Seychelles itineraries: 1 week, 2 weeks and 3 weeks

These routes follow the island order on the Seychelles country page: Mahé first, then Praslin, then La Digue, with a coral island added only if you have two weeks or more. Nights are counted per island, not per day, so a 7-day trip means 7 nights on the ground.

Book the inter-island ferries before you fly if your dates are fixed, and keep the last night on Mahé. Weather shifts the plan more than anything else: the north-west monsoon (roughly November to March) and the south-east trades (roughly May to September) decide which coast is calm, so match beaches to the wind once you arrive.

Each island change costs about half a day once you count the transfer to the jetty, the crossing and the walk or taxi to your guesthouse. That is why the 7-day route uses only two bases and treats La Digue as a day trip rather than a third stay.

Days 1–3, Mahé. Base in Victoria or Beau Vallon. Spend one morning at the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market and the botanical garden, one day on Beau Vallon, and one on a Morne Seychellois hike or a Sainte Anne Marine Park snorkelling trip from Victoria. Start hikes early; afternoons are hot and humid.

Days 4–7, Praslin. Take the ferry or a short flight across. Give one full day to Vallée de Mai, one to Anse Lazio, and one to La Digue by ferry — bikes at La Passe, then Anse Source d'Argent. Keep the last Praslin day loose for weather. If your flight home leaves early, swap the order and end on Mahé instead.

Add La Digue as a stay rather than a day trip: Mahé 3 nights, Praslin 3, La Digue 3, then 1 night back on Mahé. On La Digue, two full days cover Anse Source d'Argent, the bike loop past Anse Severe, and the climb toward Anse Marron if you go with a guide.

The single night on Mahé at the end is not wasted — it removes the risk of missing an international flight because a ferry was cancelled. Ferries run in daylight only, so a late arrival plus a same-day crossing rarely works.

At 14 days, insert a coral island: Bird or Denis Island for 3 nights, reached by a light aircraft from Mahé, with the flight usually bundled into the lodge rate. Expect seabirds, flat walking and snorkelling rather than mountains.

At 21 days, do not add more islands. Add time instead: 3–5 nights on Silhouette for rainforest walking, or a second Mahé base on the south coast to split the island's beaches. Three weeks also lets you absorb a weather day or two without cutting anything.

With under a week, keep Mahé plus one other island and drop the rest. With 5 days or less, stay on Mahé alone and take day trips; a two-island trip in four nights is mostly transfers.

Keep: the last night on Mahé, one full day at Vallée de Mai, and one beach day per island with nothing booked. Cut: a third island on a 7-day trip, a same-day ferry before an international flight, and any plan that puts two crossings back to back.

Ferries between Mahé, Praslin and La Digue run in daylight only and sell out in peak season, so book ahead. Inter-island flights to Praslin and light aircraft to the coral islands are weather-dependent; build a buffer before your flight home.

Costs add up fast on the islands: guesthouses and self-catering keep a 10-day trip affordable, while resort stays and light-aircraft transfers push it up sharply. Carry euros or local rupees for small purchases and check what your guesthouse accepts before arrival.