Country shortlist
The Double Fathom shortlist for Seychelles, ranked — 1 catalog destination. The grouping is ours; every rank and tagline is the catalog’s own.
Seychelles appears in our catalog as one destination spanning the inner islands — Mahé, Praslin and La Digue — which is where the snorkeling in this guide actually happens. The archipelago's reputation rests on granite-boulder beaches and water clarity more than on coral, and the honest note belongs on the national page rather than in a footnote: the corals here were severely bleached in the 1998 and 2016 warm-water events and are recovering rather than pristine, so the marine parks at Sainte Anne and Baie Ternay carry the best of the snorkeling. The far outer islands, Aldabra among them, are a different and strictly protected journey that this catalog does not cover.
What we cover — and what we don’t
Where we cover Seychelles: the inner islands — Mahé, Praslin and La Digue — as one destination with five sites, including the Sainte Anne and Baie Ternay marine national parks. The outer islands are not in this catalog, and Aldabra in particular is a remote, strictly protected atoll that is beyond what this guide covers. We do not claim that Seychelles' reefs are pristine: the coral-bleaching history is stated on the destination page and the guide rather than left out.
In catalog rank order. Rank, taglines and “best for” notes are the catalog’s own; each destination page and guide goes deeper.
The granite-island archipelago
Granite-island beaches, marine parks and very clear Indian Ocean water — with reefs that are recovering, not pristine.
An Indian Ocean archipelago a few degrees south of the equator whose beaches are famous and whose marine parks are genuinely protected. Be clear-eyed about the coral: these reefs took a severe bleaching hit and are recovering rather than pristine, so come for water clarity, granite scenery and turtles.
This country sits inside the Indo-Pacific — the wider grouping the ranked catalog uses.
Each country page groups the ranked catalog by country and states plainly what this catalog covers — and what it does not.
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