Travel Information

Local time:

GMT plus 4 hours, MEZ plus 3 hours, MESZ plus 2 hours.

Entry:

Visa for 4 weeks stay (you can prolong) and a passport with at least 6 months validity. Persons above 18 years may import 400 cigarettes, 2 litres alcohol and articles up to a value of 3000 SR.

Departure:

Objects from tortoiseshell or corals may not be exported. The exportation of a Coco de Mer  requires a written approval which you receives from authorised sellers.

Journey:

The international Airport is located in "Point La Rue" on Mahé.

Language:

Creole is a mixing language, consisting of the original dialects and the colonial language and remind therefore always strongly of French in the Seychelles. However, Seychellois  also understand French and English.

Climate:

Tropically warm climate. During the southeast monsoon of the end of May until September the air is cooler and drier, during the northwest monsoon of October until May the air is warmer and damper.

Mobile phones:

Mobile telephone works on most Inner Islands.

Internet:

The Internet is a little slow and sometimes for days not available on the islands. There are 2 Internet café in Victoria and it cost 2 Euros for 15 minutes (stand 2003).

Holidays:

January 1st and 2nd (New Year), Good Friday, May 1st (day of the work), Corpus Christi, June 5th (day of the liberation), June 18th (national holiday), June 29th (independence day), August 15th (Ascension Day), November 1st (All Saints' Day), 8. December (Maria conception) and 25. December (Christmas).

Diving:

Middle view and water temperatures between 26 and 29 degrees centigrade, in some places at times cold depth flows. Great richness in fish and often also large fish up to the Tiger Shark and Sperm Whale.

Snorkels:

Since El Ninjo the corals here also are no longer as beautiful but there is often whale sharks to see  between October and April.

Geographical position:

Of 3° 43' up to 10° 8' southern breadth and of 46° 10' up to 56° 20' eastern length in the Indian ocean.

The islands:

Sea area of 1 million km², land area 454 km². The Inner Islands consists of granite rocks and the 905 metres high Morne Seychellois is the highest elevation in the east of Victoria on Mahé, the Outer Islands are low coral islands.

National parks:

The Aldabra atoll, the islands Aride, Cousin and Curieuse are completely under conservation. There are however also other nature reserves, as the Morne Seychellois national park and the Valleé de May on Praslin (absolute smoking ban!), as well as the sea national parks, like the 80 hectares great Baie Ternay at the westernmost end of Mahé (preferential spawning ground of the Karett turtles) and parts of the sea in front of Praslin, as well as the mangrove woods in the Turtle Bay.

Coco de Mer:

The biggest coconut the world, the up to 20 kg heavy "Coco de Mer" grows only on Praslin and Curieuse, but a couple of copies are also in the botanic garden in Victoria. Approximately 3000 pieces are sold to tourists by it (only by a written exportation approval) every year.

Flora:

All islands are covered luxuriantly, the greatest variety of species if mixed already with imported species, too, grows, however, on Mahé. The original "cloud forests" still thrive in the higher areas.

Fauna:

Giant turtles (the best known is Esmeralda on Bird Island and she is 300 kg heavily and between 120 and 150 years old), lizards, salamanders, geckos and a huge number and species of birds, among this also the Great Frigatebird with up to 2 metres of span width.

Food:

Additionally to international kitchen in the hotels you should eat absolutely also local specialities, as bouyon bred (Chinese cabbage soup), lasoup pwason (fish-soup), lasoup tektek (mussel soup), kari pwason (fish curry), kari zourit (Octopus curry), pwason griye (grilled fish), pwason sale (spicy dried fish) and ladob banan (bananas cooked into coconut milk). To this satini is also served. These are Chutneys from native fruits, but you should never eat this Chutney, the satini reken, because this is a Shark Chutney!