Beau Vallon Bay, Sainte Anne Marine Park and Island Ferries

Although central Victoria is a working port rather than a beach resort, two of Mahé's finest marine playgrounds sit less than fifteen minutes away: the offshore coral lagoons of Sainte Anne Marine National Park directly outside the harbour, and the three-kilometre sandy crescent of Beau Vallon Bay just across the St Louis ridge.

Sainte Anne Marine National Park and Moyenne Island

Gaze east from Victoria's waterfront or from the summit of the Copolia Trail and you will see six emerald granite islands rising out of a shallow turquoise lagoon just five kilometres offshore. Designated in 1973 as the very first marine national park in the Indian Ocean, Sainte Anne Marine National Park protects seagrass meadows where green sea turtles feed and coral gardens teeming with butterflyfish, parrotfish and reef sharks. Day boats and glass-bottom catamarans depart every morning from Victoria Marina and Eden Island, combining two offshore reef snorkelling stops with a landing on tiny Moyenne Island. Bought in 1962 by British newspaper editor Brendon Grimshaw, who spent fifty years planting sixteen thousand mahogany and palm trees by hand and reintroducing over a hundred free-roaming Aldabra giant tortoises, Moyenne has a lovely forty-minute perimeter footpath passing pirate graves, tiny coves and a rustic Creole beach grill.

Beau Vallon Bay, Anse Major and Cat Cocos island hopping

Fifteen minutes by bus or car north-west over the St Louis hill pass from the Victoria Clocktower, the road drops down to Beau Vallon, Mahé's most sociable and swimmable bay. Unlike some southern beaches with seasonal rip currents, Beau Vallon's wide, gently shelving curve of powder sand is safe for swimming year-round and faces directly west into blazing Indian Ocean sunsets. Every Wednesday late afternoon and evening, locals and visitors gather beneath the takamaka trees for Bazar Labrin, an open-air street market serving freshly grilled fish skewers, breadfruit chips, coconut water and Creole cakes.

From the northern end of Beau Vallon at Danzil, keen walkers can follow the coastal granite path for an hour and a half along dramatic ocean cliffs to secluded Anse Major. Finally, use Victoria's Inter-Island Quay for a high-speed Cat Cocos ferry day trip to Praslin and La Digue, or include both in your three-day Victoria itinerary.