The island of Praslin is considered to be one of the most beautiful on the planet and if you’ll ever visit it, you’ll understand why. Whatever is the reason you visit, Praslin is the perfect blend of relaxation and adventure and there are so many awesome activities to do on this magnificent island.
But Praslin is not only gorgeous beaches, but it has many beautiful forests to explore too, like the coco de mer palm tree forests. You can explore the ocean full of tropical creatures and I have to say that in the Seychelles I’ve seen some of the most abundant underwater life, starting from spotting turtles, swimming with sharks and being amazed by the vibrant corals.
I created this travel guide to help you make the best of your visit to the dazzling island of Praslin. Here I will share the best things to do, from natural attractions to must see highlights. So keep reading to find out more detailed information with loads of useful tips for your visit including how to get there.
getting to Praslin
Seychelles has over 100 islands, but the 3 most visited ones like Mahé, la Digue and Praslin are very well connected with each other. So jumping from an island to another will not be a problem. You can take the plane, ferry or even the helicopter. The speed ferries takes 50 minutes from Mahé to la Digue and the plane takes 15 minutes from Mahé to Praslin and I choose the flight.
moving around the island
The island is not too big and it is really easy to get around, you can choose to move by car, or bus. At my first visit I moved by bus, which is an efficient way to go anywhere. It runs from 5 AM to 9 PM on most routes. But this time, we also spent more time on the island so we opted for car rental, which it wasn’t a bad decision. In other words, I recommend you both methods of transportation.
The palm trees lined along the amazing beaches are the main attraction in the Seychelles but beside being incredibly beautiful the beaches have plenty of fun stuff to do. In other words you’ll be very entertained during your stay on the island. And here the only worry you’ll have is not to forget your sunscreen. You just enjoy the emerald waters, or hike in the jungle!
best beaches and things to do in Praslin
At my second visit in Praslin I had enough time to visit all the beaches on the island. There’s a great variety, from sandy ones with shallow waters to high tide snorkelling spots housing colourful coral reefs, to rocky beaches. Here are one of my favourite beaches on the island:
- Anse Volbert
- Anse Consolation
- Anse Lazio
- Anse la Blague
- Anse Georgette
- Anse Marie Louise
- Pointe Ste Marie
- and a little jungle escape to Vallée de Mai
ANSE VOLBERT
This is a very famous beach in Praslin, but don’t get scared because is huge and is hard to see it getting crowded. The beach is the perfect combo between adventure, relax and amazing nature, so there are many reasons to be happy in Anse Volbert. This beach has something for everybody, like water sports, delicious food, palms and lost of fun. Anse Volbert was for us the starting point to a great trip to Curieuse Island.
The beach is also great to experience amazing sunset walks, taking memorable photos in the stunning tropical setting that surrounds you and then go for a late dinner at the beach. This sounds like the perfect plan.
activities to do
Kayaking : To kayak here is a magical experience. The water is clear and the waves are not always big, especially close to the shore. There’s so much to explore in the waters of this beach, just paddle your way through the brimming beach and visit Chauve Souris Island to make it a worthwhile journey.
Boat rides to near islands : You can explore the little islands close to Anse Volbert by booking a day tour. There are plenty of awesome places with great snorkelling, hiking, tortoise and many other cool stuff to see and do. Just make your way to islands like Curieuse, Cousine, St Pierre Islet and Aride. You can book a tour from the guys walking at the beach, selling coconuts because they also have great deals for nice tours.
parking & restaurants
If you visit the beach by car, there is plenty of parking spots just a few minutes from the beach. There are no restrictions here and one can access every part of the beach.
If you don’t want to get to far away from the beach to have lunch or dinner, don´t worry, there are plenty of places where you can eat. Right at the beach is a restaurant with a view, some take aways only a few meters from the beach and all of them offer delicious food. Because we visited few times this beach we had meals at a few restaurants and I will share some of our favourites:
- Ma s Take Away : as the name says this is a take away restaurant with good prices and tasty food
- Pizzeria du Berjaya : here we had lunch and we loved it for the views at the beach
- Pirogue Restaurant & Bar : another great restaurant with great offers for lunch and diner
ANSE CONSOLATION
This beach was right in front of our hotel and what we loved the most is the doggies (of course), the beach is not crowded, actually we had it only to ourselves and when the sea is calm you can enjoy a great snorkelling.
This part of Praslin is not crowded at all, that means it is very tranquil. We had a lot of fun at the beach, taking photos and playing with doggies. Then we got into the water to swim with tropical fish and turtles. Right in the back of the beach is the jungle that you can explore for hours. This time we visited Seychelles in the rainy season and we had some storms in the afternoon or evening, but we enjoyed the beauty of rain too.
doggies, doggies and more doggies
You know you are in the Seychelles if you see doggies running at the beach. And I absolutely love the see them running happy all over, swimming. This is the best! They should be allowed to be at any beach in the world, because respect comes from accepting animals have the right to enjoy the planet as much as humans do. And the be honest, I have never ever seen a beach dirty because of animals.
random spots
We came across this spot each time we were going back to our hotel and never stopped. We absolutely loved this place and each day we passed by with the thought ¨today we will stop¨, but for whatever reason we didn’t. I didn’t wanted to leave Praslin thinking I could have stopped to take some pics and never did. So we stopped in our last day. Here you’ll see many fisherman, locals, restaurants and some of the best views in Praslin.
ANSE LAZIO
This is another breathtaking beach and the most famous in Praslin. It is an immeasurable beautiful tropical paradise ready to be enjoyed and explored. At Anse Lazio you’ll swim in the bluest water ever. I loved to just float in the water while watching the shore lined with palm trees, the scattered granite boulders dotting the edge of the sand and sparkling white sand.
how to get here
It is not hard to get to this beach. You can come here by car or by bus. There is a bus station like 10 minutes walk from the beach and if you come by car there is a parking lot 2 minutes walk from the beach. The parking is free of charge, you can leave your car there all the time you want to and is plenty of space for many cars.
The main reason of this trip was to celebrate my birthday in a tropical place. I have been doing this for the past 9 years already. Each birthday I go to a special place and my birthday cake is a muffin with a candle, but this time we are in the Seychelles so my birthday cake was a coconut with a candle and a tropical flower. How cool is that!
drink fresh coconut water
I lost the count on how many coconut water I drank this time in the Seychelles. Each time we came at the beach we bought at least 2 coconuts and why not if it is super delicious and let’s be serious, you don´t have this privilege in the city. If you wonder where you can buy one, you’ll see plenty of guys walking at the beach, selling fresh coconut and will prepare it right in front of you.
snorkeling in Anse Lazio
The water at Anse Lazio is clear and not everyday is windy with big waves, making it great to snorkel at. We loved the underwater life in here. In just one spot we´ve seen turtles, stingrays, corals and many tropical fish. And all this not too far away from the shore, so it’s perfect for the ones who don´t know to swim very well or are afraid of the waves.
If you catch a day when the sea is calm you should dare to snorkel because you won’t be disappointed!
where to eat at Anse Lazio
There’s a restaurant next to the parking area. But you have to know that not always is opened, because we came a few days before and it was closed, but the second time it was opened and we even had lunch. Anyways they don´t have many food options and the food is not the best, but the views are awesome.
POINTE STE MARIE
Only 5 minutes walk from Anse Lazio is this hidden beach. It’s a tiny, gorgeous place where you can enjoy the surroundings and listen to the waves with nobody around. This beach is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen in the world. You can enjoy a breathtaking landscape of blue and white hues that constantly changes with the tides and shifting the white sand dotted with the huge granite boulders.
a secret bar
Near the first set of big rocks you will see a little sign pointing to ¨Honesty Bar¨. The bar is well hidden into the jungle, you will have to take the stairs to get to it, but don´t get scared because it is not very up. They don´t have to many meal options but you can have cold beverages with great views at the sea.
ANSE LA BLAGUE
This is a great beach surrounded by jungle, a handful of local houses. This is perfect to get complete peace and quiet while still being only a short bus ride or car journey away from anywhere you would want to visit on the island. The scenic beauty of the place will overwhelm you, also being a photographer’s paradise, because the views are insane.
I loved everything about this beach, is secluded, lined up with palm trees, stunning mountains in the background and is ideal for snorkelling, because here you can swim in some of the most peaceful water in Praslin. If you want you can even rent a bike or explore it in a bicycle. The scenery of this beach is jaw-dropping and picture perfect.
Even though is a small beach, there’s plenty of room to have your own space. When we came here it was almost nobody around. We had a nice swim, flew drone and did a lot of snorkelling. We couldn’t see the sunset because it was cloudy, but when the weather is not moody, the sunsets are absolutely stunning.
ANSE GEORGETTE
Anse Georgette is one of the most secluded beach in Praslin and that is also because is a bit more challenging to get to. To get to this beach you have to pass through Hotel Constance Lemuria. The entrance is free, but you have to book in advance your visit. We did it 4 days before, to make sure there is place for us, because they control the number of visitors per day.
And now that you are all set up and you are at the hotel you need to walk about 2km through the jungle until you reach the beach. And once you are at the beach is time to enjoy it. Even if the beach is small in size, there is plenty of things to do. You can hike, have picnic at the beach, drink coconut water. Swimming is a little bit more difficult here, because the sea is always moody with big waves making it dangerous for swimming.
It happened a strange thing to me. This was my second time in the Seychelles and I revisited some beaches that I liked very much the first time, but each of them it looked so different to me, like they were other beaches. But I still found them breathtaking and I enjoyed the time spent there like it was my first time here.
turtle nesting
In a way is a good thing that the beach has a limited number of visitors because the female turtles come to nest and I think this is a good way of protecting the ecosystem on the island and also adds to the immersive experience in nature. We had a nest next to where we laid our towels and they made a circle of stones around the nest for people to know that there is one. There was also a sign pointing to the nest, saying that there are turtle eggs.
buy coconut and tropical fruits
The beach and it’s surroundings are stunning and there are guys selling coconuts and fruits but luckily they are not annoying trying to sell you the coconuts, they will wait for you to go to them and then they will bring whatever you’ve ordered over to you when they’ve prepared it! I recommend you to try the fruits and the coconut, it is delicious!
ANSE MARIE LOUISE
This is a relatively long beach with many spots where you can hide from the tropical sun. Here the sea is calm and shallow due to the offshore reef and is suitable for splashing around.
The water clarity is crazy and we spent a whole afternoon taking photos, sipping coconut water and swimming in the shallows. Not too far away from the shore is a beautiful coral reef and plenty of fish. We saw so many turtles in the water as well as sting rays. The beach is secluded and not very popular, so if you want to kayak, you have to bring one, because there is no one renting it. A kayak experience here is amazing, so if you can, try it!
restaurants and facilities
The beach is well hidden, so there is a parking lot 10 minutes walk from the beach and there are no restaurants very close to it, there are no toilets or changing rooms. But I think this is the beauty of this beach, here you are to enjoy the pure nature, with nothing man made.
Pro tip : bring with you plenty of sunscreen and mosquito repellent, because here the mosquitoes are crazy. Even with all the precautions I took I still got bitten by many of them.
VALLÉE DE MAI
Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve is a protected forest full of rare fauna, many different endemic palms, birds, other animals and the famous Coco de Mer palm. The Vallee de Mai is so lush and impressive that some say it is the actual Garden of Eden!
With all of the incredible natural beauty in the Seychelles I highly recommend you to add this place in your must-see list. The valley is in the middle of Praslin and has some beautiful hikes through the dense rainforest, as well as trails that will take you along different hiking trails running throughout it, including a short 1 hour tour and a longer circular route taking 2 to 3 hours to complete.
Of course, the main attraction of the forest is the Coco de Mer. The more you advance in the forest the more impressed you’ll be with how long and impressive the palms are. What better way to be amazed and value our environment than to completely surround yourself in beautiful untouched rainforest.
how to get here & entry tickets
We arrived here by car, there is a parking lot right in front of the entrance of the forest. The entrance fee is about $15 (250 rupees) and in the price is included a free map with the trails in the forest. If you want to have a coffee or lunch after the hike there is a small cafe, a gift shop and restrooms near the area where they sell the entry tickets.
the trails
Once you are in the forest you’ll see that the paths are very well marked being impossible to get lost. Try to wear hiking shoes, because sometimes it rains and the ground becomes slippery. Also bring plenty of water because in the forest is extremely humid and repellent for mosquitoes. Enjoy your hike!
I hope you enjoyed this blog post and if you want to know more about the Seychelles, stay tuned for my next posts. I hope I made you book a flight to this absolute paradise and if you have been already here, just drop a comment and tell me how your experience was!
Happy travels! ♡
Madeleine 𓇼 
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