While the Seychelles is famous for its many pristine and beautiful beaches and water activities, there are many other activities for a visitor to do. I certainly enjoy warm weather, and while I enjoy visiting beaches, I’m actually not so interested in spending the day hanging out the beach. Luckily, the Seychelles offers much more than simply laying on a beach all day since there is a lot to explore.

Here are 10 non-beach activities that a visitor can do while in the Seychelles.

1) Take a Tour of Mahe Island

The Seychelles is made up of 115 islands, but the main one is Mahe. When a visitor first arrives in the Seychelles, it is likely this is the island one first lands in before heading to other islands. When I first arrived, one of my main goals was to see the entire island. It is entirely possible to rent a car and drive around the entire island, or if you are athletic, it is also possible to cycle around the entire island. In my case, I did not want to deal with traffic (traffic jams can and do happen, and this results in jams throughout the entire island), and I don’t have the athletic ability to cycle around the island in one day. Instead, I hired a driver for the day (8 hours) to take me around the entire island and stop at any place I wanted.

While this was not the cheapest option, in my opinion, it was the easiest option since I did not have to deal with navigation, and the driver was amenable to stopping whenever and wherever I wanted. This is an excellent way to see the entire island of Mahe and some truly amazing beaches and viewpoints. The tour began in Beau Vallon (in the north), continued north then proceeded south and back north again on the western coast before cutting inland at Port Glaud to head back to Beau Vallon. I personally really enjoyed this since it allowed me to see many different beaches and sights that would have been difficult to do using only public transportation.

2) Explore Victoria

Victoria is the capital of the Seychelles. By most standards, it is a small town (approximately 26,000 people live within its limits). If this is your first time in the Seychelles, Victoria is worth checking out since it has a National History Museum, which is small but well-put together, the Selwyn-Clarke Market, which is a local outdoor market, the Roman Catholic Cathedral, and a Hindu Temple, which is worth going into. Since the capital is very small, it is very easy to see everything in about an hour or two.

I explored Victoria as part of the driving tour around the island. Upon arrival in the town, the driver parked in parking lot and hung out in a restaurant while I checked out the town on my own.

3) Hiking Opportunities

For visitors who enjoy hiking (it’s become one of my favorite activities whenever I travel), the Seychelles offers plenty of opportunities to do a variety of hikes. During my time in the country, I did three hikes (see #4, #5, and #6), and all three were definitely worth it.

4) Hike the Copolia Trail

The Copolia Trail was the first trail that I hiked. The hike itself was not too difficult, and I found it relatively easy to do although it was made a bit more challenging by the heat and humidity (I was covered in sweat by the end). The end of the trail gives amazing views of Mahe, particularly of Victoria from above and a beautiful and unobstructed view of Morne Seychellois. Depending on your pace, this hike can take around 2 hours for a round trip.

5) Hike Morne Blanc

Of the three hikes that I did, the hike up to Morne Blanc was the most exhausting since it is fairly steep hike uphill. However, if you have a moderate fitness level, it should not be too difficult. The view from the top provides beautiful views of the southwestern part of Mahe along with amazing views of Conception, Therese, and Aux Vaches Islands. On the day I went, I was fortunate to not have much cloud cover although clouds did come rolling through shortly after leaving the summit.

6) Hike Anse Major

This was the last hike that I did while in the Seychelles, and it was definitely the easiest since the ground is level throughout, and there is very little climbing uphill involved. In addition, unlike the other two hikes where I went with a guide since I did not want to deal with bus schedules, the Anse Major hike is very easy to reach by public transportation (bus).

The beginning of the trail literally starts at the end of the bus line, so one simply needs to stay on the bus until it reaches the end. After getting off the bus, it will be a little walk uphill to the actual hike (this is probably the most strenuous part). While the Copolia Trail and Morne Blanc hikes are mostly done under significant tree cover with shade, a lot of the Anse Major hike is open to the sky, so you get beautiful views of the water and coastline, but make sure to bring sunscreen or a hat.

7) Take a Day Trip to La Digue

A must-do activity is to do a day trip to La Digue, which is one of the three major islands of the Seychelles. While a lot of people go to the island to overnight, I opted to do a day trip. Generally, to get to Mahe to La Digue, a ferry will make a stopover on Praslin. However, on the day I went, it was a direct trip. Upon arrival on La Digue, I rented a bike for the day with the intention of cycling around the entire island since it was significantly smaller than Mahe. However, in my case, I had not ridden a bike in almost five or more years. As a result, I ran out of energy about halfway through the island since going up some of the hills took the wind out of me. In addition, I took a couple tumbles when my foot got caught on the frame while dismounting. However, despite my own inability to complete cycling around the island, there are many beautiful sites to see on La Digue, such as Source d’Argent, which is one of the famous beaches in the Seychelles. In addition, the colonial cemetery is very picturesque and worth checking out.

8) Take a Day Trip to Praslin

A day trip or stay in Praslin, which is the second largest island in the Seychelles, is a must-do activity. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to visit Praslin since my time in the Seychelles was a bit limited, but I definitely look forward to going back and spending time there. Even though I did not visit there, I know Praslin is the site of Vallee de Mai, which is a very well-known nature park.

9) Visit the Rock Pool

One of the last activities I did in the Seychelles was to do a hike to a relatively unknown rock pool that is near Takamaka Beach (Anse Takamaka), which is on the southern end of Mahe with a guide. The rock pool lies on the edge of the coast and is famous because it is a circular depression that is continually filled in with water from ocean. While the guide told me that some people swim in the rock pool, I did not since on the day I went, the sea was quite rough, and it would be super easy to be washed out to sea from the rock pool or bashed against the wall quite hard.

While I did not get into the rock pool directly, I did end up standing a bit close to the water’s edge, and I ended up getting splashed pretty good by a big wave. At the time, I was not wearing any swimwear, so I spent a good portion of the day with wet clothes and hiking boots, but the rock pool was definitely worth seeing and would love to go again.

10) Catch Amazing Sunsets

After a long day of checking out sites and exploring, one of the best activities to do is head to the beach and catch the amazing sunsets.

I stayed in Beau Vallon, so I was only about a 10 minute walk from Beau Vallon Beach, which gave amazing and unobstructed views of the sunset. Almost each evening, I would walk to the beach and sit and watch the sunset. Even though I did not swim at the time, it was a chance to explore different camera settings, so if you are into photography, the sunsets in the Seychelles are wonderful ways to experiment with photographing different atmospheric affects with shading and light.

Overall, while I did not spend much time swimming, I was able to do some amazing hikes and see some of the most picturesque beaches and views that I have probably ever seen in my various travels.

These are definitely not the only things to do in the Seychelles, so I would love to hear what you enjoy doing while in the Seychelles.