Of the Seychelles private island resorts, North Island is the one to choose if money is no object: 11 villas, a near all-inclusive rate and a 20-minute helicopter hop from Mahé. Six Senses Zil Pasyon on Félicité is the best value, a private island you can reach by a 25-minute boat from Praslin or La Digue. Four Seasons Desroches is the strongest for families, Fregate is due back in late 2026 after a full rebuild, and Denis, Cousine and Bird Island put wildlife first. Below, each island is set out the same way: how you get there and what it costs, how many villas share the island, what lives there, and what your rate actually covers.
Seychelles private islands compared
| Island and resort | Access from Mahé | Transfer cost | Meal plan | From (two adults) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Island | Helicopter, ~20 min | On request | Full board plus spa, dive and activity daily | ~US$10,550 |
| Fregate Island | Helicopter or light aircraft, ~20 min | On request | To be confirmed on reopening | Not yet published |
| Six Senses Zil Pasyon (Félicité) | Helicopter ~20 min, or boat from Praslin/La Digue ~25 min | Helicopter ~€1,100 one way for up to 4 | Breakfast | ~US$1,050 |
| Four Seasons Desroches | Scheduled flight, 35 min | €500 adult return + VAT | Half board on many rates | ~US$1,750 |
| Waldorf Astoria Platte Island | Scheduled resort flight | €550 adult return | Breakfast | ~US$2,150 |
| Denis Private Island | Flight, 30 min, five days a week | €550 per person return | Full board | ~US$1,250 |
| Cousine Island | Helicopter ~20 min, or boat from Praslin | Helicopter ~€840 one way for up to 4 | Full board | ~US$2,150 incl. VAT |
| Bird Island | Air Seychelles flight, 30 min | €380–€450 per person return | Self-catering or meal packages | ~US$460 |
| Silhouette (Niva Labriz) | Boat from Bel Ombre, ~45 min | €210 adult return | Breakfast | ~US$350 |
Prices are indicative and were last updated in October 2026. Rates change with season, exchange rates and availability, so check live prices before booking.
Most island resorts quote in euros, so the dollar figures are approximate. Room rates exclude 15% VAT, service charges and the Tourism Environmental Sustainability Levy, which is SCR 100 per person per night on island resorts. A week on a private island usually starts around US$25,000 for two once transfers and meals are in, which the Seychelles holiday cost guide breaks down line by line.
What counts as a private island here
I’ve included islands where one resort controls the shoreline and arrival is by helicopter, light aircraft or a resort boat. North, Fregate, Félicité, Desroches, Platte, Denis, Cousine and Bird all fit. Silhouette is a stretch, as it is a national park with a small village, but its single resort works the same way in practice, so it appears as a lower-cost alternative. The islands also split into two very different landscapes: granite islands close to Mahé and Praslin (North, Fregate, Félicité, Cousine, Silhouette), with hills, forest and boulders, and flat coral islands farther out (Desroches, Platte, Denis, Bird), with long beaches, reef flats and huge seabird colonies.
The best private island resorts in Seychelles
North Island: best for total privacy
North Island is a granite island north of Silhouette that its owners spent years restoring, clearing invasive plants, replanting native trees and bringing back species including Aldabra giant tortoises and the Seychelles white-eye. Today it hosts only 11 villas: ten beachfront villas of about 450 square metres, each sleeping up to four, and the 750-square-metre Villa North Island for two. The package is close to all-inclusive, with à la carte meals, minibar refills, a daily 60-minute massage each, one activity or dive a day and a private dining experience daily, such as a beach picnic or a helipad dinner. With so few guests and several beaches, you can spend a day without seeing anyone but staff.
- Access: about 20 minutes by Zil Air helicopter from Mahé; charged separately and priced on request, and baggage is limited to 20kg each
- Villas: 11, each with its own pool and beach frontage
- Included: meals, minibar, daily massage, daily dive or activity and a daily private dining set-up; some premium dishes cost extra
- Rates: from around US$10,550 a night for a Beachfront Villa for two, full board, before 15% VAT and the levy
Good to know: hawksbill and green turtles nest on the beaches, and the conservation team will tell you if a nest is due to hatch during your stay.
Fregate Island: best for wildlife on a grand scale (reopening late 2026)
Fregate has been closed for a complete reconstruction and is scheduled to reopen in autumn 2026, so check its status before planning around it. The relaunched island has 14 private pool villas and three larger estates, each with a dedicated butler and buggy, set on about 200 hectares, 90% of which is kept as conservation land. It is one of the most important wildlife islands in the country: more than 3,000 Aldabra giant tortoises roam free, the critically endangered Seychelles magpie-robin was saved from near-extinction here, and its seven beaches host around 1% of the world’s hawksbill turtle nesting. The new plans include a spa, a kids’ club, tennis and padel, a conservation lab and a large wine cellar.
- Access: about 20 minutes by helicopter from Mahé, or by light aircraft to the island’s airstrip; price on request
- Villas: 17 in total (14 pool villas and three estates), for couples, families and groups
- Included: butler and buggy per villa; on-island activities, water sports, dining and spa access are part of the offer, with meal-plan details to be confirmed
- Rates: not yet published; check live prices once bookings reopen, as pre-closure rates no longer apply
Six Senses Zil Pasyon: best value private island in the inner islands
Félicité lies about 6 kilometres east of La Digue, and Six Senses is the only resort on it, so you get a private-island stay without leaving the inner islands behind. Around 30 pool villas are spread across the hillsides and shoreline, from Panorama and Oceanfront Pool Villas to two-bedroom villas and three- and four-bedroom residences. The granite landscape is the draw, with boulders the size of houses around the spa and restaurants. The resort has its own sustainability team working on the island and reef, and the shared speedboat to Praslin or La Digue makes a day trip to Anse Source d’Argent simple. Rates usually include breakfast only, so budget for lunch and dinner at the resort.
- Access: shared speedboat from Praslin or La Digue in about 25 minutes; helicopter from Mahé in about 20 minutes, around €1,100 one way for up to four; a boat direct from Mahé takes about two hours
- Villas: about 30 pool villas plus three residences
- Included: breakfast on most rates; spa, meals and excursions are extra
- Rates: from around US$1,050 a night in low season (June to September) and around US$1,300 in high season for a Hideaway Pool Villa, with breakfast, before taxes
Good to know: if you’re already on Praslin, the boat makes this the cheapest private island to reach on the list.
Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island: best for families
Desroches is a 3-square-kilometre coral island in the Amirantes group, about 230 kilometres south-west of Mahé, and Four Seasons is its only resort. It has more than 70 villas and residences, all with direct beach access, from one-bedroom pool villas to a seven-bedroom residence, which makes it the best private island here for families and multi-generation groups. The flat terrain is ideal for cycling, and every guest gets a bike. The island has a tortoise sanctuary, nesting turtles and a conservation centre run with the Island Conservation Society, plus a kids’ club, a dive centre and tennis. Many rates include half board, which helps on an island where every meal is taken at the resort.
- Access: 35-minute scheduled flight from Mahé’s domestic terminal; €500 per adult and €420 per child return in 2026, plus VAT, with a 30kg luggage limit
- Villas: 70+, from one-bedroom pool villas to a seven-bedroom residence
- Included: half board on many rates, bicycles and non-motorised water sports
- Rates: from around US$1,750 a night for two with half board
Good to know: the flight leaves at fixed times, so if your international arrival is late, plan a night on Mahé first.
Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island: best for divers
Platte is a small, flat coral island about 130 kilometres south of Mahé, and the Waldorf Astoria, opened in 2024, is the only resort on it. There are 50 pool villas in six categories, from 141 square metres up to a ten-guest Eagle Ray villa of more than 750 square metres, and the resort has several restaurants, a spa, a kids’ club and a PADI five-star dive centre. The reefs around Platte are rarely dived, and the resort won a Sustainable Seychelles Recognition award in 2025. It suits divers and couples who like contemporary design, though there is little to see on the island beyond the beach and the reef.
- Access: daily scheduled resort flight from Mahé, €550 per adult and €425 per child aged 2 to 11 return; free flights are offered on some stays of five nights or more
- Villas: 50, all with private pools
- Included: breakfast; diving, spa and other meals are extra
- Rates: from around US$2,150 a night in low season (June to September) and around US$2,550 in high season for a Hawksbill Garden Pool Villa, with breakfast, before taxes
Denis Private Island: best for a full-board nature retreat
Denis is a coral island of roughly 150 hectares on the northern edge of the Seychelles Bank. Its 23 cottages and villas line the beach, and all rates are full board, with much of the food coming from the island’s own organic farm, dairy and gardens. Endangered birds, including the Seychelles magpie-robin and Seychelles warbler, have been reintroduced, and the team tags and monitors hawksbill and green turtles that nest on the shore. Rooms have no Wi-Fi, phone or television, with internet only in the main building. That makes Denis one of the more affordable private islands, and a good fit if you want quiet days of walking, snorkelling and fishing.
- Access: 30-minute flight from Mahé on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (from May 2026); €550 per person return, 15kg checked bag plus 7kg hand luggage
- Villas: 23 cottages and villas; only the Beach Villa has a plunge pool
- Included: breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Rates: from around US$1,250 a night in low season (May to October) and around US$1,700 in high season for a Beach Cottage, full board, before 15% VAT and the levy
Cousine Island: best for a small group or buyout
Cousine is a 30-hectare granite island near Praslin, run on a conservation model in which the income from the resort is put back into protecting the island. There are just five villas, four one-bedroom and one two-bedroom, built in French colonial style about 30 metres apart, each with its own path to the beach. For an island this size, the wildlife is remarkable: seven breeding seabird species, a growing population of Seychelles magpie-robins, around 80 Aldabra giant tortoises, and hawksbill turtles nesting on the beach from November to March. There is no jetty, on purpose, to keep rats off the island, so boat arrivals are a wet landing by amphibious craft.
- Access: about 20 minutes by helicopter from Mahé, around €840 one way for up to four, or 20 to 30 minutes by boat from Praslin, around €450 per transfer for up to four (not advised from May to October)
- Villas: 5, so a buyout is realistic for a family or small group
- Included: full board with soft drinks, juices and water; alcohol and transfers are extra
- Rates: around US$2,150 a night for a Luxury Villa all year, full board, including 15% VAT and service but not the levy; book early, as availability is very limited
Bird Island: best for birdwatchers on a budget
Bird Island is the northernmost island in Seychelles, a coral cay on the edge of the Seychelles Bank, and it is the simplest stay in this guide. Accommodation is now a small number of one-, two- and three-bedroom villas with kitchens, verandas, fans and Wi-Fi, but no air conditioning or television; you can self-cater or arrange meals. The reason to come is the wildlife. Between May and October, roughly a million and a half sooty terns nest here, and fairy terns, noddies and white-tailed tropicbirds breed around the villas. Esmeralda, one of the largest Aldabra tortoises on record, lives on the island, and turtles nest on the beaches.
- Access: 30-minute Air Seychelles flight from Mahé, €380 per person return, rising to €450 from November 2026; 15kg baggage limit
- Villas: a small number of one- to three-bedroom villas with kitchens
- Included: accommodation; meals are self-catered or bought as a package
- Rates: around US$460 to US$510 a night for a two-bedroom villa for two with half board, before 15% VAT; three-night minimum stay
Niva Labriz, Silhouette Island: best lower-cost single-resort island
Silhouette is the third-largest granite island in Seychelles, a mountainous national park rising to Mont Dauban, and its only resort left the Hilton brand in 2025 and now trades as Niva Labriz Seychelles. With around 108 villas it is far larger than anything else in this guide, and it feels more like a full resort: seven restaurants, a spa with treatment rooms built on the rocks, a dive centre, padel and a kids’ club. What makes it worth considering is the island around it, with rainforest trails, a quiet coast and boat-only access, at a fraction of private-island prices. Because the brand changed recently, check which restaurants and services are running when you book.
- Access: about 45 minutes by boat from Bel Ombre on Mahé, €210 per adult return (€225 from January 2027), at fixed morning and afternoon times
- Villas: about 108, from 88-square-metre garden villas to large pool residences
- Included: breakfast on standard rates
- Rates: from around US$350 a night in low season (June to September) and around US$430 in high season for a Garden Villa, with breakfast, before taxes, service and the levy
Before you book a private island
Price the transfer first. It ranges from about €210 return for the Silhouette boat to a private helicopter priced on request, and for a family of four it can rival a night’s accommodation. Small aircraft and helicopters cap luggage at 15–30kg a person, so soft bags are safer than hard cases. Then compare meal plans. A breakfast-only rate on an island with one or two restaurants can end up costing more than a full-board rate elsewhere, so compare the totals for the whole stay.
Match the island to the season. The coral islands and boat transfers are most exposed during the south-east trades from about May to September; April and October to November are usually the calmest. The best time to visit Seychelles guide covers the monthly pattern. Decide how many nights. Three or four nights at the end of a trip is the most common pattern, after time on Mahé or Praslin; the private island vs Mahé resort comparison sets out when one base beats two. If you are still weighing Seychelles against other destinations, the best private island resorts in the world puts these islands in a global context.
Book a Seychelles private island resort
| Resort | Choose it for | Booking |
|---|---|---|
| North Island | Total privacy, near all-inclusive | Check rates |
| Six Senses Zil Pasyon | Granite scenery near La Digue, best value | Check rates |
| Four Seasons Desroches Island | Families and cycling | Check rates |
| Waldorf Astoria Platte Island | Diving and modern villas | Check rates |
| Denis Private Island | Full-board nature retreat | Check rates |
| Cousine Island | Small groups and buyouts | Check rates |
| Fregate Island | Tortoises and magpie-robins (from late 2026) | Book direct with the resort |
| Bird Island | Seabird colonies on a budget | Book direct with the lodge |
| Niva Labriz, Silhouette | Rainforest island at a lower price | Book direct with the resort |
My verdict: North Island is the finest private island in Seychelles if the budget allows, and Zil Pasyon gives you most of that feeling for about a tenth of the price. Choose Desroches for children, Platte for diving, Denis for unplugged full-board days, Cousine for a group buyout, and keep an eye on Fregate, which could challenge North Island once it reopens.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them, Lagoon Edit may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never affects which resorts we recommend.
