The Essential Seychelles

Make the most of your complimentary airport lounge access before boarding your overnight flight.

You’ll be met on arrival in Mahé, the Seychelles’ largest island, and brought to your luxury ship. Featuring just 92 cabins, each with a private balcony, it’s an intimate, yacht-like delight, paired with all-inclusive delights. Fine French gastronomy, including a fantastic al-fresco grill, is washed down with open-bar favourites that feature the likes of champagne and fine wines. Then, along with complimentary Wi-Fi, facilities range from fitness and steam rooms to a swimming pool and theatre. If you’ve time on Mahé, there’s also a handful of colonial building to discover, along with a great selection of beaches and interior hikes.

Stay: Le Bougainville (Deluxe)

Your first port of call is the very first marine park in the Indian Ocean. Sainte Anne is one of the region’s premier destinations for scuba-diving, snorkelling and glass-bottom boating, with excursions taking in magnificent coral gardens animated by reef sharks and colourful tropical fish.

Stay: Le Bougainville (Deluxe)

Coconut trees, she-oak, white-sand beaches, warm and clear waters: everything here is conducive to daydreaming and relaxation in an intimate setting where the blue sky completes the picture postcard. You are on Desroches Island, the largest in the Amirantes group in the Outer Islands of the Seychelles. This 6 km long coral atoll covered in lush vegetation is surrounded by spectacular seabeds where encounters with sharks and manta rays are not uncommon. On the beach, you may be lucky enough to observe sea turtles, there to lay their eggs. In the island’s north, a lighthouse that is still in operation stands guard, and the small village is home to a chapel and a cemetery.

Stay: Le Bougainville (Deluxe)

Curieuse has two salient features: its dramatic red earth and its hundreds of Aldabra giant tortoises. You’ll also be able to chart its heritage as a leper colony and, among its palm trees, discover that it’s the only island on which the sea coconut grows in the wild. It’s also a marine park, with underwater adventures bringing you among green sea turtles.

Stay: Le Bougainville (Deluxe)

The wild cliffs and fine-sand beaches of Aride make it a particular favourite port, whether you’re after relaxation or exploration. Often referred to as the Seychelles’ “Bird Capital”, it’s home to an impressive array of seabirds, along with the likes of skinks and turtles. Strap on your snorkel.

Stay: Le Bougainville (Deluxe)

Grande Soeur is considered to be one of the most beautiful islands in the Seychelles. With a pair of sumptuous beaches, its translucent waters are protected by a vibrant coral reef, making the snorkelling excellent – not least for the sea turtles and multi-coloured fish.

Stay: Le Bougainville (Deluxe)

The Seychelles’ second-largest island is a vision of idyllic beaches set among grand granite rocks. Then, when you’ve torn yourself away from the turquoise waters, head into the island’s interior for the UNESCO-listed Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve. Here, among the rich verdure and palm trees, you’ll discover the unique sea coconut. Weighing up to 20kg, they’re sometimes called “coco fesse” for their resemblance to a giant pair of buttocks.

Stay: Le Bougainville (Deluxe)

Although measuring just five by three kilometres, La Digue packs in a lot into its modest size. Indeed, it’s often said that you can see all of the Seychelles’ beauty here between its palm-fringed beaches, turquoise waters and lush vegetation that shelters giant tortoises. Its large granite rocks, with their emblematic pink highlights, make for fantastic photography. There’s also plenty of peaceful rural charm, with bikes and traditional oxcarts the only transport on the island.

Stay: Le Bougainville (Deluxe)

After disembarkation procedures are completed you will proceed to the Botanical Garden for a visit to a colony of Aldabra giant land tortoises and fruit bats. You will also have a chance to view the world famous “Coco de Mer” (double coconut) palm and wander the grounds full of endemic and imported flowers. 

You will then drive up the spectacular Sans Soucis Road to Mission Lodge View Point to get an overview of the coast of Mahé and Victoria the “world’s smallest capital”. Learn about the history of the Seychelles Islands, once a haven for pirates and corsairs. Mahé is named after Mahé de La Bourdonnais, a French governor of Mauritius.

Following an included lunch you will have the afternoon to relax at Cap Lazare before being transferred to the airport for your overnight flight back to the UK.

Arrive back in the UK after your overnight flight