Seychelles in 5 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)
Five days in Seychelles: room to breathe on Praslin before La Digue
Five days is where this route stops feeling rushed. Unlike the 4-day itinerary , which packs Vallee de Mai and the ferry onward to La Digue into back-to-back days, this plan adds a full extra day on Praslin for Anse Lazio, one of the world’s most photographed beaches, before island-hopping onward. Total budget across five days runs roughly EUR400-510 per person, ferries, entry fees, guesthouses, and food included; the extra Praslin day is also the cheapest day of the trip, since it adds no ferry fare and no major entry ticket.
Book these before you go:
- Praslin guesthouse or self-catering villa : a two-night Praslin stay is worth booking ahead in peak months, when both rooms and CAT COCOS sailings tighten up.
- Vallee de Mai guided walking tour : optional, but useful for spotting the endemic Seychelles black parrot and understanding the coco de mer’s protected status before you see a real one.
- La Digue bicycle and Anse Source d’Argent tour : a guided half-day option for your one La Digue day if you’d rather not work out L’Union Estate’s gate and trail layout on your own.
| Day | Island | Travel time | Rough cost (per person) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Mahe | none (arrival day) | ~EUR55-80 |
| Day 2 | Praslin | ~1h15 by CAT COCOS ferry, one way | ~EUR140-175 |
| Day 3 | Praslin | none | ~EUR50-75 |
| Day 4 | La Digue | ~15min by CAT ROSE ferry from Praslin | ~EUR90-120 |
| Day 5 | Return to Mahe | ~1h10 direct CAT COCOS ferry (weekends) or ~1h45 via Praslin | ~EUR90-115 |
Day 1: Mahe arrival
Land at SEZ, Mahe’s only international airport, with your Travel Authorisation already approved online (official fee EUR10 per person, about EUR10 to 12 at checkout with card fees); this is a required, paid step even though Seychelles is otherwise visa-free, and it has to be sorted before you fly. A fixed taxi into Victoria or Beau Vallon runs around SCR300 (~EUR19-21) for up to four passengers, cash preferred since most drivers don’t take cards.
Walk Victoria’s free Clock Tower and Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market (currently trading from a temporary site in the former STC building on Albert Street while the 1840 market hall is renovated; check before you go) in the morning, then head to Beau Vallon, Mahe’s main beach, free to use, in the afternoon. Beau Vallon has lifeguards, but rip currents can make it dangerous when the sea is rough, especially in the December to March north-west monsoon, so obey the flags. Keep bags off the sand while you swim; opportunistic theft, not violent crime, is the practical safety risk. A Creole takeaway dinner runs roughly SCR40-80 (~EUR2.50-5), well under a resort’s SCR150-300+ for a comparable plate.
Day 2: Praslin and Vallee de Mai
The CAT COCOS ferry runs about 1h15, with reported economy fares from about EUR55. Check into your Praslin guesthouse, then spend the afternoon at Vallee de Mai, the UNESCO coco de mer reserve: entry is SCR450 (~EUR27-30), with a 10% online discount via the the Seychelles tourism board , a real jump from the roughly EUR20 some older guides still cite.
Day 3: Anse Lazio, no ferry required
Spend the day at Anse Lazio, consistently ranked among the world’s best beaches, free to enter. It is lifeguarded but has no protecting reef, and swimming can be unsafe in the December to March north-west monsoon, so follow the flags. Go before mid-morning; the beach visibly crowds by late morning in high season. This is the cheapest day of the whole trip, so it’s a good day to treat yourself to a sit-down Creole lunch, roughly SCR150-300 (~EUR9-19), instead of another takeaway.
Day 4: La Digue and Anse Source d’Argent
Take the short CAT ROSE ferry to La Digue, about 15 minutes and roughly EUR15 to 20 one way; it’s a separate operator from CAT COCOS and the cheapest inter-island hop in the country. Rent a bicycle at the jetty, roughly SCR150-200/day (~EUR9-12), since there’s no rental-car scene and the once-genuine ox-cart is now essentially a single-operator novelty. Cycle to L’Union Estate for Anse Source d’Argent, the granite-boulder beach on every Seychelles postcard: gate entry is SCR150 (~EUR9-10), valid all day and covering the vanilla plantation and tortoise pen too. Stay the night; the beach empties out once the day-tripping tour groups clear off in the late afternoon.
Day 5: Direct back to Mahe
Take the CAT COCOS sailing from La Digue to Mahe. The direct crossing takes about 1h10 and ran only on weekends on the 2025 timetable; other sailings call at Praslin and take about 1h45, so check the current timetable. Build in a buffer before any flight home, since it’s the longest single travel segment of the trip.
Is the extra Praslin day worth it over going straight to La Digue?
Yes, on cost alone: it adds a full day with no ferry fare and no major entry fee, just food, while giving Anse Lazio the unhurried visit a rushed itinerary usually denies it. It also means arriving on La Digue only once, cleanly, rather than backtracking.
Should you swap the order and do La Digue before Praslin?
Not really. Ferry sailings differ by weekday, so check the current timetable before reversing the route. Mahe-Praslin-La Digue-Mahe is the simplest direction; doing La Digue first means either backtracking through Praslin twice or relying on the weekend-only direct sailing from La Digue to Mahe mid-trip instead of at the end.
Reserve the La Digue-Mahe ferry a day or two ahead if you’re traveling in July-August or around the holidays; it runs less frequently than the standard Mahe-Praslin crossing and is the one leg worth locking in rather than risking as a walk-up.