After we decided to fuck our LEJOG attempt off due to injury and mental health, we found ourselves with spare time and money. Our running joke when things go to shit is “should have gone to Lanzarote” but we decided to think bigger, somewhere to make us feel better about having to abandon a long hike, and ended up spunking large quantities of cash on an actual holiday for a change, rather than a whirlwind tourist adventure resulting in more fatigue than we’d started with.

The Seychelles, guys. Holy fuck. It’s exactly like you’d imagine it to be. It’s everything you’d expect from an island paradise (with the price tag to match). We were there in July, apparently the “wrong” time of year, the locals considered it cold, but with a steady temperature of 24°C we just about coped.

Jump to “Useful shit to know…”

BUDGET for one person (based on two sharing)
Return flights: £1647.90
Accommodation: £608.75
Insurance: £151.96
Boats: £174.01
Buses: £8.36
Taxis: £35.05
Car rental (2 days): £41.90
Petrol: £7.96
Bicycle rental (La Digue): £9.45
Groceries: £110.67
Eating out: £150.51
Tea, coffee, soft drinks: £11.64
Booze: £174.67
Entrance fees, guided tours: £98.15
Souvenirs: £22.79
Scuba diving: £202.80
Everything else: £25.85

Grand Total: £3482.38

The Sterling amount is approximate, I’m just using the exchange rate used by the app I track my budget with. It’s not 100% accurate but it’s close enough. Could we have done it cheaper? Of course, but it wouldn’t have been as much fun. We flew business class outbound for a start. We treated ourselves to taxis from the ferry to our accommodation on both islands when public bus would have done the job for Rs12 each. We drank alcohol every night. We mostly ate at home but we did have a few meals out. I went diving, we visited places with entrance fees, and we rented a car for a couple of days.

The Stories

---

Useful shit to know…

The Seychelles is expensive but not too hideous, but then we live in Brighton which is an obnoxiously expensive city in itself. Costs are more or less on a par, slightly more in some places.

• Restaurants in Cote D’or ranged from Brighton prices to “Oh Dear Gods No!” We ate at the Berjaya Pizzeria one night and paid Rs670 (About £41) for both of us for a delicious main each and a couple of beers each. Café Des Arts down the way wanted up to Rs480 (nearly £30) for some mains, and that was before tax and service charge. There’s also a fantastic takeaway there (cash only) called Ma’s that has precooked dishes for up to Rs80 (£5).
• The two sit down places to eat in Anse á la Mouche were very pricey, an average of Rs400 (£25) for a main.
• There’s a takeaway here too for similar prices to Ma’s.
• We drove to Perry’s Grillz for dinner out instead. Very much worth the terrifying drive up very steep, winding, narrow roads. The menu below is correct as of July 2022 but they don’t always have everything available.

• Public buses are the best way to get around on Mahé and Praslin. Journeys are a flat rate of Rs12 if you’re paying in cash, regardless of where you’re going.
• The bus company, SPTC, are trying to sway people over to using a preloaded travel card, journeys are Rs10 on the normal card but it looks like there’s a Visitors Card which isn’t a good deal at all. You’re best off just paying cash.
• The SPTC app is invaluable for planning journeys. You can easily check timetables and plan an itinerary complete with a map which is fantastic if you don’t know the area.
• We found buses to mostly be punctual, even a little early sometimes. But we never tried to travel during rush hours.
• It’s worth noting the SPTC luggage policy. They won’t let you on with suitcases, but backpacks are fine.

• We prebooked our Mahé – Praslin – Mahé ferries online at Seychelles Ferry. At the time of booking you’re given the option to book a shuttle between the airport and the jetty which we did, though you can easily take a public bus.
• You must print out the voucher they email to you if you do it this way. Everything is handled by Creole Travel. We were met at the airport by them, my name was on a card, and we were taken to the jetty. They have offices at all the jettys and they’ll convert your printed voucher to proper tickets on the day of travel.
• I was advised that a private taxi between the airport and Mahé jetty should be €30 to €35 depending on your negotiation skills. The shuttle was €10.

• The currency is Seychelle Rupees but Euros are widely accepted for accommodation and activities. In fact our accommodations could only charge in Euros if paying by card. We paid for an excursion in cash Euros, I paid for my diving in Euros; card the first time, cash the second. Our car rental was paid in Euros. We paid in Rupees in restaurants and shops. I feel like big things are paid in Euros and every day things are paid in Rupees.
• We used absa ATMs. They charged an eye-watering Rs100 per transaction which, at the time of writing, is just over £6.

• The type G plug is used, the same as you’d see in the UK and Malta. It’s on a 240V supply.

COVID 19 SHIT
When we visited all travellers had to fill out a Travel Authorisation form to get permission to travel to The Seychelles. You can do this online or there a dedicated app which is what we used.
We had to submit proof of our Covid vaccinations and of our accommodation confirmation, as well as a selfie and photos of our passports. Tarrant uploaded the PDF documents, for some reason mine wouldn’t let me so I used the “take a photo” option. We both had confirmation within the hour. We printed them out but were never asked for them at the airport. I did have to upload them to Etihad though to get verified to fly.

At the time, wearing a face covering was optional outdoors but mandatory indoors with a fine of Rs1000 for failing to wear one. It wasn’t really enforced in shops or restaurants though, but everyone wore one on the buses and ferries.