Seychelles

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Quick Facts

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Capital

Victoria

Population

81,000

Government

Republic

Religions

Christianity (Catholic, Protestant)

Languages

Creole, English

Calling Code

+248

Nationality

Local name

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Introduction

A creature from Moyenne island

© All Rights Reserved vilmalotta

The Seychelles are a series of islands far off the African coast in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Predictably, the Seychelles' main attractions are its beaches and shimmering, turqoise waters. Snorkelling and diving are of the highest order - you can't really get much better than Seychellois waters in terms of natural beauty and abundance of fish and other sea creatures. The granite islands have the added bonus of featuring distinctive inland beauty.

The second major tourist function of the Seychelles is its bird population. Besides being impressively large, it is also strikingly unique, with some species of bird found here that are found nowhere else. Accordingly, four islands have been set apart as bird sanctuaries. Bird watchers should find enough to tantalize their senses for days.

Due to its remoteness, the Seychelles are an expensive destination. But if you've got the money, it's well worth the trip.

Brief History

Geography

Regions/Islands

The Seychelles consists of 155 islands. Below are some of the most popular ones.

• Cousine Island
• Desroches Island
• La Digue Island
• Mahe Island
• Praslin Island

Cities and Towns

• Victoria, the Capital
• Anse Boileau
• Anse Royale
• Anse Etoile
• Cascade
• Takamaka

Sights and Activities

Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve

Valléé de Mai Nature Reserve is on the Unesco World Heritage List. It is one of only two places in the world where you can see the coco de mer palm growing in their natural state. The other location is Curieuse Island. This valley's forest is just marvelous and the view of sunlight filtering through is just great! The famous coco de mer, from a palm-tree once believed to grow in the depths of the sea, is the largest seed in the plant kingdom.

With some luck you might see the Seychelles black parrot here. As this is a fragile forest area, keep to the tracks and don't take anything away or leave behind.

Aldabra Atoll

The other UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Seychelles is the Aldabra Atoll, which contains four large coral islands which enclose a shallow lagoon. In their turn, this group of islands is surrounded by a beautiful coral reef. Because of the fact that it is rather difficult to access and due to the relative isolation of the Aldabra Atoll, it has been protected from human influence. As a result, this natural wonder is home to well over 150,000 giant tortoises, the world's largest single population. Other species of animals to be found are tiger sharks, manta rays and thousands of seabirds. If you want to visit, you have to get special permission in the capital Victoria. Only scientists are allowed to stay for longer times.

La Digue

The Seychelles contain many uninhabited islands which cost a fortune to visit, if at all possible. Of the main islands Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, the latter one is probably the best one to visit, as it is quietest. La Digue also is home to the famous Anse Source d'Argent, the picture perfect image of emerald waters, white palm fringed beaches and the very special round granite rocks. As it is the least developed of the main islands, it is probably the best to get away from it all without paying very high prices and maybe a place you want to stay much longer than you planned.

Other Sights and Activities

• Anse Lazio - perfect beach
• Praslin - more developed than La Digue, but still beautiful and with more options
• Cousin Island - thousands of birds on a small island, near Praslin

Events and Festivals

Weather

The Seychelles have a warm and humid climate but as the distance to the sea is never more than a few kilometers in most places, there usually is nice and cool breeze during most of the year. Temperatures are around 30 °C during the day and still above 20 °C at night most of the year. The best time to visit the Seychelles is during the southeast monsoon season which lasts from late May to September when both temperatures and rainfall are lowest. The warmer and wetter season is during the northwest monsoon which lasts from March to half May.

Getting there

Plane

Air Seychelles is the national airline of the country and is based at Seychelles International Airport (SEZ) near the capital Victoria on the main island of Mahé. It has flights to and from Bangkok, Johannesburg, London, Milan, Munich, Paris, Port Louis (Mauritius), Rome and Singapore.
Doha (Qatar Airways), Dubai (Emirates), Nairobi (Kenya Airways), Frankfurt and Munich (Condor) and Reunion (Air Austral) have flights to the Seychelles as well.

By Boat

There are no international passenger services, so it all comes down to being lucky enough to catch a ride on a cargo ship or yacht.

Getting around

Plane

Air Seychelles flies between Mahé and Praslin at least 20 or 25 times a day. Smaller planes fly to La Digue and the islands of Bird, Denis, Fregate, Desroches and Alphonseand and Assumption Island and Coetivy can be reached by air charter. To end, there also are many VIP charters to private islands.

Helicopter Seychelles also flies between the main islands Mahe, Praslin and La Digue and has some charter flights to and from other smaller islands.

By Train

There are no passenger trains on any of the islands of the Seychelles.

By Car

Renting a car is possible on the islands of Mahé and Praslin and can be surprisingly cheap. Most international as well as local companies have rental cars at the international airport on Mahé and a few companies have cars on Praslin. You can get anywhere with a car and with so many beaches and viewpoints to explore, this is probably the best way to get around if you are with at least 2 people. Most roads are paved, but roads on Mahé can sometimes be narrow and winding. Traffic drives on the left and your national driver's license is sufficient.

By Bicycle

Especially the smaller islands of Praslin and certainly La Digue are perfect to explore by bike. Although bicycles are for hire on Mahé as well, the steep hills and bigger distances combined with heavier traffic makes this a less popular island to explore by bike. Most other islands can easily be explored by foot.

By Bus

The SPTC (Seychelles Public Transport Corporation) runs daily bus services on the islands of Praslin and Mahe during most of the day except late evening and night times. Most buses usually pass by every 15 minutes or so along the main roads. These buses are an excellent and cheap way of getting around but don't give you the opportunity to go everywhere.

By Boat

There are several daily round trips between Mahé and Praslin with a high speed catamaran, taking around one hour. Cat Cocos now offers fast and reliable transport between the two islands.
There are also around 5 round trips daily between Praslin and La Digue by ferry, taking around 30 minutes and the schedule is timed to interconnect with the Mahé to Praslin service.

Red Tape

Most nationals do not require a visa. Travellers must have valid passports, valid for at least 6 months, proof of onward or return transport and a hotel reservation. These are asked for at the airport, though usually naming a hotel will be sufficient as well.
Extensions are possible for up to a year, but will cost you if you intend to stay more than 3 months ($40).

Money

See also Money Matters

Work

Study

Language

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

See also Travel Health

Safety

See also Travel Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

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