When I saw for the first time photos of the Seychelles, I thought they are photoshopped. The beauty of this country is out of this world. But don’t think that the Seychelles is not only stunning beaches. There’s plenty to see and do in the Seychelles, you can trek into the lush mountains of Mahé island, you can spot the rarest bird species, you can feed giant tortoise by hand, snorkel or surf in azure waters.
You are about to live a unique experience in this Seychelles paradise. This haven offers a truly magical experiences. Seychelles has 115 islands, but we visited 3. The main island Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. In this blog post I will talk about the main island : Mahé.
This island is the perfect scenery is of unbeatable beauty, exotic and tropical with some of the best beaches in the world, with immaculate soft white-sand, unspoiled, picture-perfect and impressive landscapes. Here the beaches are exactly like the ones you see in the brochure promoting any tropical place, lined up with palm trees, pristine waters, impeccable, secluded and isolated.
Mahé is well built for tourism, they have different kinds of accommodation like five star hotels, guesthouses and self catering apartments, good roads, loads of restaurants with different kinds of food and nature trails.
It’s impossible to get bored with so many activities to do, you can go scale the granite rocks, kayaking, scuba diving, or just take amazing photos. The island is full of picture perfect coconut plantations and empty beaches with granite peaks framing it all. It’s almost too beautiful for words. Here are a few wonderful beaches I absolutely loved:
- Grand Anse
- Beauvallon
- Anse Soleil
- Port Launay
GRAND ANSE
Here I tried my first surf and it was amazing. The waves weren’t to big, making it perfect for a first timer like me. I have to admit I enjoyed it pretty much. There are many surf spots for all kind of surfers, from beginners to pro’s. Grand Anse is a good beach for surf, but there are also many surf spots around the island, but those require a boat in order to be reached.
BEAUVALLON
The owner of our hotel told us about this amazing beach called Beauvallon with the most wonderful exotic marine life in Mahé, or even the Seychelles. Here is an amazing reef with beautiful tropical fish, only a few meters from the shore. The beach belongs to a resort, but you don’t need to be a guest to have access to the beach. The resort allows a certain number of people to visit the beach. You just have to contact them to say you’ll visit. They even allowed us to fly drone.
The hotel has a restaurant where you can eat even if you are not a guest at the hotel. We wanted to rent a surf board, but in order to rent a surf board you have to be a guest. Anyway we were very happy for the amazing underwater life this beach has.
ANSE SOLEIL
Another beach we loved a lot is Anse Soleil. This beach has it all, beautiful tropical views and just a few meters from the shore is a range of rocks and corals. Under the water you can swim among large parrot fish, angel fish and silver moon. Numerous species are present around the islands that emerge slightly from the surface. Long story short, this beach is great for snorkelling. Since the reef is very well preserved, it’s bringing a large abundance of sea life to the area. To be honest, Seychelles is the place with the cleanest beaches I have ever been to.
PORT LAUNAY
You can get pretty easy here, we came by bus. This is a very good snorkelling spot with plenty of colourful coral reefs, sea turtles (we weren’t lucky to see them), angelfish, parrotfish, barracudas and many other types of fish. Another reason why this is a great snorkel place, is that there the waves are not powerful, so you can enjoy a lovely swim while being amazed by the beautiful marine life. Close to the beach are plenty of restaurants offering all kinds of foods, so you don’t have to go too far to eat.
When we weren’t snorkelling or surfing, we were wandering around being amazed by Mahe’s breathtaking landscape and just taking nice walks on the amazing beaches. We had nice walks every night admiring the crystalline beaches, breathing the fresh air and just living the moment. This place is definitely a paradise that has to be enjoyed.
THE BOTANICAL GARDEN
If you love animals there is your best opportunity to see one of the Seychelles’ most loved animals: the giant tortoise. They’re originally form the world heritage site of Aldabra. You can visit them in the Seychelles’ Botanical Garden. And OMG, they’re sooo cute! Of course they are the stars of the garden. Here you can feed them by hand, making this encounter even more magical. I mean how many opportunities do you have to feed cute giant tortoise? These cuties can live up to over 100 years and populated the islands long time before people arrived.
Another great thing you can see here in the garden is the biggest nut in the world, the famous coco de mer, a type of coconut with a heart shaped fruit that is native in Seychelles. There is also a cafeteria in the garden, in case you want to enjoy a nice drink or have lunch.
I hope this guide can help you plan the perfect tropical getaway to Mahé. Tropical fruits and plants, Coco de Mer palm trees, giant turtles, stunning corals, tropical fish, unique birds, such as the Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher, sharks and warm weather.
Happy travels!
Madeleine 𓇼 