Seychelles (April 10 - 24, 2023)
Crystal blue waters, pristine white sand beaches, and an amazing array of tropical flora and fauna... After dreaming about it for so long, we finally took a trip to the Seychelles, only a 5-hour direct flight from our current posting in Johannesburg, South Africa. Eager to pack as much as possible into our 2-week stay, we started our trip on the big island (Mahé - 6 nights), then took a ferry to Praslin (3 nights), followed by another one to La Digue (2 nights), and back to Mahé for the last 3 nights. Our flight tickets with Air Seychelles were relatively cheap: 882 EUR for 2 round trip tickets between Johannesburg (JNB) and Victoria (SEZ).
PRE-TRAVEL
All travel to the Seychelles is subject to obtaining a prior authorization from the Seychelles government (https://seychelles.govtas.com). You can only apply for your travel authorization 10 days before your arrival date, which means that you will book everything (flight tickets, hotel, etc.) before being granted access (or not) to the Seychelles. You must fill a form for each visitor of your party (or one as a couple/group) and supply picture IDs, copies of passports, e-tickets and proof of your accommodation booking confirmations. The cost is 10 EUR per visitor. For an additional 25 EUR, you are offered the option of purchasing an AIRTEL SIM card that includes 1 hr local calls and 15 GB data, valid for 3 weeks. We decided to purchase one SIM card, which proved very useful because our South African provider offered costly roaming prices in the Seychelles. Now, because our flight arrived in Victoria Airport at 10 pm, the AIRTEL kiosk was closed. We had to drive back to the airport the following day to pick up our SIM card (consider kiosk operating hours before purchasing).
RENTAL CAR vs BUS
Even though the Seychelles boast a network of buses that provide a cheap way to get around the big islands (Mahé and Praslin), their schedule is often erratic. For a complete freedom of movement, we recommend renting a car on the big islands (La Digue has no cars, and the island is small enough to get around on bikes, which can be rented upon arrival). We rented a car both on Mahé and Praslin with Kreol Car Services (www.kreolcars-seychelles.com). The smallest car was a KIA Picanto. It cost us 45 EUR per day. They provided great service by waiting for us at the airport, with my name on a sign, even though our flight was over an hour late. They also let us return the car at the ferry terminal (Cat Cocos Berth) where we boarded the ferry from Mahé to Praslin. Again, in Praslin, someone was waiting for us at the ferry terminal, to hand over the car (we even got a free car upgrade). Every time we collected/returned a car, everything went smoothly. Be warned though, you may be charged 500 SCR (35 EUR) extra if you return the car too "sandy". Also, all cars we rented were automatic, which helps if you're not familiar with driving on the left side of the road.
FERRIES
To travel between the islands, you can fly the domestic routes of Air Seychelles, charter your own seaplane/boat, or ride the more cost-effective ferries. We chose the latter and booked our multi-journey tickets with Vision Voyages (bookings@visionvoyages.sc). Our first journey, from Mahé to Praslin, took about 1 hour and 15 minutes and cost 132,00 EUR (66,00 EUR per adult) in Economy (they also have a Business class option). Our second journey, from Praslin to La Digue, a 15-minute ride, cost 28,00 EUR (14,00 EUR per adult). Our last journey, from La Digue to Mahé, with a 15-minute stop in Praslin, took a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes, for a cost of 156,00 EUR (78,00 EUR per adult).
Our total budget for ferry rides was therefore 316,00 EUR. The ferries were on time. You should be there at least 45 minutes to an hour prior to departure if you haven't got your vouchers yet (the booking confirmation must be presented and exchanged for vouchers at the office located at the ferry terminal). Also, Mahé's ferry terminal was the only one that required checking in our luggage prior to boarding.
The ferry rides themselves were quite pleasant, with the option of sitting outside on the upper deck, or inside in an air-conditioned cabin.
ACCOMMODATION
MAHÉ
For our stay in Mahé (beginning and end of our trip), we booked a place called Mouggae Blues Villas on airbnb.com (198 EUR per night), located on the West coast of the island, just 1 km north of the Beau Vallon beach. First of all, let me say that for those who are not familiar with the climate of the Seychelles, it is hot and humid pretty much all year round (think New Orleans in August), so air conditioning is a must (which you'll find is a standard feature in the bedroom, but usually not in the rest of the accommodation). Make sure to check before booking anything.
Offering an amazing view of the Indian Ocean and Silhouette island, the villas are self-catering properties. It is essential to have a car since the nearest grocery store is about 2,5 - 3 km away uphill, in Beau Vallon.
Known as a tourist spot, Beau Vallon boasts the longest beach in Mahé. In our experience, there were not many tourists. Beau Vallon has a stretch of small shops (swimwear, trinkets and souvenirs mostly), food trucks and restaurants, with a large free parking lot (which is a rare thing to find in the Seychelles). We thought it was a great spot to be settled in for the next few days.
The villa had an air-conditioning unit in the bedroom upstairs. Decorated in the Creole style with lots of wood features, it had a fully equipped kitchen as well as a washing machine (very convenient to do laundry, as we were forced to change clothes often due to the heat/humidity). The owner, Gilles, and his oldest son, Kenji, were readily available and extremely helpful throughout our stay.
We probably could have found some place cheaper (the villa can only accommodate two adults and a child), but we really enjoyed the villa, for its beautiful setting on the hill, overlooking the ocean, its incredible flora and the kindness of its hosts.
PRASLIN
On the island of Praslin, we booked a 3-night stay in a property called Villas des Alizés on hotels.com, for a total of 403,20 EUR. It was the cheapest accommodation of our trip, and also our favorite. Located in Amitié (right after Grand'Anse) on the south-west of the island, Villas des Alizés is comprised of a main property with suites by the beach, and a few cottages on the opposite side of the road. We had booked a "Suite classique" with partial view of the ocean in the main property. A mere 20 yards away from the beach, our self-catering suite had a well-equipped kitchenette with a fridge. The breakfast area near the pool had a ice-cube dispenser available to all guests. There was also a gazebo equipped with a gas barbecue, next to an outdoor shower.
The owner, Samiah, informed us that we could buy fresh fish next door, whenever the fishermen came back in the morning with their catches of the day. As it turned out, they did just so the next morning, and we bought a whole jobfish (which they fileted for us) for a total of 50 SCR (3,50 EUR) and grilled it on the barbecue.
It is also worth mentioning that there is a small grocery store just across the road from the hotel, as well as a take-away restaurant.
LA DIGUE
We spent 2 nights on La Digue in two different properties. Not by choice, the initial booking we had made with Cocotier du Rocher on hotels.com got cancelled by the operator and we were just not able to book two consecutive nights in another property. As it turned out, both properties we stayed at, Cabanes des Anges and Le Nautique, belong to the same owners. Cabanes des Anges is a small complex of 5 self-catering cottages, with a pool and a beautifully manicured garden around it. Our 65 sq-meter cottage had a fully-equipped kitchen with an oven (no washing machine though) and a full-size fridge. Recently built, the cottage was decorated in a modern Creole style with fresh-cut flowers everywhere. It had a large porch in the front, and a place to park bicycles in the back, underneath a starfruit tree.
Our host, Nadine, had arranged a transportation for us from the ferry terminal (at our request) for 150 SCR (10,50 EUR), but the buggy driver charged us 200 SCR (14,00 EUR). She also arranged for our rental bicycles to be delivered to the cottage: 500 SCR (35,00 EUR) for 2 bicycles for 2 days. The night at Cabanes des Anges cost us 210,00 EUR (breakfast NOT included).
The following day, we checked in at our second location in La Digue, Le Nautique. The day before, I went to the front desk to see if we could check in early (normal check in time was 2 pm) because we had to check out from Cabanes des Anges at 10 am. They gracefully agreed to let us check in at 11 am, and Nadine, the manager at Cabanes des Anges, arranged for our luggage to be transferred to our room at Le Nautique shortly after, free of charge.
Our room at Le Nautique was the smallest of all our accommodation in the Seychelles, and also the priciest, at 285,00 EUR a night (breakfast included). No kitchen here, but a nice little front porch with comfortable chairs. Set in a garden filled with amazing flora and tropical plants, the hotel has a pool overlooking the ocean.
The breakfast was absolutely delicious and included eggs of our choice (even eggs Benedict or full English), pastries, fresh fruits and juice, yogurt, coffee and tea.
FOOD
When we travel, food is always an essential element of the whole experience. After all, the senses of smell and taste are intrinsically connected to our memories. We had big expectations about the Seychelles, considering everything we read about their fresh ingredients (fruits, vegetables, seafood, fish) and the blend of European, Indian and Creole influences that characterize their cuisine. Unfortunately, food was without a doubt the biggest disappointment of this trip.
Let's start with the restaurants. In the Seychelles, you will find all kinds of restaurants, offering international dishes (burgers, pasta, pizza) and local cuisine (currys, tuna, grilled fish). Most are expensive, too expensive for what they offer. You will also find a choice of take-away joints (food-trucks, beach shacks) where the menu only has a few items, freshly prepared everyday. The former will set you back 350,00 SCR (23 EUR) for a hamburger whereas the latter will charge you 65,00 SCR (4,50 EUR), for a burger that will taste just as bad.
After spending nearly a 100 EUR (for 2 people) for disappointing meals at a couple of restaurants, we decided to start cooking as often as possible. Aside from Mahé, where there is a large supermarket (STC) on the road leading to the airport, most towns only have a handful of small grocery stores where prices are a bit higher and choice is limited. But even with jacked-up prices, who wants to spend 425,00 SCR (27,00 EUR) at a restaurant for a spaghetti marinara you can make better at home for a fraction of the price? So we started making salads with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, corn and homemade vinaigrette dressing. We started buying fresh fish from fishermen: we paid 50,00 SCR/3,25 EUR for a whole jobfish next door to our guesthouse in Praslin, and 150,00 SCR/ 10,00 EUR at the Sr Selwyn-Clarke market in Victoria for a chunk of marlin that weighed nearly 3 kg. We'd grill/barbecue them and serve with fried plantain.
In Praslin, we gave the restaurants one last try and booked a table for 2 at the Curieuse restaurant, located in the Raffles resort. We ordered two cocktails: a frozen margarita and a coco-loco (local Takamaka rum cocktail) for 265,00 SCR each (17,00 EUR!), followed by a Thai shrimp and mango salad (with only 3 shrimp), an appetizer platter (satay chicken and beef skewers and a small green papaya salad) and a Thai duck curry. The entree (duck dish) was brought first to the table, followed by the appetizers, and finally the cocktails! The margarita tasted dry, and my coco-loco, albeit served in a coconut shell, lacked flavor. The appetizers and the entree were okay, but nothing really stood out in this 200,00 EUR lavish night out.
After that fiasco, we decided to stick with home-cooking and takeaways, where you can get a decent meal (fish curry, pasta with smoked fish, prawn chili with rice) for 80,00 to 100,00 SCR (5,50 -6,50 EUR) per person. We liked Leo's Food in Beau Vallon on Mahé and Village Take-Away in Grand'Anse, on Praslin. We also strongly recommend you try the fish cakes at Green Coconut in Beau Vallon.
In Victoria, we found the pastries at Jo's Café pretty delicious. And on La Digue island, the Glorious Bakery had some good savory pastries, especially their quiches.
We also enjoyed the mocktails (virgin fruit cocktails) made with freshest fruits available on the island (coconut, mango, passion fruit, papaya), which were usually priced anywhere between 80,00 to 175,00 SCR (5,00 to 11,00 EUR).
BEACHES
The main attraction of the Seychelles is, of course, its pristine white-sand beaches, dotted with granite monoliths here and there, contrasting with the turquoise-blue crystal waters of the Indian Ocean. They did not disappoint. One thing to know about the Seychelles: all beaches are public. However, some of them require the payment of a fee to be accessed by car, bike or on foot (that is the case of Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue island, whose access costs 150,00 SCR (10,00 EUR) per day. If you purchase your admission bracelet after 4:30 pm, it is still valid the next day.) Another thing to consider: the tides. At high tide, most of these beautiful beaches will simply disappear, with the waves reaching the foot of the palm trees or the road in some places. That being said, we never found a beach to be overcrowded during our 2-week stay, not even the highly visited beach of Beau Vallon on Mahé.
On Mahé, we thoroughly enjoyed the beach of Beau Vallon and Anse l'Islette, which we accessed through the 5* Constance Ephelia resort (we had a drink at the bar so they'd let us in). Otherwise, the only way to access that beach for free is to walk through a small channel at low tide.
On Praslin, we enjoyed the beach located right in front of our hotel, Grand'Anse. It was the perfect spot for a nice walk on the sand at sunrise or sunset, among the little horned ghost crabs.
The beach at Anse Volbert was also beautiful, but it was merely the starting point of our day trip to Curieuse island. We also enjoyed the magnificent Anse Lazio at the north-west tip of Praslin (paid parking: 100 SCR), even though the waves were a lot stronger there.
On La Digue, Anse Source d'Argent is by far the most popular beach, often used to advertise the Seychelles, with its granite monoliths stuck in the white sand. Unfortunately, the bad weather and high tide made it impossible for us to enjoy its beauty, or even a see-through canoe ride on its crystal-blue waters.
Still on La Digue, the beach at Anse Sévère is also a good spot to enjoy a cocktail with your toes in the sand, while feeding bananas to a couple giant tortoises (a local told us they are now permanent residents of the beach).
The tiny beach at Anse Patates is absolutely charming as well.
ATTRACTIONS
Victoria deserves a few hours of your time, if only to visit the Seychelles National Museum and discover a bit more about the colorful history of the archipelago. It is located at the same intersection where Little Big Ben proudly stands.
One block away from the Hindu temple (another landmark of Victoria), you will find the Sir Selwyn Clarke market, a great place to buy fruits, vegetables, spices, and fresh fish.
We had booked the day trip online with Kreol Services (the same company we rented our car from), which included the boat ride, the guided visit through the tortoise sanctuary and the mangrove, a BBQ lunch, and a snorkeling pit stop at St Pierre island, for 95,00 € per person (substitute the BBQ for a lunch pack and the price goes down to 65,00 €, the option without lunch is offered at 50,00 €). The lunch was okay (barbecued chicken and fish with green papaya salad and rice, followed by bananas for dessert) but not worth 45,00 €.
As soon as we arrived on the island, we were greeted by the giant tortoises. Our guide taught us about the sanctuary and the nursery (where baby tortoises are separated from the adult ones) and gave us some time to interact with the tortoises before the 1,7 km hike through the mangrove (optional).
After some snorkeling and a rum punch on board, the taxi boat took us back to Anse Volbert. The whole excursion lasted about 6 hours (we left at 9:30 am and returned shortly after 3 pm). Again, this may not be everybody's cup of tea, but interacting with these gentle creatures whose lifespan can reach 150 to 200 years was, for us, the most memorable experience.
TIPS and THOUGHTS
We thought we'd share our "two cents" about this two-week trip to the beautiful Seychelles. Some advice first. If you're a smoker, bring your smokes with you. Buy them at duty free if necessary. At 189,00 SCR the pack of Marlboro Red (12,00 EUR), you do not want to have to buy your cigarettes at the local grocery store! If you're a drinker, the local beer (SeyBrew) is delicious and available ice-cold at every grocery store. The local rums (Takamaka, Endemic) come in a variety of flavors, perfect for cocktails.
If you buy fresh fruit from the stalls along the beach of Beau Vallon, ask for the price first to avoid any bad surprise (a fresh coconut should not be sold at 120,00 SCR when they literally fall from the trees!)
If you're planning a trip to the Seychelles, consider a comfortable budget for food (see food section above) and activities. Renting a jetski is expensive. A ticket to visit the Vallée de Mai, a UNESCO site on the island of Praslin, goes for 450,00 SCR (30 EUR)!
Despite the income brought by the tourism industry to the islands, trading hours are limited to weekdays mostly. Outside the grocery stores, most shops only open for a few hours (9am to 1pm) on Saturdays, and close on Sundays.
We were not bothered once by mosquitoes (that was quite a nice surprise), in spite of the hot and humid climate (April being the hottest month of the year supposedly). Bugs were never an issue through this entire trip, probably because the geckos ate most of them at nightfall.
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