On one fine Saturday evening, this random thought crossed my mind. Thought of traveling!

Traveling to a far distant place where life can re-introduce itself to us in a new way. Somewhere on this journey, I want to stop and celebrate all that has been till now and create lifetime memories. Take a random walk in nature, a refreshing dip in the sea, and breathe fresh air!!!

If you are someone who loves to travel in nature, experience some adventure and calmness at the same time, I urge you to go through this post.

On Saturday, kept thinking to myself about the way we are living… is this the only way to live or is there some other way? I mean, just curious to know what is the pace of life people naturally adapt to? I always found our pace to be super fast pace in Dubai….Got all my routines in place.. so wake up.. show up at work.. grind it …push it through… always trying to up my game… to keep myself motivated in face of ‘things not working out ’….to evening spending time with family, friends and on things I enjoy…to certain days burning the midnight oil and getting things done. Always on the go…Cut to Tuesday early morning taking a flight to Seychelles.

Yes, Seychelles it was!!!!

 

And as last-minute it sounds.. which it was!!! Indeed, it was one of the most beautiful and fun-filled trips we have taken ever.

“The Best Things in Life Aren’t Planned, They Simply Just… Happen”

Let me tell you first about – Seychelles, it is a group of 115 islands located in the Indian Ocean, to the east of Africa. Mahé is the largest island in Seychelles and home to the international airport. If you’re planning on visiting any island within Seychelles then you will have to pass through Mahé.

 

 

Places we visited on Mahe Island-

1. Beau Vallon Beach – this is the most spoken and touristy place on Mahe island. We went on our first day just to explore and lay down after we arrived in Seychelles.

2. Cascade waterfall – This was an experience in itself. If you like little adventure and hiking then this is surely for you! Till a certain point, you can take a car and then you have to hike through laid trails only to realize after a point there is no direction and not any trail. NOT AT ALL.

We got lost amidst the Jungle. Luckily, you do have few locals staying in the mountains and they were very helpful too (You can imagine me screaming from half a kilometer – “Hello someone’s there! We are lost! “). But after losing our track for the third time (Yeah!), one local parent sent her child – no kidding just an 8-year-old to guide us. Apparently, it was along the way where one had to cross a branch of a fallen tree. And after some more time of hiking and hyperventilating, we finally found it !! Finally !!!!

3. Seychelles National Botanical Gardens – Just on the outskirts of Victoria, in Mount Fleuri, lay the beautifully manicured gardens of one of Seychelles’ oldest national monuments. They are home to a wide collection of rare and native plants, such as the famed Coco de Mer palm, as well as a variety of spice and fruit trees. Aside from the flora, you’ll also find rare giant tortoises, fruit bat colonies, and a small cafeteria. Do keep in mind Botanical Garden Timings: 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

4. Anse royale – This was a very small beach along the way we stopped to enjoy while driving from north to south along the west coast. Here you will have plenty of visitors to yourself…I am talking about Dogs! (What did you think?) . We took pizza with us so you can imagine the number of dogs we got surrounded by!

5. Anse Intendance -This one is my personal favorite located in the south of Mahe. Not just it had huge neat granite rocks, clean water, powdered white sand, and the perfect backdrop for your Insta worthy picture. We went around 9 AM and there were hardly any people, at some point, it felt like we had the entire beach to ourselves. I loved it! We played for hours and then I slept peacefully my entire afternoon on the beach itself. However, it isn’t the best place to swim due to its longer and larger waves.

6. Police Bay – Another beautiful beach located in the South of Mahe. This was a real treat. We did nice snorkeling here. It was very quiet and stunning.

7. Sunset Beach – Sunset Beach is located on the west coast of Mahé, near the northern tip of the island. We just went there to see Sunset on one nice evening before dinner. I would say we spent quality time talking and laughing around.

8. On Praslin Island – Vallee’ de Mai (It is a nature park and UNESCO World Heritage site) and Anse Lazio (this beach will make you feel like a postcard picture and scenery is so splendid). It is also known as one of the best beaches in Parslin. 

9. On La digue Island – Anse Source d’Argent

They say Anse Source d’Argent is one of the most photographed beaches in the world. And I won’t deny it!! It was worth every effort. It has its gorgeous bay, big granite rocks, clear turquoise water, and white sand. You have to take a bicycle from the Ferry stop to get to the beach. The entire island is within 50 km so it’s easy to reach every corner of an island by bicycle. 

Tip: Instead of planning Praslin and La Digue in a day which is how we did. Ideally, to look around, do plan one island for one day, and in case if you still want to choose among these popular two- La Digue is definitely the go-to option. One just can’t miss. Many tourists also prefer to stay for a night on an island. We intentionally decided we are not going to move hotels as it does take time to pack all toiletries, wet clothes, food, and all that stuff and hop around.

“Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Transportation-

1.To get around Mahe, taxis are pretty costly. So, we rented a car for 4 days which was 40 euros/day (this is a standard rate)- which is a far better option. Truth be told, drive on these roads is a real treat. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Do download offline google maps in advance in case your internet is slow, or you don’t have a connection. Although roads are very narrow and steep to drive, it’s easy to find any spot and we found everyone is a patient and a good driver in Seychelles.

Normally they say it would be cheaper if you book a car in advance, but I tried both ways and the rate was the same. So, we booked once we reached.

There are many car rentals around the island so need not book directly from the airport. In fact, you can find it from the nearest location to your hotel wherever you are staying. We just asked at the reception, and they normally have contacts, so they just got us introduced to the nearest car rental location.

It’s a right-hand drive and you just need a valid driving license and they will block 1000 Euros just as a deposit. Don’t forget to check fuel and we just filled fuel right on our first day of 700 Seychelles rupees and honestly, even after roaming from north to south and all the way back, the tank was not even less than half. So, I suggest filling fuel of 100 Seychelles rupees at first. As you will find fuel stations as well easily along the way.

2. Our airport to Hotel transfers- to and fro we got it booked with our resort itself.

3. For Island hoping- we booked through deck boat which picks us up morning 6.30 AM from our resort to Ferry station. First to Praslin and then to La Digue and back to our resort by 6.30 PM. You can stay there as well but we had a next-day flight and tried booking a day prior but the weather was extremely bad, so they stopped all travels through the sea. We paid 150 euros to and fro per person. I also understood at a later stage you can negotiate for taxis and island hopping packages based on your negotiation skills. I remember one couple who came with us paid for the same trip 170 euros per person.

Going from Mahe to these two islands felt like a roller coaster. Seasickness is a real thing. If you have it, do carry tablets with you. You find the ocean to be so vast, splendid, and gorgeous.

We traveled by deck boat, and it took an hour to reach Praslin from there 15 min to La Digue. And it was constant turbulence for one hour along the crazy huge and powerful waves.

4. Cheapest option is by public bus – which I heard is very easily accessible and below are some routes you can use. The reason we opted for hiring a car was cause we have the freedom to move at whatever time we want to and where we want to stop.

Route 5 and 9: These bus routes cover most attractions we wanted to visit on Mahe island. To and from Victoria’s main terminal, the bus stops in Seychelles Botanical Garden, in the airport, and in Anse Royale.

Route 22 and 24: These buses safely brought us from Victoria to our guesthouse in Beau Vallon, and vice-versa.

Food –

1. Timing is something you need to be aware of – in Seychelles, everything gets closed max by 8.30 PM except few restaurants maybe around 9 PM. But yes, there is nothing open post 9 PM!!!! There is no nightlife in Seychelles (which we found great as this forced us to have our dinner early and gave us ample of time to relax at our resort)

2. Even during lunchtime restaurants have very specific working times. From 12 PM to 3.00 PM (can vary half an hour here and there)

3. Make a reservation in advance considering covid times there are strict rules on occupancy at any given point. Although walk-ins are generally entertained but they are subjected to the availability of a table and at night when you are tired, do you want to hop from one place to another looking for a table especially knowing by 9 PM everything gets closed? I am guessing the answer is ‘NO’

4. Us being vegetarian, finding food was a little difficult. Luckily, we just googled it in advance and jotted down all the places across the island where you can find vegan/vegetarian food. Nowadays even menu for all places is easily available on google. One of my fav places was- Sun Coco Coffee Shop- vegetarian pizza for 130SCR, it was by far the yummiest pizza (No kidding). The shop is open from 12 PM to 7 PM only.

5. One thing to remember is even if you find places in advance through google when we visited those places half of them were closed. Timing on weekdays/ weekends is different and depending on the season too, I guess. So would suggest better to call them ahead of time.

6. We did not find any rate difference so far in small restaurants or good ones- they were pretty the same. So having food in a luxury resort or having it at a small roadside restaurant was pretty much the same.

7. Food I would say may seem a bit costly and some hotels do provide you with a kitchen for you to cook. Unfortunately, our room did not have one and neither am fond of cooking so we preferred eating outside. Again, it’s up-to once choice especially if you have kids with you this might be a better option to have a kitchen at least for making your coffee and breakfast. We booked the ‘bed and breakfast’ option so that was taken care of by the resort themselves.

8. Good thing about Seychelles is that you find ample of supermarkets along the way literally within every 10 min of walking irrespective of whichever area you are staying on the island. We just bought twice 5 liters of water and local beer and wine. You will find alcohol at a pretty good price. No, you don’t need a license to buy alcohol (like for example in Dubai you do need a valid license)

9. Water- again this is not something provided in hotels with meals. You have to pay for it separately (of course) and it is costly. So better you carry your bottle.

Airport-

We traveled from Dubai to Seychelles via Air Seychelles and back. Please remember this is a small airport. So be there at least 4 hours before and check your flights 24 hrs before on their website.

During our departure- their ‘check in’ system collapsed and it took them a couple of hours to sort out that issue. As a result, all the passengers of multiple flights departing during that same time went crazy. The airport got so crowded there was no place to sit as well. And they have only 3 gates for boarding in total, it got a little confusing at the end.  So just be a little early at the Airport!

Our departure flight got preponed from 4 PM to 2 PM just a day before and on time it still showed us 2 PM only to realize we were sitting in the plane waiting for some passengers which made the flight take off only by 4 PM, which was again very strange.

Do take all printouts with you of all travel documents- your passport, medical insurance, PCR tests, etc … For the first time, we have come across that after check-in there was a separate queue where the officer goes inside to take printouts of the passports and again hand it over to you.  When I asked the reason knowing that they already got everything in their system. The answer I received was – for safety purpose if in case data get lost in the system.

Well, we just followed what we were asked to!!! Now you know why you need to get early at the airport. 😅

Currency-

The main currency used is the Seychelles rupees (SCR). Dollars and Euros are widely accepted. Just that when you pay in Euros or Dollars, they will return the change or remaining amount in local currency only. So better to keep local currency if you can. There are ATM shops- you can easily withdraw local currency from there.

Voltage-

The plugs in Seychelles are type G. The standard voltage is 240 V, and the standard frequency is 50Hz. I recommend buying a universal adapter (make sure it has surge protection) and using a converter for hairdryers and hot tools.

Language-

English and Seselwa are the official languages in Seychelles.

Packing –

Chargers, umbrella, hiking and beach clothes, swimwear, shoes and chappal, beach mat, hat, sunglasses, skincare, haircare, DSLR camera, Go Pro, masks

Things to check and get it approved before you travel-

1. Flight tickets
2. Hotel confirmation
3. Application through HTA- which costs 45 euros per person

Apply it at least before 24 hours: https://seychelles.govtas.com

“The Seychelles Health Travel Authorization (HTA) is mandatory for all individuals, national and foreign citizens, of all ages, that want to enter into Seychelles. Each individual is required to apply separately for an HTA before the day of travel.”

4. Return residents permit for UAE residents
5. Travel insurance
6. Medical insurance
7. Negative PCR test reports both ways

COVID 19 testing requirements –

“All travelers, including infants and children, regardless of vaccination status, must have a negative COVID 19 PCR certificate from an accredited laboratory to enter Seychelles. The test must be taken not more than 72 hours before departure from the point of origin.” (Please check with the concerned authority of the country as rules can change).

Before departing –

UAE requires a covid test must be taken not more than 72 hours before departure from the point of origin. (Please check with the concerned authority of the country as rules can change).

Negative PCR test report in Seychelles – PCR test costs is 2700 SCR/ per person and result comes in 24 hours

If I have to pick up a couple of things that describe Seychelles, it would be its serenity, lush green plants, beautiful mountains, and beaches coupled with gorgeous weather! You experience nature in its raw form!