Seychelles On A Budget 

Seychelles sounded like an exotic dream to me, too good to be true. That was the case until my boyfriend showed me a cheap multi stop flight with the following stops: Cape Town – Mahé (Seychelles) – Abu Dhabi – Bombay.

I didn't know much about Seychelles which includes 115 islands in total. If there were two words that I had to come up with to describe it, they would have probably been: paradise and expensive.

Well, I was right. It is in fact such a beautiful place to be. I have heard the little islands around like La Digue or Praslin are even more amazing. But, everything is expensive. Even basic groceries are expensive. 

As around the world travelers, we had to look for a budget-friendly accomodation which was quite difficult; most of the ones for 40 Euros were already sold out. We decided to stay on the main island Mahé as we only had 6 days. That's how we ended up at the west coast in a little village called Anse la Mouche in a self catering accommodation for 60 € per night. 

No matter where you stay, most likely there is a bus station close by, which makes it easy to travel around Mahé. The island is only 154 km². Always be sure and ask the bus driver if the bus will take you to your final destination. Some busses take longer routes and some are more direct. Bus schedules are available at the bus station in the capital Victoria. Costs are always per ride. If you get out of the bus to make a connection, you will have to pay again.

Costs per bus ride: 10 Seychellois rupees = 0.68 € or $ 0.74 (May 2015)

If you prefer to get around with a rental car, I can recommend you Fred Payet (Director of Sixt: [email protected] or call him +248 2510 060). 

However, I loved getting around by bus. It was nice to watch the locals and to dive into the culture a little bit. The busses in Seychelles don't lose time, they drive quite fast up and down the hills.

But, if you have less time and a certain plan, a rental car comes handy as you're not depending on any preset schedules or routes. Also, in a bus you can't stop every now and then to take pictures of the stunning scenery. Speaking of the scenery, Seychelles is spectacular.

Our favourite beaches were Beau Vallon in the north and Baie Lazare just a few bus stops from Anse la Mouche. Baie Lazare is a nice beach to go snorkeling around the rocks and it's perfect to take pictures. Also, we witnessed a wedding at the beach and of course we couldn't resist to take pictures of this romantic setting. 

The water on Seychelles is always warm, clear, and constantly around 26 degrees. Actually the most convenient place was a dive center just a few meters away from our accomodation: Dive Resort Seychelles. Our guide suggested us to wear a short neopren suit, otherwise we would sweat in the water. We felt very comfortable there and even got a coffee after the dive. I can highly recommend you to go diving with them. The morning dives are amazing and we went to a place called shark point (where we also saw sharks!)

We went in the beginning of May which was still fine weather-wise. We only had a 2 minute rain shower on the beach and just after it, the heat was back. Later in May through September there is not a lot of rain, but a stormy phase (southeast monsoon). Although on Seychelles there are rarely strong storms. 

Here is an overview of what Seychelles cost exactly for us. If you don't go diving, it will be cheaper. Included was also a few beers, cab rides from and to the airport and our accommodation. We went out twice for lunch, once we shared a pizza and in Victoria we went for the cheapest option in a café. Prices are listed in Seychelles rupees and the time of traveling was in 2015.

*as converted on June 6th 2015 

Seychelles on a budget is difficult, but doable if you plan it along with a multi-stop flight. Book your accomodations early (to get the ones for 40 €), cook at home, pack lunch packages for the beach, take public transport and look for free activities (hiking up a mountain, swimming, snorkeling, etc.)

It's a tropical island, so don't forget to pack mosquito spray! Also, if you want to enjoy a good bottle of wine, buy it at the airport before you arrive in Seychelles in order to save money.

Thanks for reading, if you liked this post, feel free to share. If you have any recommendations or questions, feel free to ask me.