Alphonse Island Lodge

Alphonse Island sits 400km southwest of Mahe in the Seychelles' Outer Islands, a single coral atoll reachable only by a roughly one-hour charter flight. The lodge's 29 rooms split across three types: 22 beach bungalows steps from the sand, five larger beach villas, and two four-bedroom beach retreats with private plunge pools. All come with an outdoor shower and turtle-friendly lighting to avoid disorienting nesting hatchlings. Power comes largely from the island's own solar array, 2,200 panels supplying up to 81 per cent of the lodge's energy.

Spend time saltwater fly fishing on the surrounding flats, catch-and-release only, reef diving and snorkelling under a code of conduct developed with the Island Conservation Society. You can even join the team on turtle patrols, beach clean-ups or giant tortoise feeding. Weekly evening talks in the lodge's cinema room explain the island's ongoing conservation research in more depth.