Before travel/Covid Rules

Before travelling you need to fill out a government online form https://seychelles.govtas.com/ . It only takes a few minutes (upload passport, covid cert, hotel booking, etc.) and can only be done a few days before travelling. It is mandatory and email approval arrived in minutes. Print this and bring it with you just incase you are asked for it at airport.

Masks are mandatory in public everywhere in Seychelles. However its not strict at all in my experience. I’d advise to just carry a mask at all times, and put it on when entering restaurants/bars etc.

Car Rental

I recommend renting a car to get around (and so did everyone I talked to who had been there before me). We rented the smallest car possible (Hyundai i10), mainly because it was the cheapest and we wouldn’t need it for much, but in hindsight if a bigger car was the same price I would still choose the small one. Most of the roads are small, generally, people don’t drive fast, and its more economical overall.

Weather

The weather was hit and miss, we had sunshine for 2 days, rain for half a day and wind for 1 day. Even on the sunny days there were some small showers of rain too. However, coming from the middle east where we are blessed with sunshine pretty much every day, I enjoyed it all, and it didn’t take away from the trip. As a side note a lot of people seemed to get badly burnt in Seychelles (based on experiences of my friends previously, and also from me people watching by the pool on my trip!) so wear sunscreen! Even when the temperature doesn’t seem that high, if they suns out, protect yourself.

Hikes

There are a lot of hikes to do in the hills around Mahe but the two I heard the most about were the Morne Blanc trail for its views and the Rock pool for uniqueness of it I guess. For Morne Blanc trail you can just park on the side of the road at the bottom (the start of the trail is clearly marked with sign). It takes about 30 minutes to go up and 30 minutes to come down. Manageable with some water to keep you going but its a lot of steps (FYI). The views from the top were nice but to be honest you could argue if it was worth it be because the views are nice everywhere in Seychelles!

Pin Drop: https://goo.gl/maps/gNVADYkzo6m1rbYEA

For the rock pool hike the path is much flatter and generally easier to navigate, however there are a couple of small ladders to be used also (easy but just an FYI). When you get closer to the rock pool area it can be tricky to know you are in the right area so keep an eye out for the arrows inscribed into the rocks. When we got there the tide was high (although my google search said it was low tide) so we couldn’t jump in without risking getting swept out to sea! but its still a nice little hike and worth it for some of the views along the way.

Park here: https://goo.gl/maps/auaTyUgQN1dkq4Hg8

Pin Drop: https://goo.gl/maps/gNVADYkzo6m1rbYEA

Giant Tortoises

You can visit the botanical gardens to see the giant tortoises, its a nice park area but be aware of mosquitos. This is the only place we had an issue with mosquitos on the trip and we got bitten a lot in a very short time here!

Pin drop: https://goo.gl/maps/BPb2m1y4vx9PCrNu5

Beaches

The great news is all beaches in Seychelles are public so they are free to use for all. It didn’t seem to matter where we were, all the beaches were great in one way or another. Some of the beaches, had big waves or currents where it wasn’t recommended to swim but they were all beautiful. And if you wanted to swim, maybe just driver another few minutes down the road to find the next beach. After we did the Morne Blanc hike we drove along the south coast of Mahe (towards our second hike) and we stopped at numerous beaches to take in the views.

Hotels/Food and Drink

We stayed in the Story Seychelles Hotel. The price wasn’t cheap but it matched the expectations. We had heard that service in general wasn’t great in Seychelles but the resort was fantastic. The hotel was located in Beau Vallon, along the beach. For food and drink, Trader Vics, in the resort, had music every night. Seyshima, a Japanese restaurant in the resort, overlooking the water, had teppanyaki and sushi.

Pin drop: https://g.page/storyseychelles?share

Looking for restaurants outside the resort for lunch drinks etc. wasn’t as easy as you may expect. It seemed that most places were in the fancy hotels on the island. So we explored…

La plag on Beau Vallon Beach, was a place we went for lunch, but the service was ok only, food was ok only, and the prices were just as expensive as the hotels.

Pin drop: https://goo.gl/maps/h3teKSt6W8FBwGN27

Barefoot in bliss hotel, was a nice theme and great view over looking the ocean. We just went there for a drink, and a storm rolled in while we were there so we sat back and enjoyed that for a while too.

Pin drop: https://goo.gl/maps/H2QRAekSPTBE4pcg9

We grabbed lunch the Ocean View bar in the Hilton and were very impressed with the resort, maybe one for the rich and famous, very fancy but lunch prices were similar to every other hotel.

Pin Drop: https://g.page/HiltonSeychellesNortholme?share

Eden Island, is an area that I had heard was worth a visit, but I wasnt overly impressed, its a nice marina area but not exactly what you visit the Seychelles for…

Pin drop: https://goo.gl/maps/hciiW8tAhAsxZDVU6

Chez Batisa Villas are located at the at the start of the trail for the rock pool. A friend of mine stayed here previously and said it was ‘a bit rough around the edges’ but worth it for the location. We stopped there for lunch after the rock pool hike and when I looked at the (picture) menu I thought it was going to be poor but when the food came it was great. and you will be hard beat to find a better view for lunch anywhere you go.

Prices and Tips

Online government form = 10 euro

Car rental for 4 days = 150 euro

Cost of Petrol for approx. 150km = 350 Seychelles Rupees

I recommend renting a car, and a small car at that. We used VIPcars.com and the company was Absolute Cars. Had no issues, and car was good condition. We picked up and dropped off at the airport. All very straight forward.

Average cost of bottle of local beer (Seybrew) 280mm bottle in hotels etc. = 5-6 euro

Takamaka is the local rum. Buy some in a local shop and enjoy!

The hikes were free, as far as I am aware, any hiking trails in Seychelles are free, also.

Entry fee for Botanical Gardens = 250 Seychelles Rupees

Prices in general are not cheap at all but comparable to Middle East. Trader Vics, for example is cheaper in Seychelles than Qatar but if you were coming from somewhere like Europe, it would still be considered expensive.

We stayed on the mainland as we only had short time there (4 days) but everyone mentioned how great La Digue Island was with no cars etc. So that may be worth checking out