Praslin vs La Digue

The short version

The tourism board ranks Praslin as the second-largest island in Seychelles and La Digue as the fourth, with La Digue lying 7 km from Praslin. Praslin has an airport, a public bus network and car hire. La Digue has no airport, and bicycles remain its main form of transport.

The tourism board notes that both Anse Lazio on Praslin and Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue are often ranked among the world's top ten beaches, and both islands are bases for boat trips to smaller islands. The tourism board's own 12-day itinerary includes both.

Getting there and around

Air Seychelles flies Twin Otters, carrying up to 16 passengers, from Mahé to Praslin in 15 minutes, and times its domestic flights to connect with international arrivals and departures. Cat Cocos ferries take 1 hour 15 minutes from Mahé to Praslin, 1 hour 10 minutes direct from Mahé to La Digue, and 15 minutes between the two islands.

On Praslin, the Seychelles Public Transport Corporation runs public buses, and the tourism board lists 13 car hire firms on the island. On La Digue, bicycles remain the main way around. Under the 2022 transport policy, bicycles must be licensed and insured and e-bike riders must wear helmets. Amendments approved in March 2024 limit e-bikes to 300 W, bar riders under 16 and require helmets for children under 14 on bicycles. The 2022 policy also allowed up to 12 club cars to work as taxis alongside 8 licensed taxi operators, and a 2019 Seychelles News Agency guide found no car hire on the island.

Beaches

Praslin's best-known beach is Anse Lazio in the north-west, which the tourism board calls the most famous on the island. Anse Volbert and Côte d'Or on the north coast form the main resort strip. Anse Georgette sits beside Constance Lemuria on the west coast.

On La Digue, Anse Source d'Argent is reached through L'Union Estate, which charges foreign nationals SCR 150 for a day pass (L'Union Estate, checked 16 September 2026). The east coast is wilder: the tourism board describes deep water and rough seas in the south-east monsoon at Grand Anse, and Anse Coco can only be reached on foot.

Nature and sights

Praslin holds the Vallée de Mai, a 19.5 ha palm forest inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and home to the Seychelles black parrot, which lives only on Praslin. Curieuse, with its Aldabra giant tortoises, is a 20-minute boat ride from Côte d'Or, and Cousin Island Special Reserve lies 2 km offshore.

La Digue has L'Union Estate, a former plantation with a copra mill, a vanilla plantation and giant tortoises, and the Veuve Special Reserve, which protects the Seychelles black paradise flycatcher. Ile Cocos Marine National Park is a 10-minute boat ride away.

Where you stay

On 16 September 2026 the tourism board's website listed 110 places to stay on Praslin, including 8 listings classed as resorts (four of them Raffles Seychelles and its villa types) and 18 as hotels. It listed 89 on La Digue, with 10 hotels, 28 guesthouses and none classed as resorts. Self-catering was the largest category on both islands.

Splitting your stay

The tourism board's own planning article sketches a 12-day trip with about three days on Praslin and two to three nights on La Digue, after time on Mahé. With a 15-minute crossing between them, a stay on one island does not rule out day trips to the other.

Choose Praslin if…

• You would rather fly from Mahé: the flight takes 15 minutes.
• You want to walk in the Vallée de Mai and look for the black parrot.
• You plan to get around by bus or hire car.
• You want the wider choice of accommodation, including resorts.
• You want boat trips to Curieuse, St Pierre or Cousin.
• You want to play golf on the 18-hole course at Constance Lemuria.

Choose La Digue if…

• You want to get around mainly by bicycle.
• You want to be close to Anse Source d'Argent and L'Union Estate.
• You hope to see the black paradise flycatcher in the Veuve Special Reserve.
• You prefer guesthouses and small hotels: the tourism board lists no resorts on the island.
• You want a short boat ride to Ile Cocos for snorkelling.
• You are happy to arrive by ferry.