Seychelles on a budget!

VALLABHA · 23rd December 2022, 20:11

Excellent travelogue. Stunning beauty this place is.. superbly captured!! Thanks for sharing such a detailed post.

Foxbat · 23rd December 2022, 23:29

Great writeup and nice pictures

I went to Seychelles on my honeymoon back in November 2019 and absolutely loved it. I flew from Mumbai also by Air Seychelles which was ok and the same price as now.

Seychelles on a budget!-mvimg_20191122_085536.jpg

I also flew to Praslin in small DHC-6 Twin Otter operated by Air Seychelles and its definitely recommended for the views and cost about Rs. 2.5k per person at that time.

Seychelles on a budget!-img_20191122_122154.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

Forget the big resorts unless you want to splurge heavily. Resort cost can be anywhere from 80k INR a night to 3lacs a night, I have even seen tariffs close to 6-7 lacs INR per day in secluded island resorts!

I don't remember the prices exactly but I did stay at the Seychelles Kempinski and it was around Rs. 30-40k per night including breakfast. I think prices must have gone up a lot now.

Seychelles on a budget!-img_20191126_182456.jpg

I also had gone to the Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar Temple in Victoria which was unfortunately closed when I visited.

Seychelles on a budget!-img_20191127_135803.jpg

venus1975 · 24th December 2022, 15:49

Lovely narration and photos @pyrodrive!

You took me on a nostalgic trip!

For me Seychelles ranks first in the beach destinations that I have been to. It was in my wish list ever since 1997, when India's Diana Hayden was crowned Miss World in the event held in this beautiful archipelago.

We finally made it in 2014 when Sri Lankan airlines had just introduced flights to Mahe from Colombo. Until then there were no short flights from India to Seychelles and the tickets used to be too expensive for us to afford. When I found that Sri Lankan airlines was flying from Chennai to Mahe via Colombo, and the return ticket was only Rs.28K per person, we immediately went ahead and booked the tickets without doing any research on hotels local transport.

Only after booking the tickets did we realize that the resorts and hotels were super expensive. So we started looking for Airbnb accommodations and found some reasonable deals. They were still expensive and rates were comparable to 4/5 STAR hotels in India, but were much cheaper than the resorts. For moving around, we had rented an i20, since hiring a cab was not an option for a budget traveler!

So, we landed in the Mahe Airport, bought a local SIM from a store nearby, put it in a spare phone, turned on the Google Maps and off we were to our airbnb in a rented i20!

It was one awesome experience visiting Mahe, Praslin and Ladigue islands and the memories will live forever!

For anyone who is fond of beach destinations, Seychelles should be in the top of their bucket list. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

pyrodrive · 24th December 2022, 18:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by venus1975

Lovely narration and photos @pyrodrive!

You took me on a nostalgic trip!

For me Seychelles ranks first in the beach destinations that I have been to.

Only after booking the tickets did we realize that the resorts and hotels were super expensive. So we started looking for Airbnb accommodations and found some reasonable deals. They were still expensive and rates were comparable to 4/5 STAR hotels in India, but were much cheaper than the resorts. For moving around, we had rented an i20, since hiring a cab was not an option for a budget traveler!

For anyone who is fond of beach destinations, Seychelles should be in the top of their bucket list. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Thanks man. The resort cost was one thing that had put me off before. Just one look at any booking website for resorts is a frightening experience.

Last line- I cannot agree with you more. The Seychelles beaches are the best I have ever been to.

Evyas · 4th January 2023, 00:03

Happy New Year 2023 to everyone!

Wishing all of us a happy, healthy, prosperous, safe and serene New Year, where we reach for the stars and come closer to our dreams and destinations.

Adding some of my pics from Seychelles on this wonderful thread. Just seeing these makes me happy and that's the best way to start a new year I think!

You'll see a lot of colours of the water all over the island of Mahe (since we have never gone on the other islands). These are from our two trips - one in July and another in December, a few years apart.

Year end is usually not a great time since it tends to rain and is overcast.

Also, a sad bit of news is that the place we always stayed in has been shut down thanks to the lockdowns and Covid

But most places have similar - or better - views.

So just fire up AirBnB and take your pick. You won't be disappointed.

Our chalet's living room view, looking out into the balcony. This was at our arrival at around 6AM.

This is the view from the wraparound balcony..would you want to go anywhere else if you saw this every morning you woke up?!

From the bedroom.

A scrumptious cake my wife planned as a surprise from a local bakery. Our first trip was for my birthday in July.

The roof of the chalet overlooking the waters from where it is perched on a cliff. There were 4 chalets like this up a steep hill.

This was the second chalet which was lower down than the others.

The car had to drive up a steep almost 80 degree incline to get to there and then another one to park. You can see the tyre path down from the hill to the right. I got trained in hill driving in a day!

I'll try and upload the videos of these hill climbs and descents, they were so much fun, like being on a personal roller coaster every day!

This is one of the beaches we saw on our way. That's how Seychelles has been for us. You literally see a different shade of water and stop, cross the road and come out into a place like this. It is heavenly!

We came to know later that this was a famous picture spot with tourists due to the perfectly placed swing on the tree!

This was Xanadu beach.

This is at the southern most tip of the island of Mahe, and for those of you who have read 'Kubla Khan' by ST Coleridge will recognise the name. I think the settlers here actually felt this was paradise, so they named this place 'Xanadu'! But this beach was more rocks and the blue here the deepest shade of indigo we saw among all the water shades on the island.

This is a restaurant where we met 2 Garhwali waiters and spoke at length in hindi!

On this side you'll notice the water is almost teal/green

Same restaurant, but from closer to the beach.

The approach to the beach next to the restaurant. This place was popular as there was a fuel pump just opposite it and a few ATMs too.

This is the Sunset Beach Resort. Absolutely stunning setting for a lunch. A 3 Star so not very pricey even if you want to splurge on a meal here.

Surfer's Cafe.

Surfers cafe is our favourite haunt. It has a nice restaurant (where a Sri Lankan chef makes mouthwatering food) Here you can eat, walk down to the beach and snorkel, swim, or just lie down on their loungers on the sand near the beach and keep repeating this eat, swim, sleep - till end of day. Which we've done!

Last time we were there, we heard Surfers also had started renting out their apartments nearby. Those would be worth checking out.

Surfer's at night.

This is a restaurant called Fisherman's Cove. It also has a hotel and offers this view to the people staying there!

The view from the driver's seat of our rental car.

You're pretty much on the coastline all through the island.

Residences on Eden Island.

Mainly built as an 'artificial island' and there are palatial houses with private jettys and boats there for sale. And based on when we asked a few years ago, those houses with private waterways was still cheaper to buy than some properties in town side in Bombay!

Eden Plaza on Eden Island is a 'mall'.

You can drive there, do some shopping (most of the shops were closed though whenever we visited) and sit by the water side and eat.

'Picnic Beach'

We called this 'Picnic Beach' since we never really knew what it's official name was. We just stopped by the side of the road since it was quiet and 2 people were sitting there and having their lunch. So even we decided to have our first picnic in Seychelles there.

This is all you need in Seychelles.

A big hat, sunscreen, beach towels and something to eat. Cake always helps, even without an occasion.

Sunset beach.

The best sunsets on the island happen here.

The beach from The Hilton restaurant.

Seychelles on a budget!-screenshot-20230103-11.33.12-am.png

Drivers view!

Sunset Beach Resort at lunch time.

Rainy December view from the balcony.

'Picnic Beach' is usually also empty.

Different chalet balcony but almost the same view in December

Moonlight at Surfers

The insanely delicious dal and rice.

Fish curry and rice.

Will upload more pics of Mauritius and Maldives soon, and some videos of the drives too.

Happy New Year 2023 once again!

Take care everyone and peace be with you..

shankar.balan · 4th January 2023, 09:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evyas

Happy New Year 2023 to everyone!

Wishing all of us a happy, healthy, prosperous, safe and serene New Year, where we reach for the stars and come closer to our dreams and destinations.

Adding some of my pics from Seychelles on this wonderful thread. Just seeing these makes me happy and that's the best way to start a new year I think!

Happy New Year 2023 once again!

Take care everyone and peace be with you..

What a beautiful set of pictures on this lovely thread!
Thanks a lot for sharing!
I have had Seychelles on my list for quite a while. Now may be the time to execute it!
Some queries;
What car did you rent?
Are there any small 4x4’s available like Vitara and RAV4 etc?
Are there some/any interesting golf courses on the islands? For me personally that’s a desirable experience - playing in different places.
The rest of the holiday will be just about ‘super-chillax’!

Evyas · 4th January 2023, 12:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

What a beautiful set of pictures on this lovely thread!
Thanks a lot for sharing!
I have had Seychelles on my list for quite a while. Now may be the time to execute it!
Some queries;
What car did you rent?
Are there any small 4x4’s available like Vitara and RAV4 etc?
Are there some/any interesting golf courses on the islands? For me personally that’s a desirable experience - playing in different places.
The rest of the holiday will be just about ‘super-chillax’!

Hi, we had an i10 on both occasions and manual!

For reference, this is the place we hired cars from. Their cars are listed on the site.

https://www.okap.sc/

Also car hire is usually connected to your rental property i.e the AirBnB usually has tie ups with the rental car company in their locality. That gets you good rates and peace of mind re: confirmation. We got a pick up from the airport with our booking and drop to the property when we first visited there so that’s always good. To not drive in a new country and roads on your first day.

I did see a few big pickups and 4x4 cars but they seemed local owned and not rentals. Frankly never checked since the island roads are really tiny and an i10 was ideal in those situations. I actually saw a small incident where a tourist car was scraped lightly by a local car since the roads are that narrow!

I’m sure every AirBnB host will give you options to choose from as far as cars go.

Regarding golf courses we did see one on our drive around the island but I’m not really sure about details. You can check this :

http://m.seychellesnewsagency.com//a...+in+Seychelles

But be warned - you might not want to move from the beach once you get there, golf or no golf

Oh, and another thing - we were told Seychelles is among the few places outside of Europe where they brew Guinness so apart from Seybrew you can get authentic stout in Seychelles if that’s your thing!

23rd December 2022, 20:11	#16
VALLABHA Newbie Join Date: Jun 2022 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10 Thanked: 23 Times	Re: Seychelles on a budget! Excellent travelogue. Stunning beauty this place is.. superbly captured!! Thanks for sharing such a detailed post.
	(1) Thanks

24th December 2022, 15:49	#18
venus1975 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: Chennai Posts: 149 Thanked: 308 Times	Re: Seychelles on a budget! Lovely narration and photos @pyrodrive! You took me on a nostalgic trip! For me Seychelles ranks first in the beach destinations that I have been to. It was in my wish list ever since 1997, when India's Diana Hayden was crowned Miss World in the event held in this beautiful archipelago. We finally made it in 2014 when Sri Lankan airlines had just introduced flights to Mahe from Colombo. Until then there were no short flights from India to Seychelles and the tickets used to be too expensive for us to afford. When I found that Sri Lankan airlines was flying from Chennai to Mahe via Colombo, and the return ticket was only Rs.28K per person, we immediately went ahead and booked the tickets without doing any research on hotels local transport. Only after booking the tickets did we realize that the resorts and hotels were super expensive. So we started looking for Airbnb accommodations and found some reasonable deals. They were still expensive and rates were comparable to 4/5 STAR hotels in India, but were much cheaper than the resorts. For moving around, we had rented an i20, since hiring a cab was not an option for a budget traveler! So, we landed in the Mahe Airport, bought a local SIM from a store nearby, put it in a spare phone, turned on the Google Maps and off we were to our airbnb in a rented i20! It was one awesome experience visiting Mahe, Praslin and Ladigue islands and the memories will live forever! For anyone who is fond of beach destinations, Seychelles should be in the top of their bucket list. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
	(1) Thanks

4th January 2023, 00:03	#20
Evyas BHPian Join Date: Dec 2021 Location: Mumbai Posts: 144 Thanked: 723 Times	Re: Seychelles on a budget! Happy New Year 2023 to everyone! Wishing all of us a happy, healthy, prosperous, safe and serene New Year, where we reach for the stars and come closer to our dreams and destinations. Adding some of my pics from Seychelles on this wonderful thread. Just seeing these makes me happy and that's the best way to start a new year I think! You'll see a lot of colours of the water all over the island of Mahe (since we have never gone on the other islands). These are from our two trips - one in July and another in December, a few years apart. Year end is usually not a great time since it tends to rain and is overcast. Also, a sad bit of news is that the place we always stayed in has been shut down thanks to the lockdowns and Covid But most places have similar - or better - views. So just fire up AirBnB and take your pick. You won't be disappointed. Our chalet's living room view, looking out into the balcony. This was at our arrival at around 6AM. This is the view from the wraparound balcony..would you want to go anywhere else if you saw this every morning you woke up?! From the bedroom. A scrumptious cake my wife planned as a surprise from a local bakery. Our first trip was for my birthday in July. The roof of the chalet overlooking the waters from where it is perched on a cliff. There were 4 chalets like this up a steep hill. This was the second chalet which was lower down than the others. The car had to drive up a steep almost 80 degree incline to get to there and then another one to park. You can see the tyre path down from the hill to the right. I got trained in hill driving in a day! I'll try and upload the videos of these hill climbs and descents, they were so much fun, like being on a personal roller coaster every day! This is one of the beaches we saw on our way. That's how Seychelles has been for us. You literally see a different shade of water and stop, cross the road and come out into a place like this. It is heavenly! We came to know later that this was a famous picture spot with tourists due to the perfectly placed swing on the tree! This was Xanadu beach. This is at the southern most tip of the island of Mahe, and for those of you who have read 'Kubla Khan' by ST Coleridge will recognise the name. I think the settlers here actually felt this was paradise, so they named this place 'Xanadu'! But this beach was more rocks and the blue here the deepest shade of indigo we saw among all the water shades on the island. This is a restaurant where we met 2 Garhwali waiters and spoke at length in hindi! On this side you'll notice the water is almost teal/green Same restaurant, but from closer to the beach. The approach to the beach next to the restaurant. This place was popular as there was a fuel pump just opposite it and a few ATMs too. This is the Sunset Beach Resort. Absolutely stunning setting for a lunch. A 3 Star so not very pricey even if you want to splurge on a meal here. Surfer's Cafe. Surfers cafe is our favourite haunt. It has a nice restaurant (where a Sri Lankan chef makes mouthwatering food) Here you can eat, walk down to the beach and snorkel, swim, or just lie down on their loungers on the sand near the beach and keep repeating this eat, swim, sleep - till end of day. Which we've done! Last time we were there, we heard Surfers also had started renting out their apartments nearby. Those would be worth checking out. Surfer's at night. This is a restaurant called Fisherman's Cove. It also has a hotel and offers this view to the people staying there! The view from the driver's seat of our rental car. You're pretty much on the coastline all through the island. Residences on Eden Island. Mainly built as an 'artificial island' and there are palatial houses with private jettys and boats there for sale. And based on when we asked a few years ago, those houses with private waterways was still cheaper to buy than some properties in town side in Bombay! Eden Plaza on Eden Island is a 'mall'. You can drive there, do some shopping (most of the shops were closed though whenever we visited) and sit by the water side and eat. 'Picnic Beach' We called this 'Picnic Beach' since we never really knew what it's official name was. We just stopped by the side of the road since it was quiet and 2 people were sitting there and having their lunch. So even we decided to have our first picnic in Seychelles there. This is all you need in Seychelles. A big hat, sunscreen, beach towels and something to eat. Cake always helps, even without an occasion. Sunset beach. The best sunsets on the island happen here. The beach from The Hilton restaurant. Drivers view! Sunset Beach Resort at lunch time. Rainy December view from the balcony. 'Picnic Beach' is usually also empty. Different chalet balcony but almost the same view in December Moonlight at Surfers The insanely delicious dal and rice. Fish curry and rice. Will upload more pics of Mauritius and Maldives soon, and some videos of the drives too. Happy New Year 2023 once again! Take care everyone and peace be with you..
	(2) Thanks