resort. Registration with the hotel is required for this, which should be done at least 5-7 days in advance. There are 3 other accesses to this beach that can be used without registration, but they are all difficult to find, not signposted and sometimes dangerous. One leads from Mont Plaisir to Anse Georgette, another starts near the hotel entrance and the third - and longest - at Anse Lazio. Please take enough water with you in all cases and inform your skipper of your plans! It is of course also possible to reach the beach by dinghy, but this is only possible in calm conditions.

La Digue - Anse Source d'Argent

Anse Source d’Argent is the most photographed beach in the Seychelles, maybe the whole world. This is mainly due to the mighty and impressive rock formations that accompany the narrow beach over its entire distance of around 1000 m. In contrast to most of the beaches in the Seychelles, the dark rocks, the green palm trees, the white beach and the turquoise blue sea merge in perfect harmony at Anse Source d’Argent and create a backdrop that will leave you speechless. The calm and shallow sea is protected by a reef, so that children can swim and romp around safely here. For adults, the water is sometimes too shallow to swim in at low tide. In places it is also worth snorkeling here, and you can occasionally come across sea turtles! Access to the beach is through the L’Union Estate, a historic park with numerous sights, giant turtles, spice plantations and the small beach restaurant Lanbousir. Entry to this park is 115 rupees. Before visiting, you should find out whether day guests of cruise ships are expected on La Digue, as it can get a bit tight on the beach.