Not to miss

Anse Lazio

The best beach on Praslin - in fact, one of the best in the country - is Anse Lazio, in the far north of the island. The beach has glorious white, soft sand, a few rounded granite boulders and a lively line-up of waves. The water is a magical turquoise colour.

There's also a sheltered area with great snorkelling at the end of the beach. There's even a terrific restaurant at the end of the beach road. The beaches east of Lazio are protected by a reef, which makes the water like a giant bath - it's shallow, warm and safe, and there's some nice snorkelling.

Victoria

Victoria, on the island of Mahé, is one of the smallest capital cities in the world, and the only major port in the Seychelles. It's also the only town - every other settlement is a village. The courthouse and main post office in the centre of town have been untouched since colonial time.

The streets emanating from the centre have been rebuilt over the past 20 years, giving the town a clean and modern look. There are a few old houses and shops in the city centre, but it's unfortunately barely enough to give the town any character.

Anse Lazio

The best beach on Praslin - in fact, one of the best in the country - is Anse Lazio, in the far north of the island. The beach has glorious soft white sand, a few rounded granite boulders and a lively line-up of waves in a magical turquoise colour.

The beach is protected by a reef, which makes the water like a giant bath - it's shallow, warm and safe, and there's some nice snorkelling at the end of the beach. There's even a terrific restaurant right on the sand. Buses travel from Grand Anse around the coast to Anse Boudin, a short walk from Anse Lazio.

Cousin Island

This is bird watching made easy - over 300,000 birds on an island just 1km (0.6mi) in diameter. Seven species of sea bird nest here, including fairy terns, white-tailed tropic birds and two varities of shearwater, and it's also home to the rare Seychelles warbler and magpie robin. Hawksbill turtles nest here in season.

Organised tours depart from Praslin from Tuesday through Friday.

Vallée de Mai

Vallée de Mai is one of only two places in the world where you can see the weird and wonderful coco de mer palm growing in their natural state - the other is nearby Curieuse Island. This valley's Eden-like forest is World Heritage listed and the very sight of sunlight filtering through its fronds will make you go all poetic.

You'll see several varieties of screw pine and latanier plams, and, if you're very lucky, the Seychelles black parrot. If you're going to visit the park, keep to the tracks, don't take anything away and don't leave anything behind - this is an incredibly fragile forest.