Silhouette Island holidays

With no roads, no cars and some of the Seychelles' best beaches, holidays to Silhouette Island bring a new meaning to the word ‘relaxed'.

Island hideaway

Silhouette is the third largest island in the Seychelles, but one of its most secluded. Think of it as a desert island escape, with a side order of luxury. Only 200 inhabitants call it home and most of them work at the island’s only resort hotel, the five-star Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa. That’s about as built-up as it gets, though. In fact, over 90% of the isle is designated as a national park.

Hidden beaches

The island’s laced with walking trails, which lead up mountains, through palm-filled forests and down to castaway beaches. You can make the three-kilometre hike to Anse Mondon, where the milky sands are lined with cinnamon and palm trees. Or, try the three-hour trip to even more secluded Grand Barbe, passing giant tortoises and fruit bats as you stroll.

Wild side

It’s not just Silhouette’s forests that are protected, the surrounding waters were made a marine reserve in 1987, too. On a snorkel, you can come face to fin with harmless white-tip sharks, parrotfish and rays. The island’s a hotspot for turtles, too, with over 300 nests found each year. There’s a small research base that’s dedicated to protected them, along with the island’s resident tortoises and bats.