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| Some ideas from, and coments about the trip | |||||||||||||||
| For the average South African, the Seychelles is an expensive destination. So we undertook to make it as affordable as possible by cutting corners wherever possible. The Seychelles Rupee exchanged at 5.5 to the US$, and about 3 rand buys 2 rupees. Tip- US$ cash and other forex is sought after and black market rates are up to twice that given by the banks. :) |
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| English is fine for just about everyone, including the fishermen and locals on the buses. | |||||||||||||||
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| The flight- Air Seychelles offered much better rates than SAA as an inducement to get forex into the country. We had to strongly resist the very persuasive travel agencies who assured us that their week-long packages including flight costs were a raving bargain. They were reasonable, as the accommodation component amounted to about $110 per night, but we decided to rather do our own thing. | |||||||||||||||
| Food- We took our own breakfast (coffee & muesli). For evening meals we took pasta & sauce, to which we added local cold meats &/or veggies (when we could find them!). An average restaurant meal (1 main course & 1 beer) costs about $20 for 1. Beers were about $2 ea from the shops. We (once) had 2 beers at a scenic hotel bar for $10! | |||||||||||||||
| Accommodation- Camping is not allowed, and all accommodation is Govt-regulated. Through internet travel sites (eg. www.sey.net), self-catering places ranged from $100 to +$350! Tip- by using the names of places described by the internet agents, do a Google search and locate those places that have their own web sites- and contact them direct. So I pre-booked a place on Mahe for the first 2 nights only (Blue Lagoon Chalets), at $82/night. That turned out to be the most we would pay. Once on the islands, we used the names of places from the internet sites, and phoned around to get the best value. | |||||||||||||||
| So our accommodation costs ranged from $82 to $36 (Sunshine Guest House- a bargain on La Digue), and averaged $60/ night for the 14days. | |||||||||||||||
| Bad Moments- I had arranged a room at La Citronelle on La Digue, but when we arrived, the place was a nightmare- in the residential area, with dogs, chickens and ghetto blasters. And the weekly disco would be there THAT night! In shock, we hired bicycles and found a bargain tucked between 2 upmarket places right on the beach (Sunshine Guest House), and moved all our stuff on the bicycles! What a relief! | |||||||||||||||
| Buying a $20 phonecard on day 3 just before leaving Mahe, to find they don't work on the other islands. Crocking my back! - but thats a long story No Cadbury's :( Waiting for the bus Nella's Ferry ride to Praslin The bus driver dropping us off (plus all our bags) 5km from the Guest House |
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| Great moments- Going walkabout in a tropical downpour, and enjoying it. Being able to hitch-hike anywhere |
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| Snorkelling off Cocos island | |||||||||||||||
| Evenings watching the sunsets from La Digue | |||||||||||||||
| The pristine beaches, great snorkelling and scuba | |||||||||||||||
| The bus rides (about $0.50 to anywhere) | |||||||||||||||
| The friendliness of everyone, and walking around La Digue at night Cycling around La Digue Experiencing complete and absolute (not token) racial harmony The total adventure |
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