Mahé for couples: things to know before you go (2026)

Why Mahé for two

Mahé is the island you land on, and for a couple much more than a transit point: 17 miles (27 km) long and 5 miles (8 km) wide, with forested granite peaks rising to 2,969 ft (905 m) and white-sand beaches between rounded boulders, each within an hour's drive of the next. A morning on a trail in Morne Seychellois National Park, a swim at Beau Vallon or Anse Soleil, a grilled-fish lunch and a Creole dinner in Victoria fit in the same day.

The island comes at a price: almost everything is imported, beach hotels quote in euros and taxes get added to the bill. In return, the sea stays between 81 and 86 °F (27 to 30 °C) all year, the beaches empty out on weekdays, and Praslin and La Digue are a ferry ride away without changing hotels.

When to go

Two winds decide which coast to choose: the southeast trade wind, from May to October, roughens the sea on the south and east and spares the northwest; the lighter northwest monsoon, from December to March, reverses the map. Depending on the wind, the sea leaves seaweed on exposed beaches: your hotel knows which coast is clean this week. It rains all year in short showers, harder in December and January; Mahé is rarely hit by cyclones, which form farther south.

Entry requirements: passport, authorization, health

The travel authorization (STA)

Every traveler applies online for the Seychelles Travel Authorization before boarding, and the airline checks it at check-in. The form asks for your passport, a front-facing photo, your return ticket and a booking for each place you will stay. The official fee is about $12 and an answer usually comes within one to two days: check the cost and timing on the Seychelles government site (govtas.com), the official address, before you book. Intermediary sites charge several times that.

On arrival, immigration may ask for your return ticket, your hotel address and proof of sufficient funds: keep them on your phone and on paper.

Health

A yellow fever certificate applies only to travelers arriving from a risk country, Ethiopia included: if you connect through Addis Ababa, ask your airline whether the layover counts. Mahé is malaria-free, but dengue and chikungunya exist: insect repellent and long sleeves in the evening.

Getting there

By air, usually with a stopover

Seychelles time is 8 hours ahead of New York in summer (9 in winter), 11 to 12 ahead of Los Angeles, and 3 ahead of London in summer (4 in winter). To adjust: a calm first night with no early wake-up, no driving straight off a night flight, and morning light from day two to reset your clock.

There is one international airport, Mahé (SEZ), at Pointe Larue on the east coast, 6 miles (10 km) from Victoria. The ride to your hotel is covered below, in "From the airport to your hotel".

On to the other islands

Praslin and La Digue are reached by fast ferry from Victoria (1h to 1h45 depending on the line) or, for Praslin, by a domestic flight of about fifteen minutes. The excursions section of the itinerary covers schedules and precautions.

The practical side before you go

Phone

US, UK and Canadian plans don't cover the Seychelles, and roaming is expensive, sometimes blocked. Install a travel eSIM before you leave, or buy a local SIM at the airport or in Victoria (bring your passport). Signal is weak in the park's valleys and on some south beaches: download offline maps.

Money and tipping

• The currency is the Seychelles rupee (SCR); hotels and many beach restaurants quote in euros and take cards. Withdraw rupees from an ATM in Victoria or Beau Vallon rather than exchanging euros at the hotel, and keep $90 in small notes for buses, the market and beach kiosks.
• Tipping is not expected the way it is in the US: 10% if service isn't included in the bill, $2.30 to $5.60 for a bellhop, and round up a taxi fare.

Plugs, water and what to wear

• Type G sockets (three rectangular pins, as in the UK), 240 V: US and Canadian plugs need an adapter, and a charger marked 100-240 V handles the voltage. Many hotels lend adapters.
• Tap water is treated, but many hotels recommend bottled; 1.5 liters costs about $1.70 in a shop.
• Reef-safe sunscreen with high protection, a hat and a rash guard for snorkeling: the equatorial sun burns fast between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• Hiking shoes with a grippy sole for the trails, slippery after rain, and closed sandals for beach rocks and sea urchins.
• Keep your swim top on at public beaches, and take no coral or shells home.

What to book, and how far ahead

On Mahé no monument asks for a ticket in advance: what goes fast is waterfront rooms, rental cars and seats on the ferry.

From the airport to your hotel

© OpenStreetMap contributors

There is no train or metro: the simplest option is a transfer booked by your hotel, or the rental car you collect at the terminal. Taxis charge by zone; ask the price before you get in. A bus links the airport to Victoria, but with luggage and connections it is a budget choice.

The road from the airport to Beau Vallon crosses Victoria, jammed from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and from 4 to 5 p.m.: a flight landing at 4:30 p.m. adds half an hour. To the southwest and Anse Royale, the road follows the coast and skips the town.

Getting around

Driving on Mahé

Traffic keeps left, with limits of 40 km/h (25 mph) in built-up areas and 65 km/h (40 mph) on open roads. Mountain roads, like the Sans Souci that crosses the island toward Port Glaud, are narrow, winding and shoulderless, with drainage ditches at the pavement edge, and some country bridges cannot pass two cars. Rent a small car, avoid driving after dark, and allow 45 to 60 minutes between Victoria and the southwest.

Budget for two

Mahé is one of the most expensive destinations in the Indian Ocean: the hotel, the evening meal and transport each weigh on the bill, and taxes come on top. Here is what seven nights for two cost, flights excluded.

VAT, a tourist tax per night and a service charge are often added to the advertised rate, sometimes at the bottom of the bill: compare hotels with all taxes included before you choose.

Price benchmarks

What to taste

Seychellois Creole cooking comes from the sea and the coconut: grilled or curried fish, rice, mild chilies and coconut milk, with Indian, African, Chinese and French influences. You eat it at a beach restaurant, a snack counter or a roadside takeaway.

At the table

• Grilled fish

  Snapper, tuna or parrotfish grilled with garlic and lemon, served with rice and a chili sauce on the side; $17 to $34 at a beach restaurant.

• Octopus curry

  Octopus simmered in coconut milk and turmeric, tender, with rice: many Seychellois lunches.

• Palm heart salad

  Raw heart of palm, crunchy, in a salad or shaved: a festive dish, since harvesting it fells the palm, and priced accordingly.

• Ladob

  A warm dessert of banana or sweet potato cooked in coconut milk and sugar, scented with vanilla and nutmeg.

In the glass

• Takamaka rum

  The island's rum, amber or spiced, distilled at La Plaine Saint-André, sipped neat or in a punch; $5.60 to $9 a glass.

• Seybrew and Eku

  The two local beers, light, served ice-cold on the beach; $4.50 to $6.80 a glass.

• Coconut water

  A nut opened on request, cool and barely sweet; $1.70 to $3.40.

Customs and rules to know

A bonzour when you walk into a shop or restaurant and a mersi when you leave earn a smile everywhere. The pace is slow, and the bill doesn't arrive until you ask for it.

• Away from the beach, cover up: a sarong or a T-shirt in town and in restaurants, shoulders and knees covered in a church or temple.
• Don't touch sea turtles, don't step on coral and don't take shells or coral home; fines exist.
• On Sundays many families go to Mass and then to the beach: Beau Vallon and Anse Royale are busier than on weekdays.
• Ask before photographing a person, a market stall or a family on the beach.
• Beaches are public, even in front of a hotel; the hotel's loungers and umbrellas are for its guests.

Safety

Mahé is safe for a couple, by day and at night: violent crime is rare. The risks come from the sea, the sun and the road, and from thefts from cars and beaches.

• The sea on exposed beaches, above all Anse Intendance in the trade wind: waves, currents and no lifeguards; swim where the water is calm, with someone else, and never under a red flag.
• The sun between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.: extreme UV index, sunburn within an hour; reapply sunscreen, wear a hat, find shade at noon.
• The road: left-hand traffic, hairpins, violent downpours, no sidewalks; don't drive tired after a night flight.
• Thefts on beaches and from parked cars: nothing visible in the cabin, never leave a bag or phone on the sand.
• Mountain trails after rain: slippery rock, afternoon storms; start before 9 a.m. with water and a charged phone.
• Mosquitoes, which carry dengue: repellent from dusk.

Mistakes couples make

On Mahé a mistake is almost always about the coast or the distance: the beach you saw in the July photo is the one you can't swim at, and the hotel "close to the beach" is a mile or more of road with no sidewalk from the sand.

• Choosing a beach from the photo: Anse Intendance is superb, but too rough for swimming from May to October. Go and look, then swim at Beau Vallon or Anse Soleil.
• Staying in the southwest without a car: the bus is slow, the last one leaves early and a taxi to dinner costs about what dinner does.
• Comparing rates before taxes: VAT, tourist tax and service get added, and the final bill differs by tens of euros a night.
• Trying four islands in seven nights: each ferry eats half a day; Mahé plus La Digue or Praslin is enough.
• Taking the ferry the day before your flight home: wind or rough seas can shift a departure, and a long-haul connection won't wait. Keep a spare night on Mahé.
• Forgetting the travel authorization: without it the airline refuses boarding.
• Arriving in December or July without booking six months ahead: only rooms away from the beach remain.