Seychelles

Seychelles Vacations - Travel Tips

The Seychelles is afn excellent year round destination, because it is located outside the cyclone belt and has constant temperatures.

Seychelles Vacations - A Personal View

Think of the old Bounty ad – swaying palm trees, powder white beaches and gentle turquoise sea - and you’ve got the Seychelles. In all shapes and sizes from those you can walk around in an hour to others best explored over a number of days, the Seychelles Islands are some of the most beautiful in the world.

I found my own personal ‘heaven on earth’ at North Island – an extraordinarily luxurious collection of villas strung along a magical tropical beach. I’ve never managed to find the words to explain how elegant, opulent and just how "wow" the experience is.

I only hope I can get back there one day.

Charlotte Opperman - One of Aardvark's Seychelles specialists

Seychelles vacations - Ideas You Might Not Have Thought About

		Diving the Walls-Desroches & Alphonse Islands The island of Desroches offers some of the best diving in the Seychelles. Situated on the southern side of a huge atoll, diving “off the wall” of an ancient limestone reef is spectacular with dramatic caverns, caves, tunnels and overhangs. These have been sculpted by waves and weather over the centuries and created a backdrop to scuba diving which is quite unlike any where else in the Seychelles. More spectacular diving can be found at Alphonse Island: this dive site is very special dividing naturally into three areas - on the shallow plateau there is a beautiful coral garden leading to a wall 30-60 ft  with huge overhangs, overgrown with soft corals and gorgonian fan corals; nurse sharks or sleeping sting rays can be found in small canyons; beyond is the "Abyss," a steep wall descending 1,640 ft.
		Bird Island a Twitcher’s Paradise Bird Island is the most northerly island of the Seychelles archipelago; a coral island best known for the one and a half million sooty terns which nest here from May to October. Although a paradise for ornithologists, with populations of fairy and noddy terns, cardinals, ground doves, mynahs, crested terns and plovers also being found here, Bird Island offers much more. It is a unique, private island completely surrounded by pristine white beach backed by coconut palms that shelve gently to turquoise waters where hawksbill turtles come to nest. Another of Bird Island’s attractions is Esmeralda, reputed to be the oldest and heaviest living tortoise in the world.
		North Island - Eco-tourism in Paradise North Island has been turned into a sanctuary for both discerning travelers and wildlife, and is a leading example of responsible tourism at its best. Craftsmen have created a 'Robinson Crusoe luxury paradise' unlike any other on this spectacular, unspoiled private island. This tiny island is a great place to relax, where guests can enjoy personalized holistic treatments at the spa, which is perched high above the beach with stunning views of the ocean, or explore on foot, by bike, or island buggy. There are granite hills with fabulous view points, hundreds of coconut palms and takamaka trees and giant tortoises wandering about. The beautiful coastline has four gently sloping white beaches which provide nesting places for both green and hawksbill turtles and offshore reefs are rich with tropical fish, offering superb opportunities for fishing, diving and snorkeling.
		Explore an ancient Palm Forest Discover the Vallei de Mai on the island of Praslin, an ancient palm forest, now declared a World Heritage Site. The forest is home to six endemic palm species, including the erotic-looking coco de mer, the bearer of the largest nut in the world. Wander past exotic fauna and flora on paths through this pristine forest, keeping an eye out for the rare black parrot that is found nowhere else in the world.
		Fly Fishing The Seychelles is an exciting fishing destination for both experienced and novice fishermen, boasting some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. Spectacular trophy sailfish and marlin together with tuna, shark and giant barracuda can be pursued on a variety of charter boats and fishing excursions suitable for all abilities. For serious anglers Alphonse Island is famous for having some of the world’s best saltwater fly fishing. Anglers have the opportunity to target a myriad of different species in the flats off the island, from abundant bonefish, three species of trigger fish, five species of trevally, and perhaps the most challenging of all, the fabled milkfish.