Unspoilt landscapes, pretty harbours and unique towns dotted with sandy bays.
Mahe
The island of Mahe, 28km long by 8km wide is the largest island in the Seychelles Archipelago. Its granite peak of 1000m above sea level is the home of forests, with rare endemic plants found nowhere else in the world. Its crystal clear coastline is full of bays, coves, reefs and beautiful, stunning sandy beaches, fringed by takamaka and coconut trees. Mahe is home to the International Airport and the nation’s capital Victoria.
Victoria
Victoria is the capital of the Republic of Seychelles and the country’s main economic, political and commercial centre, with a population 25,000. Victoria is also the main port and hub to inter island ferry services.
Named after Queen Victoria, the town boasts a number of tourist attractions such as the Clock tower, modeled on the Vauxhall clock tower in London, the Court House, the State House (ex Governor’s house), a botanical garden, a National Museum of History, an the R.C. Cathedral. The Sir Selwyn–Clarke Market in Victoria is the hot spot for shoppers and tourists alike.
Beau Vallon beach
Beau Vallon beach is the best known, most popular and largest sandy beach in Mahe.
Just 3 km from Victoria, from Beau Vallon bay you can see Silhoutte island and North island. Along the bay there are a number of hotels, restaurants and bars.
In Victoria there are some big supermarkets and various shops.
Not to be missed is the open Market in Victoria for fresh fish, fruit and vegetables.
In Mahe you will find a variety of restaurants, from Creole to Italian. Just to name a few are:
- ‘Marie Antoniette’ for traditional Creole dinner, located at St Louis.
- ‘Boathouse’ for barbeque buffet food ‘eat as much you can’ style, located on Beau Vallon.
- La Scala Restaurant for Italian food at Bel Ombre.
- Baobao for pizza, right on the beach at Beau Vallon.
- ‘Pirates Arms’ for tea, drinks or a quick meal in town.
By ferry
A catamaran service ‘Cat Coco’ runs between Victoria and the island of Praslin (with onward connection to the island of La Digue). The trip takes only 50 minutes to Praslin and 20 minutes from Praslin to La Digue.
By plane
From Mahe International airport you can fly to Praslin (15 minutes), to Bird, Denis (30 minutes) and Aldabra island (40 minutes).
Bus
From Victoria bus station there are network bus routes to various locations around Mahe.
Buses fares are fairly cheap at the flat rate of 5 RS per trip.
Car hire
To explore Mahe; it is advisable to rent a car, even if just for a day or so. There is lot to see in the island.
Taxi
The taxis are located by the taxi stand in Victoria or at the Airport in both Domestic and International Arrivals. Taxis are metered; negotiate a price beforehand if offered a tour guide around the island.
The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands, a thousand miles from the African coast in the middle of the Indian Ocean. With a population of just 85,000 Seychellois, Seychelles is considered one of the world’s most beautiful tropical island destination a “Paradise on Earth”.
Climate
The Seychelles is a year-round tropical destination, outside of the cyclone belt, and are blessed with a perfect warm tropical climate with refreshing sea breezes, and temperatures ranging from 24 C to 32 C .
The seasons are defined by the trade winds which blow from the southeast from May to September, bringing dry and cooler weather, and the northwest wind, which blows from October to April, brings warm and wet weather. December to February are the wettest months. Most of the rainfall tends to be a night time and comes in short bursts. However, the average sunshine hours during the ‘rainy season’ are approx 5 hours.
Airlines
Airlines serving the Seychelles include:
- Emirates, Etihad, Air Seychelles, Ethiopian and Kenya Airways.
