Snorkeling provides a very acceptable alternative. A mask and flippers, and a T-shirt to guard against sunburn, are all the equipment needed. Just about anywhere in the Seychelles provides plenty of underwater entertainment, but some sites come especially recommended. Anse Royale on Mahé is enclosed behind a reef, which keeps out the larger fish but there are plenty of smaller ones in the shallow waters; the corals in the Sainte Anne National Marine Park are truly amazing, from white to purple and an array of different sizes; manta rays and hammerhead sharks have been spotted off Sunset Beach on Mahé; strong currents run off Anse Kerlan on Praslin, which are perhaps what attract the veritable academies of fish; and the solitary hawksbill turtle that hangs out by the islet of St Pierre in Curieuse National Marine Park has become something of a tourist attraction. Should the idea of getting wet at all simply not appeal, there's always the option of taking a glass-bottomed boat out over the reef, and admiring the underwater marine vistas from on board.
