What you need to know to go to the Seychelles

Seychelles

You don't have to travel to the Caribbean or Polynesia to rest in a true paradise. For a while now Seychelles has positioned itself as a great tourist destination that can easily compete with the more traditional tropical landscapes.

The Republic of Seychelles is a beautiful archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 115 islands in total, whose capital is Victoria, an island 1500 kilometers off the coast of Africa. Has around 90 thousand inhabitants nothing else and its history has been linked to European colonialism, first from France and then from England. Today it is the citizens of these countries who are at the forefront of the tourists who arrive and continue to arrive because, as you will see in the images, the site is beautiful.

Information about the Seychelles Islands

Seychelles map

The French began to control the islands in the mid-XNUMXth century and in fact they were christened the Séchelles in honor of a finance minister of Louis XV. Later the English would arrive who would take control in the middle of the war between the two countries, shortly afterwards, totally displacing the French in 1810. With the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1814 Seychelles became part of the British crown.

Seychelles independence took place in 1976 but always within the Commonwealth. With a coup in the late 70s, the attempt to orient the country towards international tourism was truncated and a socialist system that remained in power until the beginning of the '90s when other political parties were accepted, not without turbulence in the middle, revolutions and other coups supported by South Africa, for example.

The well-known but no less tragic story of a small country, a former colony and underdeveloped. Today socialist public policies are more lax and there have been privatizations but the State is still very present as regulator of the economy.

Seychelles island

But what is this beautiful group of islands like? They are in the Indian Ocean, a thousand-odd kilometers from Kenya, and are considered the oldest and hardest granite islands around the world. With only 90 thousand inhabitants, not all the islands are inhabited, of course, and they are not all granite: there are also coral islands. The climate is very stable, very humid, with temperatures between 24 and 30 C and lots of rain.

Mahé Island

The coldest months coincide with the European summer, from July to August, and the best time of year to go is between May and November because the southeastern winds blow. Between December and April it is very hot and humid, with temperatures of over 31 ºC between March and April. Are there cyclones? No, luckily the islands are off their routes so there are no hurricane force winds.

What you need to know to visit in Seychelles

Hotel Côte d'Or

  • you don't need a visa to go to the islands. Whatever country you are from, there is no visa requirement.
  • the voltage is 220-240 volts AC 50 Hz. The standard plug is the same as in England, three-prong, so you may need an adapter.
  • business hours are Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm and most public offices and some private businesses are closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
  • Syechelles time is +4 GTM, two hours of the European summer. There are usually twelve hours of light all year round. It dawns shortly after 6 am and gets dark around 6:30 pm.

Mahé

  • transportation between the islands is by air or by boatThe main base being the most important island, Mahé. Air Seychelles operates a regular service between Mahé and Praslin, the second largest island in the group. It is only 15 minutes of flight and there are about 20 flights per day. The company also flies to other islands such as Denis, Desroches, Bird or the Alphonse Islands. There is also a helicopter service, Zil Air, with charter flights and excursions.

Zil air

  • or two types of ferries, the traditional and the modern. The first is a sailboat operating from the BaieSt.Anne pier, in Praslin, and going towards La Passe, in La Digue. The second is operated by the Cat Cocos company with transfers between Victoria and BaieSte.Ane, in Praslin. They are trips of less than an hour. There is also a catamaran that connects BaieSt.Ane with La Passe, in La Digue. Since 2013 you can book and buy tickets online, for ferries and Cat Cococs and Inter Ferry services, on the Seychellesbookings website.
  • in the islands you can move by bus, just ask for a guide with schedules, by taxi or rented car. You can stop taxis on the street by hand, order them by phone or wait for them at taxi stands on the street. They have a parking meter, but if you ask for a private one without this device, you must negotiate and fix the price with the driver. Many times taxis operate as tour guides. If you are going to rent a car the European Union driver's license or an international license.
  • can rent a bikeEspecially in La Digue and Praslin which are popular places for biking. Or go hiking and join the bike and the walks.

Praslin Island

  • you drive on the left
  • tap water meets the standards of the World Heath Organization so water is drinkable throughout the country. Of course, you can feel a strange taste since it has chlorine but it is safe.
  • What about the tip? Most businesses, I'm talking about hotels, restaurants, bars, porters and even taxis, include a 5% service or tip in the final rate, so the tip itself, as an extra payment, is not necessary or it is not mandatory.
  • in Seychelles there are few crimes, but you must take precautions as in any place: keep your money in the hotel safe, do not walk alone on deserted beaches or trails, do not leave the windows open, hire tours in licensed agencies, do not accept rides from strangers and that kind of thing.

Praslin

  • the currency in Seychelles in the Seychellois rupee, SCR. It is divided into 100 cents and there are coins of 25, 10 and 5 cents and 1 and 5 rupees. The banknotes are 500, 100, 50, 25 and 10 rupees. You can see the change on the website of the Central Bank of Seychelles. Banks are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm and on Saturdays between 8:30 am and 11:30 pm. To change money you must present your passport and commission may be charged. There are many ATMs and they provide only national currency. Payments are in rupees, always, unless they accept euros or dollars but that is at the discretion of the other.
  • credit cards are widely accepted and you can buy rupees with them, but you know you will pay the change at the price of the day.
  • What about disease and public health? Well there is no risk of contracting malaria since that mosquito does not exist in the islands. There is also no yellow fever.
  • communications are modern and efficient. There are two GSM networks, cable TV and over the air. There are Internet cafes in Victoria and for some time now also in Praslin, La Digue, Mahé.
  • ¿what prices does Seychelles have? A bottle of mineral water round euro, euro and a half in the street and much more in the hotel. A bottle of beer costs 1,25 euros, an individual pizza between 5 and 6 euros, a pack of cigarettes 2 euros, a taxi from the airport to Côte d'Or is around 62 euros, the rental of a car per day between 19 and 40 euros and 55, 6 euros the bike.

Basically this is what we should know if we want to undertake a trip to Seychelles. In another article we will get you fully into the most recommended tourist attractions of these beautiful islands, but first things first.


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  1.   mayte said

    Hello, this August I am going with my family to Bahia Lazaro, Seychelles, we do not know whether to rent a car there or from Barcelona, ​​I do not know whether to rent it during the ten days of the stay or, less days, one of them is not going to praslin and I said it.
    You can advise me3.
    Thank you very much