Private Mahe Island Full-Day Tour with Driver

Victoria, the smallest capital in the world

Most private Mahe tours begin in Victoria, the compact capital of the Seychelles that can be walked across in minutes. Its symbol is the small silver clock tower from 1903, a copy of one in London, at the main crossroads. A few steps away, the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market is the liveliest place in town in the morning, with fish counters, piles of local fruit, vanilla and spice stalls, and craft shops upstairs. The Hindu temple, the two cathedrals and the old courthouse are a short stroll away.

On a private tour you decide how long Victoria gets. Many guests ask our driver for a loop of the sights, then a stop at the Seychelles National Botanical Gardens, where coco de mer palms, fruit bats and giant Aldabra tortoises fill a shaded valley. Entrance fees are paid locally. Victoria is at its best before midday, when the market is full and the heat still mild, so we usually suggest it as the first stop.

Morne Seychellois National Park and the Sans Souci road

The Sans Souci road climbs steeply out of Victoria into Morne Seychellois National Park, the green heart of Mahe that covers much of the island's interior. The road twists through rainforest, tea bushes and granite outcrops, and at Mission Lodge, the ruins of a nineteenth-century school for freed slave children, a viewing platform looks over the west coast and the islands beyond. It is the classic Mahe viewpoint, and our driver will stop here for as long as you need.

Further along the ridge, the tea plantation area near Morne Blanc is a popular pause for a cup of local tea with a view, and the park's short trails start along this road. If you are looking for things to do in Seychelles away from the beach, this mountain crossing is the answer: cooler air, dramatic cliffs and glimpses of the coast on both sides. The crossing takes about forty minutes of driving, more with stops, and brings you down to the west coast at Port Glaud.

Beau Vallon and the north-west coast

Beau Vallon is the most famous beach on Mahe, a long crescent of soft sand on the north-west coast with calm, shallow water for most of the year, a wide bay for sunsets and a relaxed row of cafés and water-sport stands. It is the easiest place on the island for a swim, and families like it because the sea stays gentle and the beach is lifeguarded in parts. Our driver can drop you here for an hour or combine it with the neighbouring coves of Bel Ombre and Anse Major on the way.

Because the tour is private, Beau Vallon can come at the start, the middle or the end of the day. Many guests choose it as a final stop to watch the sun go down behind Silhouette Island before the drive back to the hotel. If you are staying in the north of Mahe, it is also a convenient place for a late lunch at your own expense before continuing south.

Anse Royale and the east-coast beaches

The east coast road south of the airport passes a string of fishing villages and quieter beaches. Anse Royale is the best known: a long beach protected by a reef, with a small rocky islet close to shore that makes a natural snorkelling spot, and a shaded strip of takamaka trees. Nearby Anse Forbans and Fairyland are calmer still and rarely busy. A stop here fits well on a full-day Mahe island tour because it links the south-west beaches with the road back to Victoria.

This part of the island is also where several heritage sites are found: the Domaine de Val des Prés craft village and the Le Jardin du Roi spice garden in the hills above Anse Royale, where cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg still grow. Entrance fees to heritage sites are not included, so tell our driver which ones interest you and he will plan the timing. For a day trip around Mahe, the east coast is usually driven in the early afternoon.

Anse Intendance and Anse Takamaka in the south

The south of Mahe is the wildest part of the island. Anse Intendance is a broad, open beach of white sand backed by palms and granite boulders, with strong surf that is spectacular to watch, especially between May and October, though swimming is often not advised. A few minutes away, Anse Takamaka is a calmer, picture-book bay with big rounded rocks at each end and a few shaded spots for a rest. These two beaches are the reason many visitors ask for a private Mahe tour rather than a short city tour.

The drive from Victoria to the south takes about forty-five minutes each way, so a full day is the right format if you want the south coast without hurrying. From here the road loops back along the west coast through Anse à la Mouche, Anse Boileau and Port Glaud, with more viewpoints and photo stops, before returning you to your hotel, the airport or the cruise terminal at the agreed time.