Best-kept secrets in Seychelles
Seychelles is a garden of treasures, lying in wait for you on an island so beautiful it seems straight out of a storybook. Picture that perfect white beach with leaning palm trees, huge smooth boulders, clear waves lapping the shores while a couple walks hand in hand towards the sunset. This IS Seychelles and we can take you there. When you are not beaching it, you can be doing plenty of other fascinating things and we have the list of the 10 best-kept secrets in Seychelles to prove it:
- Le Jardin du Roi
Discover the perfect restaurant on the island of Mahe which blends fine eating with environmental ethics and plenty of French history. Set off on a marked nature trail before you eat a delicious lunch and experience this retreat full of stunning Seychelles plant species including a plantation of spices and other rare flora. It is very apt that you finally sit down to the Plantation Lunch on a Sunday when all the food on the fixed menu, drinks and even the ice cream has been flavoured with the spices from this very plantation. Or choose the rewarding a la carte menu to pamper your palate. Le Jardin du Roi was created as a result of original French gardens during the 18th century which was cultivated to grow spices during the early trading years.
- Michael Adams, M.B.E
Meet this artist, no doubt the best-known artist in the Seychelles who has lived here since 1972. It is no surprise that Michael Adams earned the Member of the British Empire award for his unique, vibrant and colourful pictures depicting in rich detail the sheer beauty of the islands. No one else has been able to do this so perfectly.
Check out the gallery at Anse aux Poules Bleues to buy innovative silkscreens, postcards, line blocks and calendars. Add to this a recently produced book of available silkscreens which are already proving popular with many tourists.
- The National Botanic Gardens Foundation
More than 100 years ago, the Seychelles Botanical Garden in central Victoria was created to be an experimental garden for crop species during colonial times. But, as time moved on, the garden changed and today this is a living museum of plants, from then until now. Wander around the beautiful gardens then pop into the Biodiversity Centre to see just which plants are endemic to Seychelles and which vital habitats they need to flourish. This important centre values and preserves those plants from these islands.
- ZEZ
Discover a scintillating restaurant on a hill overlooking the ocean. This is ZEZ, an extraordinary place to enjoy a full and satisfying breakfast from an extensive buffet of international foods, or an a la carte menu offering specials of the day. Dinners at ZEZ have a European slant where chefs have enhanced classic dishes with modern touches and flavours and where their completely innovative cuisine stuns diners every time, not forgetting their excellent fish delicacies, straight from the sea. All you have to do is sit outside on the terrace, above the ocean in the glorious sunshine, and taste everything you order, in that order. Enjoy ZEZ!
- Eden Island Villas
Something new is rising in Seychelles, a new complex of elegant and modern villas for sale to new buyers. Mingling the sophistication of extensive colonial-style residences with the opulence these kinds of unique developments expect to bring to specialised settings. Find Eden Island Villas near Victoria, the Seychelles capital, and feel compelled to view them as simply one of a kind places to own. Start with a plot of island land where you can build your own tailor-made villa on erfs from 600 square metres to 3 000 square metres – all with private swimming pools and plenty of space and light to match the island setting.
- Fully equipped kitchen with refrigerator, dishwasher, oven, washing machine and dryer
- Décor touches in tasteful Pearl, Coral, or Granite palette
- Air conditioning
- Choose your own style of décor or choose from the range of stylish furniture already preferred along with a selection of audio visual equipment
- Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market
A busy and vibrant market on Mahe Island where you can bump shoulders with local Seychelles residents and visitors as you all haggle for goods. Buy your fresh fruit and vegetables here, your spices, fish and other kitchen needs. Wander around the stunning boutiques for clothing, mementoes and artworks that you may want to send home. What an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning, buying something you don’t really need but have fallen in love with?
- Island Hopping
Start your adventure between islands in Seychelles from Mahe, the so-called beating heart of this archipelago. Here you can explore Victoria, the capital city, and diverse forests, mountains and more than 60 beautiful beaches. You may see the rarest bird in Seychelles, on La Digue, while spinning your way around on a bicycle or ox cart, as everyone else does. On Praslin, find the Lemuria Championship Golf Course with its 18 holes veering down to the ocean and back. Check out further islands by boat, or catamaran exploring secret coves and turquoise depths for days in the sun, where few people venture at all.
- Natural Environment
Don’t forget that Seychelles is a hothouse of biodiversity and a place where thousands of rare and endangered species still exist. Look out for the unique hawksbill turtle and the largest population of Aldabra giant tortoises in the world. And the Coco de Mer palm tree, known for its characteristic fruit, on Praslin Island’s Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve. Seychelles boasts more than 2,000 species of plants and more than 1,000 species of fish! Hike to the top of the highest peak in Morne Seychellois National Park.
- Tea for two
Sip tea where once Queen Elizabeth 11 had a cuppa too. The Tea Factory is a lovely place to explore if you feel like taking a drive along the Sans Souci mountain pass. Get to Mission Lodge and its spectacular outlook than on to the tea plantation on the slopes of Morne Blanc. Enjoy the guided tour to discover how tea is made which has been the case here since 1966. Taste a few organic brews and choose one or two to take home with you, fresh and unique in their infusions.
These are some of the Seychelles best-kept secrets but we know there are more. Contact us
to find out what, where and when and we will book your ideal island holiday to this unique and panoramic archipelago.