Family Holidays: Seychelles family holidays
Take the Family holiday rating 
Why
One of those rare places which are even more beautiful than the glossy brochures.
Yes the sand is that white, the sea that clear, the sky that blue. The Seychelles
are the kind of place where you find yourself lying on the beach, staring up
at the sky, wondering how you got to be this lucky. Consisting of 41 islands
and 74 cays, all unique, all with their own fabulous beaches and fascinating
wildlife, the Seychelles are amongst the great tourist destinations of the world.
Plus, no jet lag to turn the kids rotten for the first few days.
- Top left: Anse Lazio, Seychelles
- Top middle: Smiling Seychellois child
- Top right: Ox-cart, La Digue, Seychelles
- Bottom left: Intedance beach, Mahe
- Bottom right: La Passe, La Digue
When
The busiest holiday season in the Seychelles is between December and April, which
coincides with the North East Monsoon, which provides little wind and dry conditions.
June is the worst month of the South West Monsoon which brings rain and wind.
Temperatures, generallly speaking, vary little, with an annual daily average
of 32 °C, and a water temperature of between a delicious 28 and 30 °C.
How
Believe it or not there are 5 airports in the Seychelles. These are on Bird
Island, Denis Island, Desroches Island, Fregate Island, Praslin Island and Mahe Island,
which is home to Mahe International Airport. It's a long way to the Seychelles
and it can take 11 hours or more (depending on your city of departure and variations of indirect
flights), but do keep in mind that being miles from anywhere can have it's benefits!
Stay
The Seychelles offer all types of accommodations – from budget inns to
luxury spa resorts. Mid range accommodations can offer very basic facilities
and are mostly in the three star ranges. 4 and 5 star resorts don't fail to
provide the expected high level of service with great facilities, for example,
the wonderfully secluded Lemuria
Resort and Villas. Don't forget though that wherever you are staying, you
will be in one of the most wonderful places on earth!
Do
The ultimate beach holiday - if you can prise your family off their loungers, the snorkelling, diving and swimming are superb. You can go out on a glass-bottomed
boat to look at giant turtles or hire your own to take the family fishing. Go island hopping, each island has its own character. And you can fly, sail, or
take the ferry, or even a canoe. If you have a family of potential twitchers, take them bird-watching, you might catch a glimpse of the
rare Seychelles fly-catcher.
Recommended beaches include: Anse Georgette - granite boulders frame the perfect white sand, Anse Source d'Argent - a perfect beach for children with sand sloping
off gently into the shallow warm water, regularly named as one of the Worlds most beautiful beaches, or Beau Vallon - another perfect family beach with great
watersports facilities, restaurants, a lifeguard and miles of white sand, you can stay in a hotel by the water.
Eat
The cuisine is Creole as the earliest settlement here was French - French with
an Oriental twist. Specialities include grilled fish with ginger and garlic
or a variety of exotic curries with coconut milk and local fruit. Have a croissant
for breakfast and barbecued fish on the beach for lunch.
Cost
Paradise doesn't, (always), come cheap. In the Seychelles, hotels are regulated
by the Ministry of Tourism and are of a consistently high standard, but also
charge consistently high prices. You will be unlikely to find a mid-range room
for less than £70-£100 a night. A much better deal is to take an
all-inclusive package trip from the UK. Seven nights in a three-star resort
hotel costs from £1,100-£1,500, with luxurious four and five stars from about
£1, 700. Flights start in the £400-£500 range.
Travel reading
by Jan Dodd et al
Buy from Amazon.co.uk - Save 30%
The leading guide to Mauritius and the Seychelles.
