TOUR CODE: ISL – SEY01
Eleven Days Seychelles Trip
The highlights of this trip includes full day Mahe Island tour through lush rainforest and granite rocks, Victoria – The world’s smallest capital city, Praslin Island – Explore the primeval rainforest and take a catamaran cruise to discover its beautiful marine life, Vallee De Mai – Take a walk in the National Park to see the unique coco de mer palms, La Digue Island – Cycle tour in this laidback island famous for its tropical charm
Day One: Arrival in Mahé Island
Upon arrival at the airport in Mahe, the largest island within the Seychelles Archipelago. The driver will take you to the hotel for the overnight. Depending on the time of your arrival, you can visit the nearby night food market just a short walk along the beach. Visiting the night market is a great opportunity to sample the very popular street food and check on the handicraft stalls. You will have the choice between delicious seafood barbecues and coconut laced curries that can you eat by the sea.
Day Two: Victoria and the Botanical Gardens
After breakfast, you will visit the Mahe’s capital, Victoria, on foot. Visit the Independence Avenue, the modern shopping area, Cathedral and famous clock tower, Visit to the market with its abundance of colourful fruit, vegetables and freshly caught fish then continue to the tranquil Botanical Gardens. Here we see the famous coco de mer nut, giant tortoises and a collection of rare exotic plants. Colonies of fruit bats roost overhead and regularly take flight across the giant palms. We return to our hotel around lunch time and this afternoon is at leisure. The Seychelles beaches are incredibly clean and free from litter, they are also all open to the public so there are no beaches off limits – you can lay your towel wherever you choose.
Day Three: Mahe Island
Mahe is the Seychelles largest island and is the political and economic centre. It is 27km long and 8km wide, it has beautiful beaches with powder white sand, graceful palms and clear turquoise waters. This morning, we will take a trip which takes in all of the island’s highlights using the bus and on foot, following the short Glacis Trois Freres Trail, passing through lush rainforest and a tea plantation, ending at the factory where you may take a short guided tour. We will also visit the Mission, a place of historic importance after the slave trade. Arriving at Baie Ternay Beach around lunch time with the opportunities for swimming and snorkelling before taking a stunning coastal drive right around the southern peninsula.
Day Four: boat trip to the St. Anne Marine National Park
On this day, we will go for the full day boat trip to St. Anne Marine National Park and explore other islands and the wonderful marine life. The boat is glass bottomed and sails from Victoria to the St Anne Marine National Park. The calm crystal waters are perfect for snorkelling and sightings of turtles. We land on one of the protected reserves and see the giant tortoises. We enjoy a barbecue lunch before taking to the waters once more, swimming as we anchor alongside a beautiful beach. On many of the Seychelles beaches it is possible to wade out and snorkel straight from the shore line.
Day Five: Catamaran to Praslin Island. Visit Vallee de Mai National Park
After breakfast, we depart Mahe and take the one hour crossing to Baie Saint Anne, Praslin, the second largest island in the Seychelles archipelago. Keep a look out for dolphins on the journey as they are regularly spotted in these waters. Praslin is home to one of the Seychelles World Heritage Sites – the Vallee de Mai. It is a primeval rainforest containing the famous coco de mer palms that have the largest and heaviest coconuts in the world. Vanilla orchids, a variety of lizards, frogs and some of Earth’s rarest birds also reside here. The walk follows a designated pathway and is shaded almost throughout as the trees provide an enormous rainforest canopy offering a welcome relief from the hot sun. Later in the evening, we will head back to the hotel for the overnight.
Day Six: Snorkelling
Today after breakfast, we take a full day boat trip which visits the island of Curieuse and anchors at the snorkelling spot, St Pierre. Disembarking at Curieuse, you see the giant tortoises which amble freely, close to the waterfront. An hours’ walk through the interior takes us across boardwalks above the mangrove swamps. As we get close to the water’s edge listen out for splashing small sharks and rays are often sighted here. A delicious barbecue lunch is served back on board before continuing to St Pierre Island, a pristine snorkelling area with colourful fish and the occasional turtle. We arrive back at our hotel for dinner.
Day Seven: Anse Lasio
On this day, we will head for Anse Lasio. After disembarking we descend along pathways and check on the endemic fauna , look out for different bird species and take in the stunning panoramic views. We cross to the other side of the island and arrive at our first beach and swim and snorkel before continuing on towards the headland. Anse Lasio is our final destination stated as the most beautiful beach in Praslin. Here we spend some time enjoying the crystal clear waters and soft white sand. Again we swim and snorkel enjoying the marine life right from the shore. After our full day of exploration we take the local bus back to our hotel which follows either a coastal or mountainous route depending on the timetable running that day.
Day Eight: Ferry to La Digue and explore the island by bike
After breakfast, we will take a short fifteen minute ferry journey to laid back La Digue. This island is the smallest of the three on our itinerary and is the epitome of idyllic isolation. It has a real traditional charm about it with plantation houses and dusty roads. Arriving here is like stepping back in time. Transport is very closely controlled on La Digue and the most popular form of travel is by bicycle. The beaches are simply breathtaking; it is a pure photographers dream. This afternoon we take to our bikes and cycle along the top of the island. La Digue is geared up for cycling offering smooth paths which run parallel to the beach and virtually no traffic. The water is so clear marine life may even be spotted from your saddle. There is ample time to stop wherever you choose, enjoy the incredible scenery and maybe spot a giant tortoise. We return to our hotel in time for supper.
Day Nine: Visit a working coconut plantation
After breakfast we will take a walking tour to L’Union Estate, a working coconut plantation. We will be taken through the whole process from the coconut dropping from the tree to producing coconut milk and oil. The plantation sits in a lovely garden setting and the buildings offer great examples of Creole architecture. It is also located close to a succession of stunning beaches. The rest of the day is left free to enjoy this island paradise. You may like to drop by the local ice cream parlour to enjoy a refreshing drink and sample the tropical flavours.
Day Ten: Walk around La Digue
Today we explore three of the most stunning beaches found on the island. These are off the beaten track and so we will enjoy these shores almost to ourselves. The start of the walk takes us past La Digue Vev Reserve. This is home to the paradise flycatcher, a bird endemic to La Digue which has quite remarkable colouring. We then continue towards the beach and after half an hour or so will reach our first beach of the day, Grand Anse. We are greeted by an enormous expanse of white sand, turquoise water and huge boulders jutting from the sea. After a refreshing drink we continue further to the second beach, Petit Anse. This walk takes a rocky path, shaded in places, providing glimpses through the vegetation of the incredible blue sea and white sand below. Our third and final beach, Anse Coco, is worth the effort of a further thirty minute walk. This beach not only has the powder sand and crystal waters of the others, it also has a hidden gem – a large secluded rock pool hidden behind a cluster of enormous boulders. It provides the most perfect swimming spot. The afternoon is quite flexible with the option to stay at the beache as long as you wish, relaxing, snorkelling and just taking in this incredible paradise. We will take a slightly different route back to the hotel at the end of the day which is approximately one hour of gentle walking.
Day Eleven: Back to Mahe
This morning after breakfast we take a ferry from La Digue to Mahe. We take the early ferry from La Digue to Mahe, via Praslin, however, the ferries are subject to delay. Then the driver will take you to the airport to connect to your international flight back home.
ENJOY AFRICA