One fine day at work, my HoD called me in his room, and told me that I am going to Seychelles on a FAM trip. That too, in the following week. It came out of nowhere. FAM trips are the trips organised by the Tourism boards, DMC's, airlines, hotels, etc. for the travel agents to explore and promote the destination.
So, my trip started with a bang. I met my trip colleagues at Mumbai Airport. We did our check-in process, and just after a lady from counter told me to wait for the surprise inspection. I thought, why airlines would want to check on me if Seychelles tourism wanted me to visit. Later on we came to know that it was just a mistake or some routine policy to check random people.
Day 1:
We landed at the Mahe International Airport at around 4:30 AM while it was pretty dark outside. While having some early morning coffee at the airport cafeteria, we met our coordinator. Once we got the glimpse of the sunlight, we were all shocked to see a big mountain just next to the airport of which we had no clue at all. We all were in awe and then proceeded to the ferry terminal to get to Praslin Island.
It takes 1 hr to reach Praslin by boat. You can even take an internal flight to Praslin airport which takes hardly 15 mins. Our boat service was with Cat Coco Ferry Services who are the authorized ferry service providers in Seychelles.
The ferry was neat and clean, not air conditioned like what we have in Andaman, India. They were provided with some snacks and beverages on board. Once we reached Praslin Jetty, our pickup was ready for us. He took us to our first stop at Acajou Resort, our first hotel visit. The hotel was seaside with an access to the open beach.
After a detailed show around of a property by the hotel manager, we headed to one of the restaurants where our breakfast was ready. A pretty decent spread of food options with a lot of variety of breads, sausages, salami etc. After a heavy breakfast, the driver dropped us at our hotel, 'Oasis Hotel & Spa' where we stayed for the next two nights.
We all had our own spacious single rooms with bathtub in it. After resting for a while, our next hotel inspection was arranged at Indian Ocean Lodge which was approx 250 meters away from our hotel. So we decided to walk to the beautiful boutique property. They welcomed us with a tangy lemon juice. This hotel was also sea facing. The restaurants and the swimming pool were adjacent to the beautiful beach. Even each room had a complete or a partial sea view. As we were Indians, our menu was catered as per Indian style. Four out of six of us were pure vegetarians, so for 2 of us only, they prepared one dish of sea food. The food was truly delicious.
After our wonderful lunch, our next stop was at 'Vallee De Mai Reserve' - the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Seychelles. We had our guided tour booked by the tourism board. This reserve is a home to 'Coco De Mer' (Sea coconut/double coconut) which is found only in Praslin, Seychelles. The law here is very strict about the conservation of fruit species. One cannot take the fruit out of Praslin without permission. If found guilty, they will be jailed.
Another attraction here is a black parrot, very rarely seen in the midst of a dense jungle. We couldn't find it in our 45 minutes tour, so we clicked our pictures with the fruits and we ended our tour. Our driver got us back to our hotel where we had our dinner and went to our rooms.
Day 2 :
After a perfect breakfast, we went for a day trip to La Digue island by high speed catamaran. It took us twenty minutes to reach La Digue from Praslin Jetty. This was the most beautiful island I have ever seen till date. Magnificent blue sea with shades peaking through, and the lush green mountain welcoming you to the island.
The nature has done a wonderful work creating this island. The best thing is that there is almost no vehicular pollution. No petrol or diesel cars are allowed on this island. They mostly use golf carts and bicycles to travel around. The landscape views from here was totally worth every penny you spend. Its a small island and can be covered in a day's time but if somebody wants a quiet and a more peaceful holiday, one can surely stay in one of the islands' boutique luxury resorts.
The first hotel we visited was La Domaine De L'Orangerie' - the biggest hotel on La Digue island. Its reception is just besides the beach and has its spa on almost at the top of the mountain nearby.
After a complete tour of the hotel, we went for a drive where the the surroundings were very calm and beautiful. We all took plenty of photos of nature and ourselves. Later we went for a lunch at a beach-side cafe named FishTrap to have lovely fish and rice - one of the local delicacies.
Later we went to L'Union Estate - previously a coconut farming, now converted into a tourist hotspot with newly done vanilla plantations. It also has old colonial-era graveyard, a boatyard and a farm of giant tortoises. We can only feed them tree leaves. You can easily spend 15-20 minutes taking videos and pictures with them.
The estate is also an entrance to the world famous beach Anse Source d'Argent. The view is extremely pleasing to the eye. No one should miss this beach. We saw the velvety white sands with big granite boulders all around surrounded by greenery and shades of blue sea with a horizon.
There, we spent a leisure time, dipping in the water, soaking in the sun, and just lying down on the beach. In the evening around 5 PM, we left for our return journey to Praslin by jetty.
Day 3 :
On day three, we checked out of hotel and went to the airport for our short domestic flight to Mahe. It was a 20 seater DHC-6 type aircraft and takes only 20 minutes to reach Mahe. I personally felt very congested with all our luggage and unfortunately, the air conditioner was not very powerful.
But let me tell you one thing, the journey was all worth it. You get a view of a lifetime from the plane. Amazing blue waters, small islands in the middle of the ocean. The view takes your breath away. Plus point is that the aircraft does not go on a higher altitude so you get a quite fabulous views. After landing at Mahe we directly headed to the 'Hilton Northolme' for a visit. First thing first - Hilton has one of the best honeymoon suite rooms. The hotel is little on a higher round and has a way down to its own beach. The view from their infinity pool is just perfect. Also the spa is in the perfect corner of the hotel, giving clients the wonderful view of an Arabian sea while they relax and pamper themselves.
Our lunch was arranged by the hotel at one of their restaurant overlooking the sea. The sad thing was, I ate Indian 'veg' food at Hilton because most of our group was pure veg. But they did give us some delicious chicken samosa for two of us non-vegetarians. After visiting Hilton, we had our Victoria area tour arranged. We visited a local 'Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market' for local artifacts, handicrafts, seafood, other local delicacies. The market is around five minutes walk away from the famous clock-tower at Freedom Square. Later on, we visited Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar Temple, one of the most visited place in Seychelles, serves as the place of worship for around 5,000 Hindus living in Victoria. Those willing to take off their shoes and leave them at the entrance may visit this small temple outside of ceremony hours.
After our city tour, we checked into our sea facing Coral Strand hotel which is at the north side of Mahe. Three of us decided to go to the beach to enjoy the sunset. We played for a while in the water and witnessed the beautiful sunset. Our dinner was arranged in a Mahek - Indian Restaurant in the connecting five-star Savoy hotel where we enjoyed delicious butter chicken and kulcha made by an Indian cook.
Day 4:
On day four morning, we checked out from our hotel to visit two more hotels before checking in to Constance Ephelia. We visited Kempinski Resort Seychelles and AVANI Seychelles. Kempenski is a wonderful luxury resort on a serene beach. It has 4 restaurants, a specially designed playing area for kids, a full fledged spa and many more facilities.
Avani resort is another good 4 star property on the beach which offers a spectacular view of the blue sea from everywhere, the rooms, restaurants, even from the lobby. It also offers a good, attractive decor.
Our last lunch in Seychelles was arranged at Avani Resort. The food spread was delicious.
We had our lunch meeting with the hotel managers and we went to our hotel Constance Ephelia. This hotel spreads in three hundred acres of land and has four to five private beaches with wonderful yet different views, a wonderful spa, kids playing areas, cafes, restaurants, ziplining. Every activity, you name it, and it was available at the resort. Our hotel show-around took almost an hour and a half to complete.
Then they gave us a room key to individual junior suite rooms to relax and enjoy the rest of our time there. Looking at the time, we quickly decided to go in a swimming pool. Later, we went to the beach where we could see the mesmerizing sunset view and also did snorkeling. After a good session in the water we all went to our rooms to just relax till dinner.
It was our last dinner in Seychelles and was arranged by the hotel. It was a longest spread of buffet I have ever seen till date, with variety of cuisines from all over the world. After dinner a special activity of rum tasting was arranged for us. Three of us tasted almost 10 types of rum.
At around 11 PM, we all went to rooms as after 4 hrs we had to leave for the airport for our return journey via Colombo.
Through the trip, we found the locals to be very warm, welcoming and polite. Overall it was a great pleasure and a wonderful experience to visit Seychelles.
Written below are some of my personal inputs and observations to assist you if you are planning a trip to Seychelles:
1. Due to tropical weather, Seychelles is an all-year-round destination. but Indians can visit in June as there will be very less crowd.
2. It takes only around 6-7 hrs to reach Seychelles from India. The flight connections are good. The best part is Indians don't require a visa.
3. When you land at the airport, you will see your DMC counter at the airport,you will not have to wait searching for your coordinator.
4. The local currency is Seychelles Rupee (SCR). The currency rate is around 1 SCR = 4.8 INR only. In hotels EUR and USD is accepted. If you need to change the currency, you can do it on Mahe airport and only in Praslin. Nowhere else.
5. Airtel is the main telecom service provider in Seychelles.
6. There are around 5 Indian restaurants in Seychelles (2 in Mahe, 2 in Praslin, 1 in La digue).
7. The capital of Seychelles, Victoria, is the smallest capital in the world. You can explore the entire city on foot in less than a day.
8. Local markets / Shops usually close at 5 PM.
9. To enjoy nightlife, you can plan a visit to Eden island at Mahe.
10. Seychelles is not a cheap destination, many people opt Mauritius over Seychelles over cost, but Seychelles is worth every penny you spend.
All the pictures are clicked by me.