Africa > Seychelles > Desroches Island (DES)
The Car or no Car advice for Desroches Island can be broken down into three similar questions - do you need a car in Desroches Island ; is it worth it (based on costs), and ultimately - should you rent one? (a balance of the two).🚆 🚌⛴️ Do we need to rent a car in Desroches Island ?
These scores are based on the quality of public transport and other travel options. If these are good enough to see the main points of interest, then you don’t need to rent a car.
💰💶💳 Is it worth hiring a car in Desroches Island?
These scores reflect the practical factors that affect whether renting a car is convenient, good value, and stress-free.✈️ Getting to Desroches Island
Desroches is technically served by Desroches Airport (DES), but you cannot book flights in the traditional sense. There are no scheduled commercial services. Instead:
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Guests fly in on charter flights operated by Four Seasons or authorised local aviation partners.
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All flights depart from Mahé (SEZ), the main gateway to the Seychelles.
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The runway is directly beside the resort, so transfers take minutes.
Because of this setup, you never need to worry about transport once you land. Everything is coordinated for you.
🏝️ Getting around the island
Desroches is extremely small (about 6 km long), flat, and quiet. As a result, the resort manages mobility through:
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Golf carts (buggies)
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Bicycles, which many guests prefer
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Walking paths through the palm forests
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Short buggy transfers arranged by the hotel
There are no rental car agencies, no petrol stations, and no practical way for private vehicles to operate here. In fact, the island’s environment would not allow them. The resort is the hub, and movement happens gently and quietly.
☀️ What can you actually do without a car?
Almost everything:
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Explore long, empty beaches
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Cycle around the island
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Visit secluded coves and picnic spots
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Snorkel or dive straight from the beach or nearby reefs
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Take guided nature walks or marine excursions
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Enjoy the spa, restaurants, and water sports at the Four Seasons
Because the entire island is managed as a low-impact luxury destination, you never need to venture far, and you never face traffic of any kind.
🛳️ If you want to explore further
Even though Desroches feels remote, the Seychelles makes island-hopping easy from Mahé, not from Desroches itself. All onward travel requires flying back to Mahé and then connecting by ferry or domestic flight to islands such as:
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Praslin
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La Digue
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Silhouette Island
None of these require or encourage rental cars either, since public transport, bicycles, and golf carts are the norm in the outer islands.
Conclusion — Should you rent a car on Desroches Island?
Absolutely not — and wonderfully so. The island has no cars, no roads, and no need for them. Guests move around on bicycles and golf carts, and the entire experience is built around slow travel, quiet exploration, and effortless movement within the resort. It is one of the rare destinations where “no car” doesn’t feel like a limitation but part of the luxury.