How Many Days Do You Need in the Seychelles

Mahe

The island of Mahe is the largest in the Seychelles and, despite this, is still quite small. You can drive between the two furthest points in about an hour, and being strategic about where you stay can cut down travel considerably from there (we discuss this more in our article about where to stay in the Seychelles).

Despite this, you may find you do not need a lot of time on Mahe. 

The simple truth is that you can easily visit all the beaches on Mahe in about two full days with a car. One day prioritizing the north/east, and one day prioritizing the south/west. Any extra time beyond that may be based on how much you need to plan around trip-specific details like flight times, ferry schedules, ideal resort time, day trips you may want to take, and more.

So while it is doable to see most of the island in two days, any one of these scenarios would likely push you for a minimum of three nights, with other details around your travels possibly warranting more from there. But for us, on both visits to Mahe, three days was plenty.

To find a hotel on Mahe, click here.

Praslin

Praslin is the second largest island in the Seychelles, and while noticeably smaller than Mahe, has very similar elements to keep in mind.

You can likely drive between the island’s furthest points in roughly 45 minutes and, much like Mahe, can visit all of the beaches easily in about two days- even with a bit of time added on to explore Vallee de Mai in the center of the island as well.

That said, Praslin takes everything we love about Mahe and adds to it in the best ways possible. Easier driving, prettier beaches, and so on. Throw on more day trip options to places like Curieuse or La Digue (more on the latter in a moment), scuba opportunities, and more, and you can easily start adding on day after day.

Generally speaking, we always advocate for a minimum of four nights on Praslin, purely because we always take at least one day trip from the island. Can you get by with three? Sure. But if you had to pick an island to allocate an additional day for, we absolutely would do it here for a bit of comfort. We’ve stayed on the island four nights and five nights, respectively, and thought they were both excellent choices.

To find a hotel on Praslin, click here.

La Digue

La Digue is likely the smallest island you’ll consider visiting, and this one is known for having minimal roads, even fewer cars (there are more golf carts than cars here), and bikes are the primary method of travel between what are arguably the best beaches in the Seychelles.

Of course, how much time you want here varies. We have a full article on the merits of staying on La Digue vs a day trip, but it boils down to how much time you have for your trip overall, the ferry schedules that work best for you, and your ability to ride a bike.

Have time and like to bike? Stay on La Digue for at least two nights. This will let you see all the beaches on the island at a comfortable pace, plan around the day-tripper crowds, take in beautiful sunsets, and, most of all, relax- all while getting an early ferry out on your last day.

Only have enough time for one night? That’s fine, too, even if not as ideal. The truth is that some visitors day trip, some stay one night, some even stay a week just to relax and enjoy beautiful (albeit very small) paradise, and they’re all great options. But for us, more is always better than less, so if you can work in at least two nights, do it. You won’t regret it.

To find a hotel on La Digue, click here.

Silhouette

Silhouette is a mostly private island for the resident Hilton hotel- the Hilton Labriz.

For those who want the full resort experience on a stunningly beautiful island and have a budget to match, Silhouette Island is a must-stay. Much like every other island featured here, we have been twice, and we will always spend a bit a time here on future trips.

Unless you want to go on some of the hikes on the island, which can be quite extreme, your time on Silhouette will be decided by how much you want to relax and how much you can afford- a balance that may often be at odds with each other.

Would we go here for a single night? Absolutely not– the ferry transfer prices are considerable and are best averaged out over a longer stay (and their times are often not very convenient and will likely eat into a fair bit of time you could otherwise spend on another island). Would we stay for a week? Again, probably not– the prices for things like food, drinks, and experiences add up in a hurry as this one is still a high-end resort.

The balance for us is somewhere in the middle, about three to four nights pending what ferry times work best for you.

Have the time and money to justify more? We won’t stop you. But if you are thinking of visiting Silhouette on less, you may not be doing the island, the resort, or yourself any favors here.

To book the Hilton Labriz on Silhouette, click here.

What About Seychelles on Less Time?

Now, if you were to hit all of the islands mentioned above, you’d likely need at least 12 days in the Seychelles to do the islands justice- with any more giving you the chance to enjoy an island or two at a slower, more relaxed pace.

But what if you don’t have that much time?

Well, Silhouette would be an easy island to cut from a shorter itinerary. It is expensive and, apart from being a new island, offers little that you can’t get on the other three islands discussed in this article. If this means your itinerary can add an extra night or two on Praslin or La Digue to compensate, we certainly won’t argue here. In fact, we’d be quite alright with that!

Likewise, we’ve also seen many trip summaries from other visitors who spend very little time on Mahe- a day or two at most before heading to the other islands and not the three we advocate for here. Doing this will make it hard to visit every beach, we have to say, but if you are extremely limited on time, we can see the logic even if it is less than ideal. Just be careful planning around ferry schedules and your flights.

Finally, under no circumstance should you cut La Digue from an itinerary. Even if you have to go as a day trip from Praslin, do it. While we think two nights is ideal, the only wrong answer is not going at all. If you’re traveling a substantial distance to visit the Seychelles, missing La Digue would be a real shame.

Ultimately, it is better to do justice to the islands you can rather than cram in more places when visiting the Seychelles. After all, you are on a beach vacation- you really should have time to enjoy the world’s greatest beaches!

How many days did you spend on each island in the Seychelles? Comment below to share!