Travel Itinerary: Seychelles, Indian Ocean.
I’ve been to the Seychelles a few times now but seeing it is now on the UK quarantine free travel corridor list and also being opened up to foreign tourists it seemed like a great idea for the first long-haul break post Covid.
Please check out the latest restrictions (links are shown at the bottom of this blog post) for the Seychelles Government as permitted countries may change as might the requirements for entry. I can only talk here about what we need to provide. Coming from a Category 2 country (UK) - entry is not as free as it would have been from a Category 1 country, but entry still allowed subject to the following:
Uploading a negative PCR test taken a maximum of 72 hours before the time of departure from the UK
Also uploading all your flight details and accommodation vouchers, as well as passport style photos and your insurance documents
Staying only in your permitted hotel or resort until you have taken a further PCR test - this will be performed in your resort after your 5th night, i.e. on day 6 of your stay. If negative, you are then free to move to other resorts or go out with the approved resort (there are lists of both Category 1 and 2 approved accommodations)
During and after our trip I will write hotel reviews of the three locations we’re staying at - Raffles Seychelles for our initial quarantine period, Denis Private Island then Constance Ephelia at the end. Both Raffles and Denis Island are all villa resorts, but we’re also staying in the villas at Ephelia too -having stayed previously in a villa at Constance Lemuria on Praslin, I’ll compare and contrast.
Actual Detailed Itinerary:
Day 1 Travel with British Airways to London Heathrow, overnight Sofitel London Heathrow Hotel
This is always our ‘go-to’ hotel when a stopover in London suits, directly connected to Terminal 5 so great for BA flights. We were due to have Covid tests here (they have an extremely useful Test & Rest package) but unfortunately the test (which is saliva based) wasn’t going to be acceptable for the Seychelles Government’s entry requirements.
Day 2 Direct flight with British Airways London Heathrow to Seychelles
Overnight with BA, arriving into the Seychelles the following morning. I’ll be writing up a full flight review as this is the first long-haul flight we’ve had since Covid.
Days 3 - 10 Raffles Seychelles, Praslin
The last time we were in the Seychelles we stayed at the Constance Lemuria on Praslin island, but this time we wanted a change and we had spotted Raffles on a previous boat trip. Raffles is an all-villa resort and here we will undertake our quarantine period, albeit you just have to remain in the resort until you’ve had your mandatory Covid test negative result. This will be taken on day 6 and if negative we are free to move elsewhere in the Seychelles and go on trips etc. out with the approved resorts or hotels themselves.
As we did on a previous stay, getting a helicopter straight after arriving means you can get to your resort in record time. Praslin is well served by daily commuter flights, but with Zil Air right to the resort itself it’s an amazing way to arrive and isn’t as expensive as you might think when comparing to scheduled flight prices plus a hotel car too.
Day 10 - 14 Denis Island Private island
At the moment there seems to be scheduled services from Mahé only three times a week, where you can arrange with the resort itself for a seat on these charters. Coming on a non-scheduled day, and wanting to fly direct from Praslin, we’ve organised with Zil Air (though it has to actually be booked through the resort itself, being a private island) to fly with them - there were three options, two different sizes of plane or helicopter.
Denis Island is the second northeasternmost island in the Seychelles. It is 60 kilometres north of Mahé and lies at the northern edge of the Seychelles bank, along with the nearby Bird Island, which is the northernmost Seychelles island.
I’ve spotted this for a while and thought it would be a great location for some proper chill-out time. There are only 25 villas in all; a combination of beach cottages and deluxe beach cottages (which although the deluxe seem slightly bigger are the same price), beachfront spa cottages and then one beach villa, with its own private pool in a walled garden.
So looking forward to visiting, the interaction with their reservations agent has been very prompt.
Day 14 - 18 Constance Ephelia, Mahé
A short flight back from Denis Island to the mainland Mahé (then onward with Zil Air by helicopter direct to Constance Epehlia), we thought it would be best to spend our last few days nearest to the airport as it’s a reasonably early start for our return flight and we didn’t want to have to return from another island on the day, not have to return the night before and just spend one night in a hotel.
I’d discounted the Constance Ephelia on our most recent trip, preferring their sister hotel on Praslin (Constance Lemuria), which is the only hotel in the Seychelles for Leading Hotels of the World, a regular favourite of mine. We had the best stay there in a two-bedroom beach villa with private pool; at about one third of the size of Ephelia on the mainland I’d initially thought that we didn’t want to stay in too big a resort. On looking again at Ephelia, and the location being only a 45-minute drive to the airport, with both their beach and hillside villas (all with private pools) I’ve decided to book this.
Day 18 Return morning flight with British Airways direct from Mahé Seychelles to London Heathrow
Daytime flight back from Mahé and again I will write a full flight review, this time featuring First. You can read some of other flight reviews here.
Useful website links:
Airlines:
Hotels:
Raffles Hotels | Luxury Hotels & Resorts
Leading Hotels of the World | Luxury Hotels & Resorts
Other: