Seychelles

The Seychelles are a different proposition from the Maldives: granitic mountain islands with jungle interiors, some of the world's most photographed beaches (Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue, Anse Lazio on Praslin) and a handful of private-island resorts — North Island, Frégate, Desroches — where a stay means a villa, a buggy and a stretch of empty sand. Mahé holds the airport and the Four Seasons; Praslin has Raffles and Constance Lemuria. The calmer inter-monsoon months of April–May and October–November are best; the southeast trades from May to September bring cooler, breezier weather and seaweed on some beaches. It is a nature destination — the Vallée de Mai, giant tortoises, sea turtles — as much as a beach one.