Destination Report: visit The Seychelles, forget The Maldives

The tourism sensation of the moment is The Maldives. But anybody who has enjoyed these beautiful but pancake-flat and rather limited islands should go a step better and head to The Seychelles, lower down in the Indian Ocean.

These islands are the true Robinson Crusoe adventure. Lush with natural greenery, the topography is elevated and there is a curious indigeneous Creole culture, a mixture of French colonialism before the defeat of Napoleon and African slaves liberated by the British. That adds up to some tasty cooking.

Mass market

The Seychelles is opening up its tourism to the world and shedding its elitist image. Larger hotels like the 184-room Constance Ephelia Resort that opened this February have depressed room rates and left smaller hotels struggling. And at the luxury end of the market the 16-month old, 67-villa Four Seasons is having a similar impact.

Emirates Airline flies to The Seychelles six times a week from Dubai and will go to seven flights in September, and Qatar Airways is also flying there. Emirates is going to build a 400-room hotel that will be the largest on the biggest island not far from the airport, and construction of the new Raffles Hotel is well advanced on Praslin Island.

It is to be hoped that the arrival of mass tourism is not going to fundamentally transform the appeal of The Seychelles as an exclusive beach and island destination. So far the hotel developments have been sympathetic to the environment and the government is keen for this to continue.

Very safe destination

The Seychelles has none of the problems of neighboring Africa and its socialist past leaves a peaceful society in which everybody has a place. There are none of the threatening shanty towns of South Africa, and the islands are very safe.

Typically tourists move between the main island and Praslin for their stay and then enjoy a day trip to one of the smaller islands like La Digue. Apart from the outstandingly beautiful beaches you can visit nature reserves in the island interiors, perhaps to see the famous coco de mer palm trees with the largest nut in the world or the colonial style villages where most people still live. Masons Travel will look after you.

Visitors from the Gulf will find that their US-dollar linked currencies go further than in the recent past thanks to the appreciation of the dollar and The Seychelles own IMF economic reform package.

It is perhaps understandable why tourist numbers have been little impacted by the recession, although with more hotels to fill this is still depressing room rates. The Seychelles is a real taste of paradise and much better value for Gulf visitors than in the recent past.