A one-day Mahé road trip: the loop we recommend to every customer

Mahé is only 28 km long, but the coast road wriggles past so many bays and viewpoints that a full loop makes a perfect day. This is the route we sketch on the map at almost every hand-over — clockwise, starting from the airport or Victoria, roughly 70 km of driving.

08:30 — Victoria and the market

Start in the world's smallest capital while it's cool. The Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke market is at its best before 10:00 — fruit, fish and spice stalls under a rainbow of corrugated roofs. See the little Victoria Clocktower, then grab a coffee before the climb.

10:00 — Over the Sans Souci pass to Mission Lodge

Take the Sans Souci road up through the tea plantations of the Morne Seychellois National Park. Stop at the Mission Lodge viewpoint — ruins of a 19th-century school with the single best panorama of the west coast. Queen Elizabeth II had tea here; you'll understand why.

11:00 — West coast: Port Launay or Anse Soleil swim

Descend to Port Glaud. If it's marine-park snorkelling weather, stop at Port Launay; otherwise carry on south along the coast road — one gorgeous bay after another — to Anse Soleil for a swim and grilled fish at the beach café.

14:00 — The deep south: Baie Lazare to Anse Intendance

Round the south through Baie Lazare and Takamaka. Walk the wild sand at Anse Intendance, then cut across to the east coast at Anse Royale for a reef swim or an ice cream in the shade.

16:30 — East coast home stretch, then a Beau Vallon sunset

Cruise the flat east-coast road north past Anse aux Pins and the airport, then over the St Louis pass to Beau Vallon for sunset — ideally on a Wednesday, when the street-food market fires up. Total driving: about 2½ hours spread across a whole glorious day.

Tips for the loop

Fill up in Victoria or Providence at the start — stations are plentiful but the mountain passes have none.
The passes are steep and twisty: all our cars are automatic, which makes them a pleasure rather than a workout.
Doing it anticlockwise works just as well — chase the light: east coast mornings, west coast afternoons.
New to left-hand driving? Read our visitor driving guide first.

Ready for the loop?

The whole itinerary fits in one tank and one day — automatic cars from €45/day.

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More reading: The best beaches you can reach by car