In short
Victoria is the capital of the Seychelles and one of the smallest capitals in the world: it is walked round in an hour. It occupies the north-east of Mahé, the main island.
The centre clusters around the clock tower, a replica of a London model, the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke market and the botanical garden. Nobody comes to the Seychelles for Victoria, but it is the compulsory point of entry.
Mahé's beaches — Beau Vallon to the north, Anse Intendance and Anse Takamaka to the south — are less than an hour away.
Arriving and getting around
The international airport is a few kilometres from Victoria.
A paid travel authorisation is compulsory before arrival for all nationalities, including those exempt from visas. It is applied for online with the Seychelles authorities; check the conditions in force before booking.
Public buses cover Mahé very cheaply and are the most economical way to get about. Car hire is widespread; driving is on the left.
Ferries link Mahé to Praslin and La Digue in about an hour; domestic flights also serve Praslin.
What it really costs
The Seychelles are expensive, accommodation above all. It is the dominant parameter.
Guesthouses and self-catering, widely developed since the market was opened to small owners, are markedly more affordable than the resorts. The Creole takeaways in Victoria allow you to eat for little.
When to come
April–May and October–November are the shoulder seasons, the calmest at sea.
The trade winds structure the year: the south-easterly blows from May to September, cooler and windier; the north-westerly from November to March, warmer and wetter. Seaweed washes ashore according to these regimes, and not on the same beaches.
What nobody tells you
The Vallée de Mai, on Praslin, is World Heritage listed: one of only two forests in the world where the coco de mer grows naturally, whose nut is the heaviest in the plant kingdom. Its export is strictly regulated and nuts on sale carry an official certificate.
La Digue is covered by bicycle: cars there are very limited. Anse Source d'Argent, with its granite boulders, charges admission — access runs through a former coconut plantation.
The Seychelles are a granitic archipelago, which is rare in mid-ocean: those rounded rocks are fragments of an ancient continent, not coral and not volcano.
