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Unique by a Thousand Miles - Seychelles!
Come here to slow down. To set your watch to a gentler world, where standards are still relatively unsophisticated, where there are no lively 'fun' resorts, where the welcome is friendly and the environment unspoilt.
Come simply to relax...
Mahe - Though the largest of the Seychelles islands, and location of the main airport and Victoria, the diminutive capital, the great granite form of Mahe is no more than 15 miles long by 5 miles wide. Its steep mountain backbone, its slopes carpeted with the lush vegetation of the tropics, sweeps
down to a fretted coastline where swaying palms and takamaka trees line the shore and a succession of some 65 unspoilt beaches, both large and small, edge warm lagoon-like waters. Mahe is the perfect introduction to the Seychelles, with an extensive range of hotels to suit all tastes and budgets, a reasonably good road system (a hire car offers an ideal way to explore the beauty of
the island), shops and a lively market in Victoria, a 9-hole golf course, two hotel casinos - and some excellent watersports facilities in locations like Beau Vallon Bay.
Praslin
- A brief 15 mns air hop by scheduled flight from Mahe, the second largest of the Seychelles islands (no more than 7 x 2 miles) is quieter and rather less developed (in relative terms) than its better known neighbour It's an ideal choice for the escapist, yet boasts a choice of small hotels that offer both charm and stylish comfort. The undulating mountainous landscape is dense
with exotic vegetation and lush green coconut groves, while inviting beaches of soft-white sand offer safe bathing and excellent snorkelling and other watersports. General Gordon of Khartoum argued that Praslin's beautiful Vallee de Mai - habitat of the unique coco de mer double coconut and the rare indigenous Black Parrot - was the location of the Garden of Eden. Few visitors will
disagree with his belief that Praslin has all the qualities for an earthy paradise!
Bird - A second paradise for the comfort-loving escapist, a jewel box of coral just 1 km
square, this idyllic private island is just 30 mns by air from Mahe. Its powder-soft coral sand beaches, translucent blue seas and fascinating barrier reef provide a glorious setting in which you will genuinely feel 'a thousand miles from anywhere'. Meet its feathery inhabitants, Sooty Terns, Common Noddys and Fregate Birds - never more so than between May and October when millions
of Sooty Terns flock here to breed. The island's stylish little lodge gives the perfect finishing touch - informal yet full of charm, and with the bonus of delicious local cuisine.
La Digue - The most photographed island in the Seychelles. This haven, just 4 miles square, is often said to be 'so relaxed, it's almost horizontal'. Reached by
local ferry from Praslin (30 mns), tiny La Digue has an exotic grandeur that belies its modest statistics. Great granite boulders lie tumbled among the dense patchwork of coconut palms - and line picture-book and often deserted beaches of dazzling white sand that conjure up images of the Seychelles at their most romantic. Time seems to stand still. There are few cars and you can
explore by ox-cart, and walk or cycle in peace along the beautiful sand tracks that wind through the island's exotic vegetation.
Silhouette - The Seychelles third largest island, Silhouette lives up to its name. Its distinctive outline can easily be seen from the north shore of Mahe, just 19 miles away - from where a 15 mns helicopter
flight brings you to this utterly unspoilt island without roads or any sense of intrusion from the outside world. Its rugged granite slopes offer a dramatic vegetation-covered backdrop to empty tropical beaches protected by a coral reef (with superb snorkelling). The island's simple but welcoming little lodge complements perfectly yhis perfect hideaway for dedicated beachcombers
and castaways.
Denis - Quite different in both appearance and mood, but not less exotic and romantic in character, is this stunning desert island, an escapist's paradise formed of coral and edged by waving coconut palms and casuarinas, glistening white sand and protective coral reefs. Though just 375 acres in size, it boasts five flights
weekly from Mahe (30 mns away) and its elegant lodge, renowned restaurant, first-class watersports and top diving locations, make Denis a magical spot whose beauty, serenity and exclusive cahet create a beguiling formula - almost literally out of this world!
Desroches - Further afield still, an hour's flight south of Mahe in the Amirantes
group, Desroches is another tempting variation on the Seychelles desert island theme. The speciality of this strikingly beautiful coral island - some 3 miles long and half a mile wide, and dense with coconut palms that lead to a necklace of glittering sandy beaches - is its wonderful scuba diving and deep-sea fishing. Desroches is a remote hideaway of extraordinary peace and beauty
where you can totally retreat from the evryday world! Season this perfect Robinson Crusoe mood with the high standards of comfort and cuisine offered by the Desroches Island Resort and you surely have a setting no self-irespecting escapist will want to leave.
Among lesser-known island choices for idyllic Indian Ocean island escapism are Anonyme
and Sainte Anne (both just off Mahe), Cousine (neighbouring Praslin), North Island (lying below Silhouette) and magical Fregate.
Alphonse is for the most avid fishing and diving enthusiasts. A visit to
the Emirantes Islands will almost certainly be irresistible. The most remote of them all and far to the south, an unspoilt coral atoll, Alphonse is the place to learn fly-fishing and has its own game fishing boat. Each of these island resorts has its own distinctive mood and scenery, and offers you the promise of glorious powder-soft coral beaches and seas
of magical clarity, perfect for swimming and snorkelling. As importantly, each boasts its own delightful little island resort hotel providing perhaps unexpectedly high level of comfort - not to mention some memorably delicious local cuisine. |
