The best beach on Praslin - in fact, one of the best in the country - is Anse Lazio, in the far north of the island. The beach has glorious white, soft sand, a few rounded granite boulders and a lively line-up of waves. The water is a magical turquoise colour. There's also a sheltered area with great snorkelling at the end of the beach. There's even a terrific restaurant at the end of the beach road. The beaches east of Lazio are protected by a reef, which makes the water like a giant bath - it's shallow, warm and safe, and there's some nice snorkelling. Buses travel from Grand Anse around all the island's beaches.

This island, about 2km (1mi) off the south-west coast of Praslin - has been a nature reserve since 1968, and is home to several endangered species, as well as being a breeding ground for seabirds and turtles. It's an amazing experience to walk through thick forest with a bird on every branch, apparently oblivious to humans. The rarest birds are the brush warbler and magpie robin, and you might also get to see a white-tailed tropic bird, the emblem of Réunion and Mauritius. The island is also home to two very old tortoises, George and Georgina, who follow visitors around in the hope of having their necks stroked. You can only visit the island on a tour.

Beau Vallon is one of the largest and certainly most popular beaches in the Seychelles. The sand is good, clean and relatively free of rocks. The waves can sometimes be large, as there is a big break in the reef. There are platforms in the ocean that you can swim out to, and the local resort lets non-residents use its beach loungers and bar. Beau Vallon village has a petrol station, a bank and some souvenir shops. The beach is about 3km (nearly 2mi) west of Victoria, and you can either catch a bus or walk.The beaches in the southern part of the island are prettier and quieter than those in the north. The nicest area for swimming and snorkelling is opposite tiny Île Souris, on the east coast. On the west coast, Anse Soleil and Anse Petite Police are extremely secluded (you really need a jeep to get to them), but worth the effort - there's a palm-fringed beach, boulders to dive or snorkel from and some wonderful marine life. If you like to watch, the surf at Anse Intendance is incredibly wild and completely unsuitable for swimming, but great for solemn gazing during pensive beach walks. Buses run from Victoria to most of the island.

There are six islands lying within the park a few km off Victoria. The snorkelling here is superb. Moyenne is probably the best island to visit, although you can only get here on a tour. The island is known for its buried treasures and ghosts, and you can have a look at the House of Dogs, built at the turn of the century by an eccentric English woman as a home for stray dogs. There's a lovely walk on a marked trail around the island, with plenty of pretty plants and animals to look at (including two giant tortoises), and there's also some excellent snorkelling sites.Round Island was once a leper colony - the chapel of the colony is now a restaurant. If you can get over your initial squeamishness, this is one of the best places in the country for genuine Créole food. Round Island also has a plesant tree-shaded walking track and an interesting national park visitors centre.

On the island of Praslin, Vallée de Mai has the Seychelles' greatest concentration of coco de mer palms - almost 4000 of them. This valley's prehistoric forest is World Heritage listed. Palms in the valley include the palmiste, latanier, splayed traveller's palm and Chinese fans. The sunlight filtering through their fronds and hitting the greens and oranges of the leaves will make you go all poetic. Other interesting plants in the valley are the wild pineapple, wild coffee and the allspice bush - you should also keep an eye out for the Seychelles black parrot, which is only found on Praslin. If you're going to visit Vallée, keep to the tracks, don't take anything away and don't leave anything behind - this is an incredibly fragile forest.

Victoria, on the island of Mahé is one of the smallest capital cities in the world, and the only major port in the Seychelles. It's also the only town in the country - every other settlement is a village. The courthouse and main post office in the centre of town have been untouched since colonial times, but the streets emanating from the centre have been rebuilt over the past 20 years, giving the town a clean and modern look. There are a few old houses and shops in the city centre, but barely enough to give the town any character.The Natural History Museum is right in the centre of town, and specialises in natural history. It's a pretty eclectic collection: there's the bones of the extinct Seychelles crocodile, giant robber crabs, dried out fish, a deformed piglet in a jar and lots of glassy-eyed stuffed animals. Other displays include the wreckage of a ship which came to grief off the Amiranteds in 1570 and a display of gris gris artefacts. If you're more interested in the history of the country's people, visit the National History Museum or the Seychelles People's United Party Museum, which celebrates the history of the party.Victoria's Botanical Gardens are highly recommended for short and shady walks among a variety of native and introduced trees. Within the gardens is a cafeteria, a pen of giant tortoises and an orchid garden.Victoria has plenty of guesthouses at budget prices (well, as budget as the Seychelles gets), but they're all out in the suburbs. This is also one of the best places on the island for relatively cheap eats, as well as the odd up-market, romantic restaurant.