The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands scattered across the Indian Ocean, and for honeymooners the choice of where to stay can feel as wide as the sea itself. Three distinct experiences—the castaway luxury of Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island, the hillside seclusion of Anantara Maia Seychelles Villas on Mahé, and the beach-and-forest combination of Praslin Island—each offer a radically different take on a Seychelles honeymoon. This article compares them head-to-head so you can decide which fits your style.
The archipelago’s pink granite boulders, powder-soft sands, and turquoise lagoons have made it one of the most sought-after honeymoon destinations in the Indian Ocean. Unlike the Maldives, where overwater bungalows sit on flat coral atolls, the Seychelles offers varied scenery: rainforest hikes on Mahé, the prehistoric palm forest of Vallée de Mai on Praslin, and the car-free cycling lanes of La Digue. For this guide, we’re focusing on three properties that capture the range of what a Seychelles honeymoon can be—from a remote private island to a boutique all-villa resort to a classic beach base with world-class day trips.
Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island sits on a remote coral atoll 35 minutes by air from Mahé, with 14 kilometres of shoreline and a giant tortoise sanctuary — yet only one resort occupies the entire island.
Couples seeking total seclusion
First-time Seychelles visitors
Beach-and-adventure blends
| Resort / Island | Vibe | Key Feature | Starting Rate (per couple/night) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four Seasons Desroches | Castaway chic, remote | 14km shoreline, cycling, tortoise sanctuary | Ultra-luxury (verify at booking) | Total seclusion, nature lovers |
| Anantara Maia Seychelles Villas | Intimate hillside luxury | 30 villas with private pools, Bill Bensley design | From £500 | Design lovers, all-inclusive convenience |
| Praslin Island (Constance Lemuria / Raffles) | Beach base with exploration | Anse Lazio, Vallée de Mai, day trips | From £400 (Raffles) to £450 (Lemuria) | Active couples, island-hopping |
Each option works best for a different honeymoon style. Below we walk through what staying at each one actually feels like, with the real logistical details you need to know before booking.
Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island
The transfer alone sets the tone. IDC Aviation operates small aircraft carrying fewer than 20 passengers from Mahé to Desroches, handing out laminated cards instead of boarding passes. Staff meet you on the runway with cold towels and drinks, and a buggy whisks you to your villa in about five minutes. You’re on an island with one resort, 14 kilometres of shoreline, and no traffic, crowds, or noise — just palms, waves, and silence.
Each villa comes with a private pool, an expansive deck with shaded loungers, and direct ocean access. The bathroom has twin basins, a soaking tub, and both indoor and outdoor showers. Floral decorations use leaves and flowers harvested on the island. Every guest receives a bicycle as primary transport — cycling beneath palms with barely anyone else around is how you get from your villa to the beach or restaurant.
The island has multiple beaches, each with a distinct character: Aquarium Beach, Bombay Beach, North Point Beach, and Madame Zabre Beach. There’s also a Hidden Beach, a tiny stretch of powder-soft sand not marked on any map, discovered only by guests. The giant tortoise sanctuary lets you feed the Aldabra tortoises that roam the grounds, and at night you’ll hear the eerie calls of wedge-tailed shearwater seabirds.
Dining is a genuine highlight. Chef Viveck runs the Spice of India themed dinner, serving pani puri, vada pav, butter chicken, dal tadka, chicken dum biryani, and gulab jamun, finishing with cutting chai poured into traditional Indian glasses. The Claudine breakfast has live stations with classics and Japanese specialties including takoyaki. At Madame Zabre Beach, the Gou Zil Koko food truck serves fresh hummus, vibrant salads, and Cajun-spiced pulled chicken wraps. AHI, the Japanese restaurant, offers delicate sushi, cod dishes, and watermelon sashimi with thoughtful wine pairings.
Note: Desroches sits in the outer Amirante Islands, which means sea conditions can affect boat transfers — the flight from Mahé is the reliable option. Book the flight as part of your resort reservation to guarantee availability.
Anantara Maia Seychelles Villas
Anantara Maia takes a different approach entirely. Instead of a flat coral island, it’s built into a lush hillside on Mahé’s west coast, overlooking the secluded Anse Louis beach. The 30 villas were designed by Bill Bensley, with hammered copper accents, luxurious furnishings, and that signature Bensley blend of Balinese influences with contemporary Seychellois style. Each villa has a private infinity pool and an outdoor gazebo with ocean views.
What sets Maia apart is its “Beyond All-Inclusive” concept — gourmet dining, premium drinks, unlimited scuba diving, and a dedicated Villa Host service are all included. That’s rare in the Seychelles, where most resorts charge per meal. The Dining by Design programme lets you have dinner on the beach or in your villa, arranged by your host. The Anantara Spa offers signature therapies in treatment rooms overlooking the ocean.
The private beach at Anse Louis is effectively for guests only, thanks to the quiet peninsula location. It’s a small, sheltered bay with calm water, ideal for a morning swim without crowds. The hillside setting means you get dramatic sunsets over the ocean from your villa deck. Mahé’s west coast beaches — Beau Vallon, Anse Intendance, Port Launay — are a short drive away if you want to explore.
Note: Maia changed its all-inclusive policy in 2023 — confirm what the “Beyond All-Inclusive” package covers at the time of booking, as it may not include everything you expect. The standard rate is bed and breakfast or half board, with the upgrade available as an add-on.
Praslin Island: Anse Lazio, Vallée de Mai, and the Best Resort Bases
Praslin offers a completely different honeymoon rhythm: you’re on an island with multiple resorts, restaurants, and day-trip options, rather than a single self-contained property. The question isn’t “which resort” but “which beach do we want to wake up next to?”
Anse Lazio, on the north coast, is a 400-metre arc of white sand that regularly appears on shortlists for the world’s five best beaches. The water is calm on good-weather days, perfect for swimming. The key is timing: arrive by 7:30am before the day boats arrive from Mahé and La Digue. If you’re staying at Constance Lemuria, you can walk there via a 20-minute coastal path through a coconut grove and granite boulders — one of the best resort-to-beach walks in the Indian Ocean.
Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the only place where the Coco de Mer palm — which produces the world’s largest seed — grows wild. The gentle trails max out at about 2 kilometres, making it an easy morning excursion. Entry is £12–15 per person.
For accommodation, Constance Lemuria sits between Anse Georgette and Anse Kerlan, with three pools, three restaurants, an 18-hole championship golf course, and direct beach access. Rates start around £450 per night. Raffles Seychelles, on Anse Takamaka on the south-west coast, offers overwater and beach bungalows with a villa host service and an excellent spa, from about £400 per night. Both are 5-star properties with private pool villas, and neither is all-inclusive — book bed and breakfast or half board and explore the island’s restaurants for dinner.
On Praslin, book a half-day boat trip to Cousin, Curieuse, and St. Pierre islands — you’ll see bird colonies, a giant tortoise sanctuary, and some of the best snorkelling in the Seychelles. Most trips depart from the Côte d’Or area and cost around £60–80 per person including lunch.
Note: Getting to Praslin is straightforward — the Cat Cocos ferry takes about 35 minutes from Mahé and costs around SCR 370 (roughly £22) per person. Air Seychelles flies in 15 minutes for £45–70 per person. Book ferry tickets in advance during peak season (April–May and September–October).
Planning Your Seychelles Honeymoon
The biggest decision isn’t which island — it’s how you want to spend your days. Desroches works best if you want to stay put and explore one island on foot and by bike. Maia works best if you want a luxurious base on Mahé with the option to explore the main island’s beaches, markets, and hiking trails. Praslin works best if you want a classic beach resort with easy access to day trips and a second island (La Digue is 15 minutes by ferry).
Cost: what you’ll actually spend
A 10-night Seychelles honeymoon at mid-range level (Constance Lemuria on Praslin, economy flights) runs roughly £7,500–£9,000 per couple. At luxury level (Six Senses Zil Pasyon or similar, premium economy flights) it’s £15,000–£17,000. At ultra-luxury level (North Island, business class flights) it’s £22,000–£25,000. These figures are from WeddingsHub’s July 2026 research and assume bed and breakfast or half board — meals and drinks add £600–£1,000 depending on the resort’s pricing.
Return flights from London to Mahé cost £800–£1,300 per person in economy via Abu Dhabi (Etihad), Dubai (Emirates), Paris (Air France), or Nairobi (Kenya Airways). No direct flights exist — expect a 10–14 hour journey including connection.
Best time to go
April–May and October–November are the sweet spots: the inter-monsoon periods with the calmest seas and least wind. The north-west monsoon (November–March) brings heavier rainfall but calmer water on west coasts. The south-east trade winds (May–September) can make some beaches rough and expose southern shores to strong wind. Temperature stays 26–30°C year-round, so the trade-off is between rain and wind, not heat.
If you book a Praslin-based honeymoon between June and August, some beaches can accumulate seaweed, and the south-east trade winds make the water choppy on exposed coasts. Anse Lazio is usually sheltered, but check conditions before you book. The west-coast beaches on Mahé are more protected during this period.
Getting around and booking
Ferries between Mahé, Praslin, and La Digue run multiple times daily — check schedules on the Cat Cocos website. Inter-island flights with Air Seychelles are faster but cost more. On Praslin, renting a car is the best way to explore (drive on the left, narrow winding roads, free parking at hotels). On Mahé, taxis are expensive and scarce — car hire or a private driver for the day is more practical.
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If you’d rather book a packaged experience, browse Seychelles honeymoon packages on Viator for multi-day itineraries that combine accommodation, transfers, and excursions in one booking.
Before You Go — Seychelles Honeymoon
Which island combination is best for 10 nights?
Two nights on Mahé (arrival and departure), four nights on Praslin, and two nights on La Digue gives you the full range of Seychelles scenery without feeling rushed. Swap one of the Praslin nights for a private island if your budget allows.
How do we get to Desroches Island?
Four Seasons Desroches is accessible only by a 35-minute IDC Aviation flight from Mahé. The flight is arranged by the resort and included in the rate. There’s no public ferry or scheduled commercial flight — book the transfer when you reserve your villa.
Are these resorts all-inclusive?
None of the three options is all-inclusive by default. Maia offers a “Beyond All-Inclusive” upgrade. Desroches has an optional all-inclusive plan. Constance Lemuria and Raffles on Praslin are bed and breakfast or half board. Budget £600–£1,000 extra for meals and drinks over 10 nights.
When should we book?
Book resorts 3–5 months in advance, especially for April–May and October–November. Private islands like Desroches and North Island need 6+ months for peak-season dates. Request honeymoon perks at booking — many resorts offer a complimentary dinner, spa credit, or room upgrade for honeymooners.
Closing
A Seychelles honeymoon isn’t a single experience — it’s a choice between radically different kinds of seclusion. Desroches gives you an entire island to explore on two wheels. Maia wraps you in hillside luxury with the freedom of Mahé at your doorstep. Praslin puts you at the centre of the archipelago’s best beaches and day trips, with a resort as your base rather than your whole world. Pick the one that matches how you want to spend your days, and the Indian Ocean will do the rest.
For more on what makes each island special, read our guide to luxury resorts and private islands in the Seychelles.
References
Four Seasons. “Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island.” fourseasons.com, 2026. ↗
Anantara. “Anantara Maia Seychelles Villas.” anantara.com, 2026. ↗
Constance Hotels. “Constance Lemuria.” constancehotels.com, 2026. ↗
Raffles. “Raffles Seychelles.” raffles.com, 2026. ↗
For more Seychelles honeymoon inspiration, check out our guides to the most Instagrammable sunset spots, Mahé’s must-see attractions, and the archipelago’s unique wildlife.
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