We've booked our flights and will be doing 12 nights in the Seychelles. We were looking at La Digue and Praslin. Do you have a suggestion on how many days to do in each and if Mahe is worth a few nights? La Digue seems to be more affordable with Airbnb's. We also weren't sure what part of each island to stay on. Hard to find good trip reports.
I hope you are not flying straight from San Diego to Seychelles, as you would be extremely get lagged. (Seychelles is GMT+4 )
I prefer to skip Mahe, or stay there on the first day of arrival (especially if you are arriving late), or stay there on the night before
as well if your departure is early. When I arrived in Mahe early in the morning, I took the shuttle to the ferry dock in Victoria,
and took the ferry to Praislin. (From Praislin to La Digue is a short hop). The ferry ride is quite long, over an hour, and if you
are going the Winter months, June-September, I would highly recommend taking the 15-minute flight instead, as many people get extremely seasick. (There are staff standing there with vomit bags).
On La Digue, everybody rents bikes - and also there are day excursions to various islands like Cousin, Curieuse, St.Pierre, Felicité, Isle Coco, etc. Curieuse is very popular for their Giant Tortoise Sanctuary. Where to stay depends on the month you are coming, as during the Winter months, some areas are not suitable because of the wind and sea-weed. On Praislin you might want to rent a car for a few days. On La Digue, everybody rents a bike. I did look at airbnb, but I ended up finding self-catering accommodations at good prices.