Fifteen minutes
over the reef.
Mahé to Praslin by propeller while the ferry takes an hour and a quarter. And a helicopter for the places with no runway at all.
One route, several times a day.
The scheduled domestic network in Seychelles is a single line, and it is short.
- Mahé to Praslin
- about 15 minutes in the air
- How often
- Several times a day, both directions
- Fare
- about €75 to €135 one way, per person
- Baggage
- about 15 kg a person, because the aircraft is small
Air Seychelles flies between Mahé and Praslin in a small propeller aircraft. It takes about fifteen minutes, and for most of them you are looking straight down at the reef.
It is the only scheduled domestic route. You cannot fly to La Digue, because there is nowhere to land, and the island is reached by boat. Everything further out is a charter rather than a timetabled service.
The Praslin airstrip is right on the water and the approach runs along the coast. It is one of those short flights where the window seat earns its name.
Fifteen minutes, or an hour.
Two ways to make the same crossing. The choice is time against money and against luggage.
| By air | About 15 minutes · about €75 to €135 · about 15 kg |
|---|---|
| By ferry, Cat Cocos | An hour to an hour and a quarter · from €56 plus a €2 port fee · luggage carried, no practical limit |
One way, per adult. Air fares move with the date and with how early you book.
The aircraft saves about an hour, and it does not care what the sea is doing. From June to September, when the trades are up, that hour on the ferry can be a long one for anybody who travels badly at sea.
The ferry costs less, takes all your luggage without a conversation, and puts you down at Baie Sainte-Anne, which is closer to most Praslin hotels than the airstrip is.
A lot of people fly one way and sail the other, and that is the honest advice. You get the view from the air once and the deck once, and you only carry the suitcases up a gangway in one direction.
Where there is no runway.
A helicopter here is not only a luxury gesture. For some places it is the way in.
A transfer from the airport to where you are staying takes ten to twenty minutes where the car takes an hour. For the south of Mahé and the resorts on the far side of the mountain that is a real difference rather than paying for a view.
A scenic flight over Mahé runs at around €490, which is about ₹54,000. It goes out over the Sainte Anne marine park, down the west coast and back, and it is one of the commonest additions to a wedding day.
For Frégate, Denis and North Island, a helicopter or a light aircraft is the ordinary way in, and the resort arranges it with the booking. There is no public ferry to any of them.
Charters to the far islands.
Past Praslin and La Digue the logistics change and so does the budget.
Alphonse and the Amirantes are reached by charter flight. These are not scheduled services you can book around. They are part of the resort's own arrangement and they are fixed months ahead, not a week ahead.
Aldabra has no flight at all. It is reached by expedition ship and it is a voyage of several days rather than an outing.
If a charter is in your itinerary, plan the international flight around it rather than the other way round. The charter day is the fixed point and everything else moves to fit it.
The apron, the strip and the reef.
The Twin Otter on the stand at Mahé, the Praslin strip along the water, and what most of those fifteen minutes actually look like.
Photographs: shankar s., CC BY 4.0 Remi Jouan, CC BY-SA 3.0 dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 Adrian Scottow, CC BY-SA 2.0 Mozzihh, CC BY-SA 4.0 Simisa, CC BY-SA 3.0
The six that arrive every week.
How long is the flight from Mahé to Praslin?
About fifteen minutes in the air. Air Seychelles flies it several times a day and it is the only scheduled domestic route in the country.
What does it cost?
Roughly €75 to €135 one way per person, which is about ₹8,000 to ₹15,000. It moves with the date and with how early you book. The ferry on the same route starts at €56.
Can we fly to La Digue?
No. La Digue has no airstrip and never has. You reach it by boat, and from Praslin that is a fifteen-minute crossing.
How much luggage can we take?
About fifteen kilos a person, because the aircraft is small. Two full suitcases from a two-week trip means either an excess charge or the ferry, and for most Indian families it means the ferry.
What does a helicopter cost?
A scenic flight over Mahé is around €490. A transfer from the airport to where you are staying takes ten to twenty minutes where the car takes an hour, and the price depends on the route, so it is quoted rather than listed.
How do you get to the outer islands?
By charter, and it is part of the resort booking rather than something you buy separately. Alphonse and the Amirantes are charter flights. Aldabra has no flight at all and is reached by expedition ship.
Fly it, or sail it?
Tell Meera the dates, how many of you there are and how many suitcases. She will say which leg is worth flying and which is not.