Mahé, Praslin, La Digue or a Private Island? How I Choose Where to Stay in the Seychelles

I’ve traveled throughout the Seychelles for more than two decades. When travelers ask me where to stay in the Seychelles, I almost always begin with the landscape. The sight of its granitic islands still gets me. Enormous granite boulders, shaped over immense spans of time, sit against impossibly beautiful beaches and turquoise water. It’s one of those landscapes that is immediately recognizable—and unlike anywhere else in the Indian Ocean.

That’s why, when someone asks me where they should stay in the Seychelles, I don’t begin with a resort.

I begin with the island.

Mahé, Praslin, La Digue and the private islands can create remarkably different vacations. And one of the biggest mistakes you can make when planning a trip here is choosing a beautiful resort without first understanding the island around it.

First, Understand the Two Seychelles

When deciding where to stay in the Seychelles, there’s an important distinction to understand. Its islands fall into two very different groups: granitic islands and coral islands.

The inner islands—including Mahé, Praslin and La Digue—are granitic. These are the islands responsible for many of the images that made the Seychelles famous: huge sculpted boulders tumbling toward white-sand beaches, lush tropical vegetation and mountainous interiors.

For me, these islands are at the heart of what makes the Seychelles special.

The Seychelles also has beautiful outer coral islands. These are flatter, sandier and in some ways more reminiscent of the Maldives. Resorts such as Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island can offer wonderful luxury experiences, but the landscape is very different.

If you’re traveling all the way to the Seychelles for the first time, I generally think you should experience at least one of the granitic islands. Otherwise, you can stay at a fantastic resort and inadvertently miss the very thing that makes this destination look like nowhere else.

Fortunately, you don’t necessarily have to choose just one.

Island hopping in the Seychelles is relatively easy, particularly among Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. Depending on how much time you have, I might recommend splitting a trip between two islands. For other travelers, I’d rather have them settle into one wonderful resort and explore another island on a day trip.

Sometimes less really is more.

Mahé: Where Luxury and the Classic Seychelles Meet

Mahé is home to the international airport, so virtually everyone traveling to the Seychelles passes through it. But I think it’s a mistake to regard Mahé simply as the island you arrive on before going somewhere else.

It combines the classic granitic Seychelles landscape with the country’s strongest collection of luxury resorts.

The new Cheval Blanc Seychelles has raised the bar considerably. Its setting on Anse Intendance is extraordinary. I remember arriving there and looking out at the beach—the scale of the granite, vegetation and water immediately reminds you why the Seychelles is such a special place.

Cheval Blanc has brought a new level of luxury, food and service to Mahé. It’s one of my top choices for travelers who want the very highest level of resort experience without sacrificing the scenery that defines the Seychelles.

Anantara Maia Seychelles Villas remains another property I love, particularly for privacy and wellness. Its spa is one of my favorites in the country. Four Seasons Seychelles works particularly well for families, while Constance Ephelia can deliver a compelling combination of quality and value.

Mahé therefore works for a much wider range of travelers than people sometimes realize. You can have serious luxury, beautiful beaches, dramatic scenery and enough beyond the resort to make the island feel like a destination rather than simply a hotel.

Praslin: The Island That Has Always Had My Heart

Praslin doesn’t quite have Mahé’s level of ultra-luxury resorts, but it has always had my heart.

The beaches are extraordinary, often wonderfully uncrowded, and the island has a combination of flora, fauna and scenery that makes being outside the resort an important part of the experience.

Anse Lazio is deservedly one of the Seychelles’ most famous beaches. Anse Georgette is another setting I find spectacular. These aren’t beaches where the resort is the entire reason you’re there. The landscape itself is the attraction.

Praslin is also home to the Vallée de Mai, where you can walk among the famous coco de mer palms. The coco de mer produces its unmistakably shaped fruit. But what I love about the experience is that it gets you into the interior of the island and exposes you to a completely different side of the Seychelles.

There is still plenty of luxury. Raffles Seychelles and Constance Lémuria both provide high-end resort experiences. Lémuria also has a particularly personal place in my Seychelles memories: I scored the first eagle of my life on its golf course.

But if I recommend Praslin, the resort usually isn’t the only reason.

It’s everything surrounding it.

La Digue: A Day Trip or a Few Days Disconnected?

If your definition of a great vacation begins with the highest level of resort luxury, La Digue probably isn’t where I would suggest spending most of your trip.

There are some lovely boutique properties, including Le Domaine de L’Orangeraie, but the reason to visit La Digue isn’t really the hotel.

It’s La Digue.

Anse Source d’Argent, probably the most famous beach in the Seychelles, is here. Its enormous granite formations are almost surreal, and it’s absolutely worth experiencing.

The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to stay on La Digue to see it. From Praslin, it’s an easy ferry ride, making La Digue an excellent day trip.

For many travelers, that’s exactly what I recommend.

But staying for a few nights offers something different.

You have more time to explore beaches beyond Anse Source d’Argent, including Grand Anse and Petite Anse. You can get around by bicycle, slow down and experience an island that can feel pleasantly disconnected from modern life.

A day trip lets you see La Digue. A few nights lets you experience it. Neither is inherently better. It depends on what you want from the trip.

Private Islands: Granitic and Coral Are Very Different Experiences

“Private island” sounds like a single category. In the Seychelles, it isn’t.

Some of the country’s most extraordinary private islands are granitic. They combine privacy and serious luxury with the landscapes that make the Seychelles so distinctive.

Six Senses Zil Pasyon is one of the best all-around examples.

Set on Félicité Island near Praslin and La Digue, it gives you the feeling of escaping to a private island without completely isolating you from the rest of the Seychelles. Day excursions are relatively easy, and there is good snorkeling accessible from the resort by kayak.

The villas climb the hillside and have wonderful views toward the sea. Its spa—built dramatically among the island’s granite boulders—is one of the best in the Seychelles.

What I particularly like about Zil Pasyon is its versatility. You can be active every day or do very little. Both work beautifully.

North Island, Frégate and the Ultimate in Privacy

North Island takes the private-island concept much further.

With just 11 villas relative to the size of the island, the amount of space and privacy is remarkable. I put the experience in the same conversation as the best barefoot-luxury resorts in the Maldives and the top safari lodges in Africa.

I still remember arriving by helicopter, being shown an enormous villa and given a golf buggy to explore the island. Having what felt like an entire beach to ourselves was magical.

Frégate Island Private has also long been one of my favorite properties. It is currently closed for a multi-year transformation and is expected to return in a new form in 2027. At its best, Frégate represents so much of what I love about the Seychelles: beauty, extraordinary privacy, wildlife and a serious commitment to environmental conservation.

Some of my favorite Seychelles encounters have actually involved its wildlife. There aren’t many luxury destinations where a giant Seychelles tortoise might wander up to you seemingly asking to have its neck scratched.

What About the Coral Private Islands?

Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island and Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island offer a different type of private-island experience.

Both are coral islands.

That means their geography is more similar to what you might encounter in the Maldives: flatter islands surrounded by beautiful tropical water rather than the mountainous terrain and enormous granite formations of the Seychelles’ inner islands.

There is nothing wrong with that. Both can deliver excellent luxury.

But I wouldn’t want a first-time visitor to book one without understanding the distinction.

You can fly all the way to the Seychelles, spend the entire vacation on a coral island and have a fantastic beach vacation. But you will have missed much of what I think makes the Seychelles unique.

One solution is to combine the two.

A stay on Mahé followed by a coral private island, for example, gives you the dramatic granitic Seychelles first and then a completely different castaway-style experience.

But there is a tradeoff. The outer islands take more time to reach, and the transfers can consume a meaningful part of a travel day.

That’s why I don’t automatically recommend adding another island simply because you can.

Sometimes sticking to the granitic islands produces a better—and much easier—vacation.

The Beach Matters—Especially If You Want to Swim

One of the mistakes I see travelers make is assuming that a beautiful Seychelles beach and a perfect swimming beach are necessarily the same thing.

They’re not.

Conditions vary by beach, location and time of year. A beach can be spectacular to look at but have waves or conditions that make swimming less appealing at certain times.

If your dream is sitting on a gorgeous beach, the Seychelles gives you an extraordinary number of choices.

If your dream is stepping into completely calm water every morning, we need to think more carefully about where you’re staying and when you’re traveling.

This is one of those details that photographs don’t tell you.

And it’s one reason firsthand knowledge of the resorts and their beaches matters when we plan a Seychelles trip. If swimming, snorkeling or time on the water is central to your vacation, our Water Activities planning expertise is especially useful.

Don’t Try to Do Too Much

When deciding where to stay in the Seychelles, there’s a temptation to include Mahé, Praslin and La Digue in the same itinerary—and perhaps add a private island too.

I don’t think that’s always a better trip.

With enough time, two islands can be fantastic. You can change the scenery, resort style and rhythm of the vacation without making the trip feel rushed.

But you can also stay on one island and have an exceptional Seychelles vacation. Praslin with a day trip to La Digue is a great example.

Every additional hotel means packing, checking out, transferring, checking in and getting settled again. A more remote coral island adds another layer of logistics. Additional flights or transfers can consume a surprisingly large portion of a day.

The objective isn’t to collect islands.

It’s to enjoy the Seychelles.

Maldives or Seychelles? Two Very Different Vacations

I’m asked to compare the Maldives and Seychelles all the time, but I don’t really think of one as better than the other.

They’re very different experiences.

If your priorities are extraordinary resort luxury, exceptionally high levels of service and spectacular overwater villas, the Maldives is difficult to beat. There are very few places in the world with such a concentration of exceptional resorts.

The Seychelles gives you something else.

Its beaches are framed by ancient granite boulders. There is distinctive flora and fauna. You can hike, explore different islands, visit nature reserves, bicycle around La Digue and experience landscapes that extend well beyond the boundaries of your resort.

I’ve spent more than two decades traveling throughout the Indian Ocean, and those wind-swept granitic islands still remain some of my favorite places.

Of course, the best trips give you both.

So, Where Should You Stay in the Seychelles?

There isn’t one answer to where to stay in the Seychelles, which is precisely why I don’t like beginning with a list of the “best Seychelles resorts.”

For travelers seeking the highest level of luxury, I would start with Mahé and properties such as Cheval Blanc Seychelles.

Extraordinary beaches, nature and exploration make Praslin particularly compelling.

For a slower pace, bicycle rides to beaches and a simpler side of the Seychelles, consider spending a few nights on La Digue. Travelers who want to see its famous scenery without sacrificing resort luxury can instead visit for the day from Praslin.

For privacy combined with the quintessential granitic landscape, Six Senses Zil Pasyon or North Island can offer extraordinary experiences.

And for travelers drawn to the castaway atmosphere of a coral island, Desroches or Platte Island can work beautifully—particularly when combined with time on one of the granitic islands.

The important thing is understanding the difference before you choose.

I’ve never thought the job of a travel advisor is simply to know which hotels are good. At this level, there are plenty of good hotels.

The harder—and much more valuable—question is:

That’s where we start.