Imagine, planning the one day out of the year dedicated to celebrating your life, your existence, the blessing of another trip around the sun and BOOM!! You’re surprised with a birthday trip to a beautiful island BUT you only have 26 hours to visit. Impossible, right? For the average traveler, yes. But for the world travel extraordinaire, Tia Mills, it’s a cake walk! Read more to find out how I successfully pulled off the shortest trip ever!
PRE-TRAVEL CHECK
Before any trip, I love to research the area that I am going to. The major points I research are as follows:
Places to go:
I usually research places to go based on what type of travel mood I’m in. For example: Do I want to relax? Do I want to go on a foodie tour? Is there a beach? Do I want to swim?
For this trip, I knew that I wanted to visit the beaches, giant tortoises, and the most anticipated, PARASAILING!!
Cost of food: I generally like to eat local cuisine wherever I go so I use Tripadvisorto look up the best restaurants. Seychelles is known for their creole dishes and seeing that I’ve never had creole, I was looking forward to it. During my research, I found that one of the best places to go was to The Boat House. The restaurant was scenic with awesome views of the beach directly across the street. The food was good but it was very expensive. Beer was about $8 for one beer and the buffet was about $40. The food was delicious but definitely not 40USD delicious. You can find street food for cheap but be careful and pack your immodium. Usually, if your stomach isn’t used to certain foods or the way it is prepared you may react negatively to it. Hence, why I try to stay away from the street food.
Cost of transportation:
Due to the location of the island (in the middle of the ocean) taxis and drivers were very expensive . Fuel is not cheap. For example, a six mile round trip taxi ride costs about 400 seychelle rupees = 30 USD. Waaayyy too much!
Do I need a driver or car?
This is definitely up to personal preference. I chose to hire a driver because in Seychelles they drive on the left side of the road compared to how I’m comfortable driving on the right side. I’ve driven internationally but on the opposite side of the road? No thank you! Although, a car rental can be as cheap as 45USD per day, I chose to use a driver. $4 worth the peace of mind was worth it for the few hours that I spent there.
How much spending money to take?
On a normal 26-hour trip, $200 would be plenty. However, I was in Seychelles for one day and it was NOT ENOUGH. When I say Seychelles is expensive, I am not exaggerating. I’m sure getting groceries, cooking, going to less touristy places and driving yourself around would cut down on cost but because I wasn’t there for an extended stay I can’t say for sure if my hypothesis is spot on. Just to be on the safe side, pre price everything before you go and take extra!
Do I need a visa?
Because I have an American passport, I did not need to get a visa for my trip. For other nationalities, check the link for more accurate information.
TRIP DEETS
Flight Cost: Flights normally range from $500 – $800 traveling from Abu Dhabi depending on the time of year that you travel. Using the Hopper app or Google Flights can help you track the prices for your preferred dates and location.
Hotel Occasionally, I like to choose AirBnb for a more local and authentic feel. We chose an Airbnb in Glacis. (Note: when we picked our room it was described as being in Beau Vallon which is close to restaurants, beach, and the city. We later found out we werent in Beau Vallon) Glacis is only about 5 minutes from Beau Vallon, but with the narrow roads and inflated oil cost, it seemed like a longer haul.
The room itself was really nice. The fully furnished one bedroom apartment with amazing views was settled on the top of what seemed to be a mountain. Daily, we had to trek up a steep hill to get to it the actual apartment because our taxi couldn’t make it up the steepness of the hill. Check out this AMAZING ROOM for only 65 USD per night and use my code for $40 towards your next trip!
Tia’s Air BnB Discount
Beach Who can go to Seychelles without visiting the scenic beaches? If you’ve ever seen those picture perfect crystal blue waters in the Carribean, then you know what to expect on the beaches of Seychelles. Tourism plays a major part of the economy of the island and islanders take full advantage of the endless beaches and pristine waters.
My favorite part of visiting the island was checking one activity off my bucket list- parasailing. I love going to new places and trying adventures that I would not normally do at home. Traveling to different countries, I learned the art of haggling for better prices. Upon arrival at the beach, the initial price was 600 rupees. However, I negotiated the price down to 400 rupees. Talk about a win for the day!
Paragliding was one of the most peaceful and exhilarating experiences I’ve had in a long time. The views from above the gorgeous water and the calmness of the sky were unmatched. Although the ride was only about 10 minutes, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would definitely suggest it anyone who wants to try it!
Botanical Gardens: What’s a vacation without a little bit of culture and education? The next part of our trip consisted of visiting the botanical gardens. If you love nature, you must visit! This location has many species of flowers and even the world’s largest coconut seed (see below). Tour guides are available and maps as well to help you navigate.
While on Alphonse Island, we visited the giant tortoises. This specific breed can age to over 250 years old, weigh up to 400kg and even lay over 30 eggs at one time! Feeding and taking pictures with the tortoises is available for a small fee(50 rupees= $4USD).
The coco de mer (or double coconut) is the world’s largest coconut seed and is located on the beautiful island of Seychelles. The fruit requires 6–7 years to mature and two more years to germinate. The most interesting thing about this particular coconut seed has to be the appearance, it’s shaped like a derriere! LOL While I am used to seeing regular sized coconuts, nothing could prepare me for this! The coco de mer can grow as large as 50 centimeters and weigh as much as 30kg. That’s as heavy as a child!
NIGHTLIFE
Nightlife in Seychelles will vary based on which part of the island you are visiting. We planned to go out to Eden Island for the night at recommended entertainment at the boardwalk but due to the expensive fares, we decided to pass. If you do visit, be sure to check out Fire and Ice, another lounge that is suggested by many who have visited and the locals.
To Seychelles or Nah?
Although my 26 hours in Seychelles was amazing, I would NOT visit again because it is waayyy too expensive for my liking. If luxury and amazing views are your thing, go for it! What are you waiting for?!
Until next time…
Take The World!!
This was the right amount of information that I needed! I have Seychelles on my travel list and needed to know how it expensive it is, I will make sure to budget appropriately and maybe be sure to not make it my only destination.