Seychelles travel guides

The Seychelles requires no visa from any nationality, which is unusual and one of the country's selling points. You do however need to apply for a Seychelles Travel Authorisation online before departure, which costs a small fee and must be approved before you board. You will also need a passport valid for the duration of your stay, confirmed accommodation, a return ticket and proof of sufficient funds. Apply a few days ahead rather than at the airport.

April to May and October to November are the calmest months, sitting between the two trade wind seasons, with the flattest seas and best diving visibility. The southeast trades from May to September bring cooler, breezier and drier weather, good for sailing but with seaweed on some southeast-facing beaches. The northwest monsoon from November to March is hotter and wetter with short heavy showers. The islands sit outside the cyclone belt, so there is no genuinely bad season.

Most visitors combine the three main inner islands. Mahé has the airport, the capital Victoria, the best infrastructure and Beau Vallon beach. Praslin holds the Vallée de Mai UNESCO reserve and Anse Lazio, regularly ranked among the world's finest beaches. La Digue is the smallest and most atmospheric, largely car-free and explored by bicycle, with Anse Source d'Argent and its granite boulders. Ferries link all three in under an hour and a half.

Yes, though it takes planning, because the Seychelles is best known for private island resorts costing well over USD 1,000 a night. Self-catering guesthouses run by Seychellois families are widespread on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue and cost a fraction of that. Public buses on Mahé and Praslin are very cheap, the inter-island ferries are reasonable, and crucially every beach in the country is public by law, so the best beaches cost nothing. Food is the main ongoing expense, as almost everything is imported.

Seven to ten days lets you see the three main islands without rushing. A common split is three nights on Mahé, three on Praslin and two or three on La Digue, using the fast ferries between them. Anything under a week means spending too much of the trip in transit given the long-haul flight. If you only have five days, pick two islands rather than three.

On trip1, you can book hotels across the Seychelles and pay with over 50 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC. trip1 covers 3 million+ hotels in 190+ countries, making it easy to find and book accommodation with crypto.