Seychelles: What you need to know before traveling

Hello,

Bringing you another travel post this week as promised and it’s about one of the most beautiful countries I have visited to date, Seychelles! This is the 2nd African country, Morocco was the first, Nigeria doesn’t count because I grew up there. For those who don’t know Seychelles is located off the coast of East Africa. East of Kenya to be exact. English is spoken there. My trip to Seychelles was a birthday gift by my husband so I didn’t do any planning for the first time ever LOL. Keep reading to find out why you should add Seychelles to your travel bucket list.

   Top by Auteur bikini bottom H&M sunnies Gucci

Covid Rules

To visit Seychelles, you must have a valid negative PCR test result of not more than 72 hours prior to travel regardless of vaccine status. Covid vaccine is NOT required. Masks are required in all public places. When leaving the rules that apply to your home country is what you go by, the US requires covid negative test up to 48 on a connecting flight and 24 hours on a direct flight.

Jumpsuit by Andrea Iyamah

How to get there

Visas, citizens of the United States do not require a visa to visit Seychelles. 

Seychelles is quite a distance from the US but I will say this, it is worth visiting! It took us roughly a day (18.5hours) to go from Atlanta to Seychelles minus layover. We booked Emirates Airlines because comfort was a top priority for this trip (It was my milestone birthday trip, so we splurged.) We flew from Atlanta to JFK (New York) via JetBlue to catch the Emirates flight from JFK to DXB (Dubai International Airport) (a 12.5 hour flight) and after a 3-hour layover, we got on an Emirates flight from DXB to SEZ (Seychelles International Airport) (4.5-hour flight) On a future post, I will share how I save on first/business class flights.

Earrings by PatBo Swimsuit by FeNoel

Going through immigration was a breeze because we completed the authorization form ahead! We didn’t have any checked luggage too, so we were in our taxi within 15mins from landing in Seychelles.

Where we stayed, Four Seasons Mahe

We stayed in Mahe, Seychelles, the largest of the Islands in Seychelles. We chose the Four Seasons Mahe because we wanted to stay in a luxury hotel (milestone birthday,) we wanted a hotel that was easy to get to ( 25 mins ride from the airport) and a place that had lots to offer including amazing service. Four Seasons Mahe checked all the boxes, so hubby booked it. Our hotel package came with free breakfast which hands down was one of the best spreads I have ever seen. See my Seychelles highlights for clips from my trip.

Dress by The Sei, shoes and bag by The Attico Jacket by Ade by Femi

Some resorts are located further into the Island and some require an additional plane ride or boat to get to, so keep this in mind when booking your Seychelles hotel.

What we did

This was a 3 night, 4-day trip so the plan was mostly to enjoy the resort and do a little exploring. The Four seasons Mahe is absolutely beautiful. I loved that this resort was built around nature. Pictures don’t do it justice, to be honest. During our 4 days there, I visited the spa (a must) and went kayaking, chilled on the beach, and also spent a lot of time in our villa. Other activities we saw were boating, bicycling, speed boat, yoga, these were all complimentary. Snorkeling too! They also have an amazing kids club! The villas here are massive! Oh, the beaches, nothing quite like it and I have been to quite a number of beaches all around the world. The Maldives is the only place that tops Seychelles for me.

Pants by Miguelina  bag by Bottega, slides Hermes

Kimono by Ladyee Boutique, Bikini by Andrea Iyamah

We also visited Victoria (the harbor is beautiful and you can rent a boat here starting from (2k USD) and while we were there we also visited a local beach and Victoria Botanical Gardens. Sights at the garden include seeing Giant tortoises, among other things.

Food

Because we spent most of our time at the resort, we ate a combo of Seychellen food and international cuisine from Asian to American.  Everything was so yummy!

Maxi by Agua by Agua Bendita

Things to keep in mind

Seychelles is expensive! yup, I said it. Dollars isn’t readily accepted here, so either bring Euros or stick to using your card. We just used our cards the entire time (we booked our  cab fare via our resort.) Cab fares and restaurant menu showed prices in euros which is slightly higher in value than the US dollar.

Maxi by Ladyee Boutique

There is so much more to do here beyond what we did, we weren’t interested in the nightlife. It rained every day we were in Seychelles but like most tropical islands, it stopped after a few hours and the sun came out shining bright. We had the vacation we envisioned and everything went according to plan without a clutch.