Mahe Island is the main and largest island of the archipelago, most often visited by tourists. The international airport is located here, so the transfer will not be long.
In the capital of the island – Victoria – there is an information office for tourists. Address: Independance Ave, tel.: 610 800, opening hours: Mon-Fri 8:00-17:00, Sat 9:00-12:00.
Funny moment: all the locals call the capital of the island of Victoria simply “the city”. This is understandable, because this is one of the few settlements on the island, besides the largest.
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Transport Mahe
Buses run regularly between Victoria and the island’s most popular beach, Beau Vallon. The last bus leaves at 19:30, later you can only get by taxi (about 70 SCR, you need to bargain and check the cost of the trip before boarding). The east, west or south coast can also be reached by bus from Victoria. The fare is 5 SCR, payable to the driver.
Mahe beaches
There are 68 beaches on the island. On almost every one of them you can rent equipment for snorkeling, diving, surfing, windsurfing or water skiing. Sea excursions on yachts or motor boats start right from the beaches.
Beau Vallon Beach – the largest, most famous and most visited, is located just 3 km from the capital – Victoria. The entire local “hangout” is concentrated on it, nightlife is in full swing and the main tourist infrastructure is developed. The waves here are not big: the local reef acts as a breakwater. There are platforms in the ocean from which you can dive, and local hotels allow not only guests to use their beach and bar. In the village of Beau Vallon, where the road from Victoria forks west to Bel Ombre and northeast to Glacis, there is a gas station, a Barclays Bank ATM, an internet café and a police station. Many shops nestled along the road along the beach and the road to Bel Ombra.
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7 things to do in Mahe
- Start with water skiing, continue with snorkeling, finish with diving – and choose different beaches for each new activity.
- Buy souvenirs from tortoise shells (and take care of permission to export them).
- Take a horse ride along the Grand Anse beach.
- Look into the Orchid Garden in the capital of the island – Victoria.
- Watch the process of collecting tea leaves at a tea factory.
- Take a boat trip to the nearby islets and islets.
- It is not easy to climb to the top of the Morne Blanc mountain and reward yourself with awesome views.
South of the airport, you can find several pretty wild coves and secluded beaches, such as Fairyland Beach, which is famous for its great snorkelling. The beaches of Anse Forbans, Anse Bougainville and Anse Royale are also located here, which are protected by a coral reef, so you can swim in calm waters and snorkel safely.
The west coast of Mahe is wilder, more picturesque and rich in beaches. The road leading from Anse Takamaka Bay to Port Launay is famous for its gorgeous views of the coast, where everyone can look after the bay and the beach to their taste. From here it is also easy to get to the east coast of the island along scenic roads that run through the center of the island. In the local bay of Polis Bay, for example, you should not swim – it’s dangerous. But from here there are stunning views of the surfers, you should take a picnic basket with you.
Mahe’s 68 beaches offer excellent conditions for swimming, snorkeling, surfing, diving and sailing on yachts or boats.
Further west are the excellent beaches of Anse Takamaka, Anse Gaulette and Anse-à-la-Mouche. It is more difficult to get to the isolated beaches of Anse Soleil and Anse Petit – you need a jeep, but the palm-lined beaches and the sea teeming with marine life deserve it. Grand Anse Beach is suitable for surfers with good waves, but from May to September you have to be careful there – the water is very restless due to the monsoons. In addition, the Utetangar Riding Center (tel.: 712-355, hour ride – 40 EUR) operates on this beach.
Anse Intendance in the southwest is considered the most beautiful beach of the island – it is a five hundred-meter sandy arch, bordered by coconut palms.
The beaches in the southern part of the island are better and calmer than in the north. The most wonderful place for swimming and snorkeling is opposite the tiny island of Souris, on the east coast. Divers will surely enjoy the following material: Diving on Mahe.
Mahe Hotels
There are about 30 ordinary hotels on the island, the same number of mini-hotels and at least 40 more all kinds of villas, bungalows and lodges. So, there will be plenty to choose from even the most fastidious traveler.
Entertainment and attractions in Mahe
Victoria is the smallest capital in the world, with a colorful market and two main streets, at the intersection of which stands a miniature replica of London’s Big Ben. Top attractions include the famous Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the Museum of Natural History, the Craft Village where artisans exhibit their work, the tiny Historical Museum, the Mont Fleury Botanical Garden, and the Orchid Garden. Here you can also visit the workshop of Michael Adams, the famous Seychelles artist, whose canvases are valued by connoisseurs literally worth their weight in gold. You can also stroll through the Sir Percy Selwyn Clark Central Market to feel the Aboriginal way of life, as well as buy inexpensive souvenirs.
Halfway from Victoria to Port Glaud, 2 km from Anse Royale Beach, is the Royal Garden of Le Jardin du Roi (Tel: 371-313, admission 25 Rs, opening hours: 10:00-17:00). A beautiful spice garden and the entire park can be viewed during a walking tour along the picturesque paths and clearings. The planter’s house, which is located on the territory of the park, is interesting with a one-room museum and a nice restaurant with excellent views of the coast.
Another interesting attraction is the craft village (Craft Village, admission is free, opening hours: 9:30-17:30, tel.: 376-100). There are several shops with crafts and souvenirs, model boats, pots and coconut products. Here you can also have a bite to eat at the Vye Marmit restaurant (tel.: 376-155, opening hours: Mon-Sat 11:00-21:00, main dishes from 75-150 Rs). And after driving a couple more minutes from the village of artisans, you can get to the Lenstiti Kreol Creole Institute, which is located in a beautiful colonial building.
Tea lovers should go on a tour of the tea plantation (tel.: 378-221, entrance with/without guide – 30/20 SCR, opening hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-16:00). It is located on the Sanssouci road, 3 km from Port Glaud. The best time to visit is before noon, when you can see the whole process from picking to packing the tea. It produces about 45 tons of tea per year for export.
In the heart of the Seychelles Morne National Reserve, which occupies 20% of the entire island, is Mount Morne Blance (Morne Blance, 905 m). From its top, a beautiful panorama of the coast of the island opens up, and on the slope there is the only tea factory in the entire archipelago (about which – a little higher in the text). On the way to the top, you can meet many ancient plants.
By the way, Victoria has two traffic lights, the only ones in the entire archipelago.
- Mahe Map
St. Anne National Marine Park
The fantastic marine park is located between the islands of Mahe, Deer (Cerf), Sainte Anne (Sainte Anne), Long (Long), Middle (Moyenne) and Round (Round). As a rule, excursions to the national park are a day trip on a glass bottom boat. The cost of such a trip for the whole day with lunch and stops for swimming and snorkeling starts from 85 EUR. In addition, there are about 10 dive sites in the park, you can dive there with the help of the Ste Anne Island Dive Center (tel.: 570-043, from 70 EUR).
The cost of visiting the park is 10 EUR, children under 12 are free of charge (these 10 EUR, as a rule, are already included in the price of the excursion).
A one-day excursion to the marine park on a glass bottom boat will cost about 100 EUR.
About 60 people live on Deer Island, including the famous South African novelist Wilbur Smith. Here you can stay in a small colonial-style hotel L’Habitation, which is only 10 minutes by boat from Victoria. Or at the luxurious Cerf Island Marine Park Resort. In addition, Fairy Tern Chalet apartments are located exactly in the middle between these two hotels.
The middle island can only be visited as part of a tour organized exclusively by Creole Travel Services (Tel: 297-000). Round Island is famous for great snorkelling. But on the island of St. Anne, which is 4 km east of Victoria, there are two excellent beaches and a chic Ste Anne Resort & Spa hotel with its own dive center and spa. Long Island, a former Seychelles prison for a long time, is now an excellent place for swimming and diving, and since 2008 the Shangri-La hotel has also been operating here.
