18th December 2022, 17:57
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| BHPian  Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: guwahati
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| Seychelles on a budget! Seychelles. The name is synonymous with uber expensive resorts, exotic locations with picture perfect beaches with granite backdrops. Budget and Seychelles doesn't really go hand in hand, and if you are considering this as your next vacation hotspot, anyone would assume you are pretty well off! So, can Seychelles be done on a budget? Well..yes and no, yes it can be done on a relative budget but no, don't expect Thailand esque costs here.  Here is your guide to this group of exotic islands if you don't want to spend a fortune on your holiday. A brief introduction- Seychelles is an archipelago in the Indian ocean, near the east cost of Africa, comprising of 115 islands, the largest of which is the island of Mahe, with the capital city of Victoria. The next largest island is Praslin, La Digue is smaller than these two. The tourism industry is mostly confined to these three islands. The population of the entire country is around 1 lac and most of that is in Mahe. La digue has a population of under three thousand. For me, I just love these Indian ocean islands. Seychelles looked and sounded expensive and so somehow was missing from my travels, even though we had a stop over in Mahe in 2014 on our way to Mauritius. The beauty of the place really struck me back then. Even the airport was located in such a beautiful area between the azure sea and rocky mountains on one side. Post 2014, we did visit the Maldives a couple of times and then again planned for Seychelles in 2020 feb- on our anniversary. But then covid struck and nothing was the same anymore. Fast forward to 2022, I was determined to reclaim the lost time from covid. The year started with a road trip down south including dhanushkodhi and than a long sustained dream of doing a multi day himalayan trek, a month of training and finally did the KGL trek in august end. Finally the time had come to revive the Seychelles plan again. First, the air tickets- If you are travelling from India, like we did, look for flights to Mahe from Mumbai. Direct flights are rare, the cheapest flights are on Ethiopian airlines, but the catch is they usually have a long layover in Adis Ababa, and while that is not a bad thing (you get to explore an African city during transit), it takes out a couple days from your hard earned leaves for the holiday. Air Seychelles runs a direct flight to and from Mumbai and is generally cheap. But it does not fly on all days, so you need to keep looking at the schedule and book a seat accordingly. We did just that. First thing we did was to book the cheapest flight on their dates giving us 9 days on the islands and after that, booking the hotels and other flights around those dates. Visa : The entry to the country does not need a visa but it needs something called a Seychelles travel authorisation which is electronic and needs to be submitted beforehand for approval. You need to upload your picture, passport, the stay bookings for each day and also covid vaccination certificate/covid negative report.(RAT within 24 hours or rtPCR within 72 hours). This also makes immigration formalities hassle free and fast. Stay : Forget the big resorts unless you want to splurge heavily. Resort cost can be anywhere from 80k INR a night to 3lacs a night, I have even seen tariffs close to 6-7 lacs INR per day in secluded island resorts! Many Airbnb stays are available on all the three major islands, and most of them are good. Average cost per day ranging from 6-20k INR. Some of these are spectacular, like Terrasse' sur lazio in Praslin where we had the privilege of staying for two nights..simply put, this property in Praslin can compete head on wth the big resorts and even surpass them in terms of views of the ocean and bays.  Spacious living room and veranda.    View from the bed  Outdoor shower for the pool. Dining- Restaurants are very expensive,but there are lot of relatively cheap takeaway outlets dotted over all the three islands, you can have a good meal of chicken/fish with chips, sandwiches/burgers, a box of rice and pork/ beef/ chicken/octopus curry- creole style for around 70-90 scr. (1scr=6.5 inr)  If you are staying in a self catering/ Airbnb stay, then visit one of the supermarkets or mini marts and buy your groceries and cook yourself. Bonus is that most of the airbnb stays have a well equipped kitchen with a grill, so go ahead, buy a whole frozen chicken/ pork chops or fish directly from the fishing boats and roast it in the grill while you enjoy one of the local beverages (seybrew/takamaka)   Supermarkets are well stocked and you will find just about anything you need but at a slightly higher price then you are used to. Of course, if you stay in a non agricultural island in the middle of the ocean, you need to import near about everything, shooting the price up. Moving around- The islands of Mahe and Praslin are relatively large and although buses ply the main roads, and are cheap, having a car is very convenient. Besides, as BHPians, I know most of you guys cannot do without your own set of wheels! Taxis are exorbitantly expensive and it is prudent to rent a self drive car- a small self drive like a kia picanto or hyundai i10 costs 50-60 euros per day, fuel extra. You can pick up the car at the airport and return it in the jetty or vice versa. Indian driving licence will suffice, and no need to take out an international driving licence. Driving here is easy, roads are narrow but very less traffic, particularly in praslin. Just remember to keep to your left and drive slow and you will be fine. Also, most importantly, remember to look up where you park, falling coconuts can damage the car with significant damages to your budget! We got out of the airport, and since we had prebooked a small self drive car, we waited for the person to turn up. Turn up he did, but then he said he had misplaced his car keys and kept us waiting for two hours. After umpteen phone calls, finally we lost patience and complained to the airport police outpost. One call from the cops, the guy turned up immediately and promptly refunded our money. Then luckily we got a hyundai xcent automatic for the same price (50 euros a day) and we wer finally driving out. [U]Mahe roads [/u]-  The airport parking lot.  Just out of the airport.  The blue hyundai was our ride.   PRASLIN : Narrow but scenic roads of Praslin:     Empty roads, tune into some upbeat creole music on the radio and enjoy the drive.  Kia picanto.  Roadside views are heavenly. People here assume that tourists do not know how to drive a manual car. When we got off the ferry at Praslin, we looked around to try and book a self drive car. The lady said that all the cars parked there had been booked already, and only a manual kia picanto was available, but of course nobody would want that! She was surprised when I said I know how to drive a manual car. But good lady that she was, she sent somebody after us after a while and exchanged our manual car with a "proper" car. Yes a kia picanto automatic ! LA DIGUE In the Island of La Digue, the most popular way to move around is on bicycle. Some people rent tricycles if they don't know how to ride on two wheels. A handful of taxis and buggys are there but again quite expensive. You generally do not see cars on the road except when the ferry arrives. Walking can also get you to most places here. Lovely roads to pedal on, with the wind in the hair.    Unedited mobile phone pics.     Bicycle rental is bit pricey at 100scr( INR 650-700)per day, but having a bike gives you a lot of mobility. Saw a few electric bicycles too. Inter island ferries - There are three categories of berths, the lower AC deck is the cheapest but I tend to get sea sick in fast ferries in closed spaces so I opted for the airy upper deck, this is open and I had no sea sickness whatsoever. Comes at a slight premium over the AC deck. Then of course, there is the business class deck. Cost for a single trip from Mahe to Praslin for two persons is around 9.5k INR. The fast ferry does that trip in one hour. Praslin to La Digue is just 20 minutes. Last edited by pyrodrive : 22nd December 2022 at 21:00. |
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19th December 2022, 11:45
| #2 |
| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: guwahati
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| Re: Seychelles on a budget! A guide to the Seychelles beaches : Mahe : Best beach in my opinion in mahe is petit anse, but it is occupied by the extravagant four seasons resort, no big deal though, since you can park outside the resort (on the anse soleil road), register at the gate and get your wristband and then you can walk through the resort to the petit anse beach. Snorkelling here is also decent, especially near the rocks on your left as you face the sea.  The road through Four seasons resort  The entire hill is occupied by the resort  Air so fresh that you can feel it in the picture itself  White sands and blue waters Anse soleil is nearby and although not as pretty as petit anse, the snorkelling here is slightly better, with gradually sloping sea bed, good depth of 6 to 15 feet and large coral beds.  Beau Vallon is a large beach on the other end of the island near the capital Victoria, here you can find a lot of activiy, several food shacks and shops. The sunset from this beach is also very nice.  Sunset hues from Beau Vallon Anse interdance is another beautiful beach. Other notable beaches are grand anse, anse royale and baie lazare. Praslin- There are a lot of beaches all over the island but the best are Anse Georgette ( the best in my opinion) and of course the famous anse lazio. The catch to the spectacular anse georgette is that it is occupied by the Lemuria Constance resort and you cannot just turn up at the gate and gain entrance. They often need you to call ahead and tell them you are coming to the beach. But again the better option is to take the right turn at the bus stop near the entrance of the resort, and continue up the hill on the road to terrace sur lazio. Stop at the last bus stop, then take the trail that starts opposite to the bus stop. It will take you up the hill, and then down through a well marked trail which ends in Anse Georgette. There is also a trail which leads to Anse Lazio from here but this is less well marked.  The trek is not difficult but shade is at a premium and do not forget your sun hat, sunscreen and water bottle. The views are spectacular, and when you finally spot Anse Georgette from the top you are sure to go "wow!"   Near the end of the trek.  White powder sands.  It was around 9 am yet we had the beach pretty much to ourselves  Exit is through the Lemuria Constance resort with its sprawling golf courses. Anse lazio is a beautiful and large beach bordered by lovely rock formations. The snorkelling is great near the rocks on the right side. We did see a lot of fishes, sting rays, eagle rays, hawksbilk turtle ,even a few small reef sharks, and we were, in general having a great time when out of the blue appeared a large sand tiger shark! Needless to say we froze and then quickly swam out of the water. A sand tiger shark in 10 feet deep water in a bay with a history of shark attacks is definitely not a comforting sight.  White powder sand. This beach is quite popular and gets a little crowded during the day( by Seychelles standards)  Anse Lazio, best enjoyed from the shore! La Digue- A lot of people do La Digue as a day trip, but in my view, this is the best island to spend some quality time and enjoy the laid back island life. The three days we spent here were barely enough. Home to the famous anse source d'Argent. Chances are that you have seen this beach in a wallpaper somewhere before. This is a very picturesque beach, mainly due to the beautifully patterened rocks. Entry is via the L'union estate (entry fee of 150 scr per person - is valid for the day). While the beach is truly spectacular, the snorkelling here isn't as great, the sea is too shallow and fishes are less compared to some of the other spots, nevertheless the sea grass meadows gives an enchanted feel. The changing hues of the rocks at sunset are a photographer's delight. The L'union estate has some of the old world charm as you walk or ride through the vanilla plantations, coconut trees and an old colonial villa.   In the morning hours, you can have the beach pretty much to yourselves. It gets busier as the first ferry arrives from Praslin with its load of day trippers. But even during day time, you will surely get privacy and maybe a little cove all to yourselves.      Anse source D'Argent from about 100 meters out  Snorkeling off the beach.  Lots of sea grass.  And some corals and fish, a bit far out  The old pier at the L' union estate. At low tide the sea here is really shallow and you can walk up almost to the coral reef.  Some giant tortoises at the estate.  Vanilla plantations  The old colonial villa  An old graveyard  The community church just outside the L'union estate. The island has only around 2700 residents. As you pedal past this church something makes you stop for a moment. Somehow these islands seem to escape from the daily rat race and bustle we, the city dwellers call life. Last edited by pyrodrive : 22nd December 2022 at 19:38. |
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20th December 2022, 18:52
| #3 |
| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: guwahati
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| Re: Seychelles on a budget! Other beaches of La Digue: Grand anse- This is a large beach accessible by road, also has a restaurant nearby. Strong waves and current makes swimming difficult here. This beach is around 4 kms away from the town area but is quite popular. You can always see rows of bicycles parked on the approach area of the beach.  The busy beach at daytime  The restaurant at the approach.  A solitary large tree at the centre.  Gathering dusk and overcast skies. The next 3 beaches area all accessible only by hiking from grand anse. This is the map:  Petit anse- A short hike from grand anse and you reach this practically deserted beach.  Anse cocos- Lovely beach another short trek from petit anse. There is a single beach shack here but it was closed since we went in the morning hours. The rocks at the far end of this beach enclose an area of calm water, a few feet deep which is often referred to as the natural swimming pool.  The trek from petit anse. The forest is incredibly hot and humid.  View of the beach from the solitary shack  A rockscape.   The rock pool.  The placid pool with the granite rocks and forest beyond. Anse caiman- Another trek from anse cocos, a small rocky beach with a beach bar. Pristine.   Anse songe- A small rocky beach accessible by a short trek from the other side of grand anse.  Anse marron- A remote and wild beach accessible only by a difficult trek. A guide is recommended, since people have got lost here and needed to be rescued. We missed out on this beach because it rained and we thought the rocky trail will get slippery and risky. Anse severe and anse patates are small roadside beaches. Snorkelling is decent here. Infact stop your bike almost anywhere on this road and you can enjoy a scenic beach!  Souvenirs and gifts- Nothing is available on a budget, an ideal souvenir for myself are few grains of sand and maybe a sea shell. Activities- There are quite a few treks on all the islands and we did some of those. In Mahe, the Copolia trail is a short but picturesque hike, affords great views of Victoria and the port area. The entry fee is 100 scr per person but there was nobody to take our money when we did the trek!  The view of the port from the top. Morne blanc trail is another slightly longer trek in Mahe with great views from the top. In Praslin, in addition to the treks to anse georgette and lazio, the Vallee de mai trail is quite popular, largely because of the presence of the rare and exotic palms of coco de mer, some specimens having an uncanny resemblence to the rear part of the human anatomy ! This coconut like fruit is something of a novelity. It is found nowhere else on earth and is the largest seed by any plant. The entry fee to this reserve is a bit steep and we skipped this trail.  The slightly obscene looking nut  In La Digue, apart from the hikes to the secluded beaches, the Nid D'Aigles or eagle's nest trek is a must do trek, it is the highest point of the island and has a bird's eye view of the la passe and reunion areas of La Digue as well as the neighbouring Praslin.   The way to Nid D'Aigles goes through a thick forest  The Top at last!  A cruise ship passing by. The main populated area of La Digue in the foreground. Other than the treks and hikes, you can opt for excursions to nearby islands for scuba and snorkelling and also try some sea kayaking off Anse source D'Argent. But all these things are quite pricey. Instead, we take our own snorkelling gear with us and head out whenever we feel like. The flora and fauna of the islands are a joy to watch, including a multitude of song birds, sunbirds and humming birds, tame doves and the elusive paradise flycatcher and rare black parrot. I was lucky enough to see one of the rare paradise flycatchers (while hiking to anse cocos) but I am no photographer, so I just stood there transfixed by its grace and beauty. The black parrot is endemic to Praslin and it nests in the coco de mer palms, we could not see one because we did not do that trek. There is a peculiar emerald green gecko which is endemic to La Digue and you can spot a lot of small lizards and skinks everywhere.  Vibrant green. The giant land tortoises deserve a special mention, these majestic creatures are mostly seen in La Digue, a few run free- a couple can usually be found near the road by the anse severe beach. A whole lot of these are enclosed in the L Union estate, but I would definitely prefer to see them roam free than in an enclosure.  A giant tortoise crossing the street  Same guy.  A friendly hawksbill turtle just off anse lazio  Some underwater pics frm petit anse in Mahe  Eagle rays are so graceful, they appear to fly underwater. The guy at the bottom is a sting ray, they remain motionless and half buried in the sand, can be dangerous if stepped on accidentally. Overall, I feel snorkelling gives you freedom not offered by scuba, where you are limited by time and depends on support by other people. The return ferry from La Digue to Mahe costs around 11.5k INR for two persons for the upper berth, and takes 1hour and 15 min for the trip. Getting to the airport from the ferry was a bit of a bother for us, some port shuttle buses are there, but you need to pre book them which we didn't know. Taxis are there but they quoted an equivalent of 3.2k INR for the 4km distance! so we walked out of the port towards Victoria and boarded a regular bus and got down at the airport. Bus fare was around 110INR for two. If you don't go with organisers, swimming, snorkelling and trekking wont cost a thing, but just remember to bring your own snorkeling gear and then you can go out and explore underwater whenever and wherever you want. Self drive cars are relatively cheaper than hailing a taxi, but buses are quite practical too, especially in Mahe. The beautiful beaches are the mainstay of all island getaways and except for anse source D'Argent, other beaches have free entry. Many of the treks are free too and if you restrict restaurant visits and stick to takeaways and self catering, yes Seychelles can be enjoyed on a budget and as they say, the best things in life are free. Bon voyage! Last edited by pyrodrive : 22nd December 2022 at 20:40. |
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22nd December 2022, 21:49
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22nd December 2022, 22:24
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23rd December 2022, 09:15
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23rd December 2022, 09:47
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| Re: Seychelles on a budget! Quote:
Quote:
No I did not take that flight. I took the air Seychelles direct flight from mumbai. It covers the distance in 4.5 hours. Cost varies between 40-45k per person round trip, but like I said, you need to be flexible with your dates to book that one. | ||
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23rd December 2022, 10:55
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23rd December 2022, 13:09
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23rd December 2022, 16:07
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23rd December 2022, 17:26
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| Re: Seychelles on a budget! Such an awesome travelogue @pyrodrive! Seychelles is my wife and my absolute favourite destinations to chill. You won’t believe it, but I was about to use the end of the year break to write a similar travelogue for TBHP, but yours is so so much better and exhaustive. Guess I’ll just add some of my pictures and videos to this page itself, with your permission. The most amazing thing are the self-catering chalets. Who would have thought you can stay in Seychelles at 100 - 150 € a day! And most chalets have tie-ups with car renters so they include car rentals in that cost!! We usually stay in the Au-Cap area when we visit. We’ve never even ventured to the other islands unlike you - we’re just too lazy I guess But your amazing pictures have inspired us to try them out for sure when we go next. Another plus point is that the island is full of Indian stores, run by mainly Tamil expats. So all we do is pack some clothes and just go! Getting there, cooking our own food(I love cooking) with all desi spices and dal, rice etc bought from Kumar’s - such fond memories. Plus the food is Creole so it has a very ‘desi’ element in flavour and style. Add to that most restaurants have at least 2 people from Garhwal so you’ll be speaking Hindi a lot! Our rental has a caretaker family from Nepal. The chalet we stay at has great views - which most rental houses have tbh! I’ll upload videos soon once the year end work rush ends. Anyone reading this and dreaming of blue waters - it’s just as good - and better - than Maldives, at 1/10th the cost! Don’t think, just go. I can suggest a few rentals to try but any would be good. The whole island is wonderful and you’ll have a different shade of blue water anywhere you look. Thank you for posting this - such a great way to end the year. Have a merry Christmas and a very happy new year! |
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23rd December 2022, 17:55
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| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2021 Location: Mumbai
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| Re: Seychelles on a budget! Quote:
We did a ‘lion walk’ which kids and families might enjoy as you spend a few hours walking the Casela Nature park with lions and seeing other animals. Plus they have an ‘undersea walk’ too where they take you to the middle of the ocean and with proper gear make you walk on the ocean floor among fishes. It’s a thing you have to do. Even if you can’t swim (my wife hadn’t learnt to when we were there) it’s absolutely safe. Both activities I speak from having done personally. There are many many more I’m sure. Like any hotel you book, if it’s on the beach will have snorkelling, paddle boats and a lot of water sports included in the cost. Mauritius is an island with a proper town and working / office area and touristy beaches so you can explore the city, shop, go to supermarkets, eat, roam around like any city. It also has a slightly slow but still effective bus transport network. And lots of Indians so veg food won’t be a problem. As opposed to it, Seychelles is mainly to chill. There is very little to do other than visit nearby islands and see the water, sit and stare at the sun and sea and sky and talk. Kids might get bored. This I am speaking in context of self catering rental and not hotels who have their own activities. But it’s a tiny island - you can go around the main one in a car in 45 minutes! You have the freedom to eat drink roam around all you like and see the city in a day. Maldives is mainly luxury and has even lesser things to explore. Once you get to the island where your resort it, you’re pretty much stuck there. You have to eat, drink and entertain yourself based on what the resort has. There are a lot of kid friendly resorts who have special activities and teams to make kids activities fun but you’ll have to go through all of them to see which suits your budget. Also in Maldives remember an add on cost to most resorts will be your speedboat / seaplane transfer to and fro, from the main island. They sometimes don’t mention it in the tarif and it’s quite substantial. To sum up: Cheap, romantic - Seychelles Cheap(ish), romantic but also very family friendly, kids will have fun in the outdoors - Mauritius Not usually cheap but ultra romantic and luxury, kid friendly activities on a resort - Maldives Can’t go wrong with any  | |
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23rd December 2022, 18:09
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23rd December 2022, 20:03
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| Re: Seychelles on a budget! Quote:
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23rd December 2022, 20:06
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| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: guwahati
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| Re: Seychelles on a budget! Thanks everyone. Quote:
Maldives is more like, go to any of the resort islands and then chill, surrounded by luxury. I really enjoy the Maldives though, mainly because I snorkel a lot, 4-5 hours a day, minimum. On my second visit, I made sure I got the water villa at the end of the line, the reef edge is nearest to that. Just swim a few meters and you are at the edge where all the action is. The undersea life here is better than both Mauritius and Seychelles. Fishing is generally not permitted in the house reef of all the resorts. So the number and variety of undersea life is really the best here.   In land there are not many things to do though. A few indoor games, a gym and spa are all you can do. Volleyball can be played in the evenings. But if you take an all inclusive package then you get face stuffed with the goodies all day. Just make sure to burn the calories by swimming a lot! Few of the resorts like Bandos are kid friendly, rest are not so. And in many resorts, children are not allowed in water villas for safety reasons. Mauritius is the largest and really beautiful. We took a self drive (a red proton persona) and explored all over the island in seven days. The roads are heaven to drive on, among sugarcane fields. The south coast is wild and also the black river gorges area feels like a hill station. It is the most kid friendly of the three and also the most economical. Undersea life is not as vibrant except in the marine sanctuary called blue bay.   Seychelles feels like it is the most unexplored of the lot, so if you are active, there is a lot to explore and enjoy. The beaches are the best among the three and undersea life and visibility is poorer than in the Maldives. It is also very expensive in general. | |
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