Your gateway to Seychelles

Location and Geography
Located in the Indian Ocean 1600 kms off the east coast of Africa and covering a land area of just 445 square kilometres lies the Seychelles archipelago of 42 granitic and 73 coralline islands These 115 exquisite islands are spread over an area of 1 300 00 square kilometres and lie 4-10 degrees south of the equator The inner islands are mostly granitic and are situated on the Seychelles plateau These islands are clustered around the principal island of Mahe The neighbouring islands are Praslin La Digue Silhouette North Fregate Bird and Denis Islands The outer islands consisting of sand cays and coral atolls fall into five distinct groups Amirantes group Southern Coral group Alphonse group Farquhar group and the Aldabra group Only two islands within this group offers accommodation that being Desroches Island in the Amirantes group and Alphonse Island in the Alphonse group

Climate
The climate is tropical and being just outside the cyclone belt means that there are no extremes in weather The surrounding ocean has a moderating effect on the weather so the temperatures seldom drop below 24 degrees or rise above 33 degrees Celsius Although high winds and thunderstorms are rare being in a tropical environment one can expect tropical showers briefly lived but invigorating and welcome

There are two trade winds
Northwest trade winds from October to March - the warm tropical weather makes the generally calm sea all that more inviting This is the best time for SCUBA diving and watersports
Southeast trade winds from May to September - when these winds blow the weather is generally drier and cooler and rougher seas can be expected particularly on the south-eastern coasts This is the ideal time to visit for the outstanding hiking and trails

What to wear
Lightweight cotton and linen clothing are suitable The locals set the pace with their sexy skirts and breezy shirts and casual eveningwear for dining and entrance into casinos will suffice Gentlemen are advised to bring a pair of long trousers and don t forget that if you are arriving from a cold climate take a change of cool clothing for disembarkation

Culture, Language and Religion
The Seychellois are a beautiful mix of European African and Asian Each culture has brought something of their own way of life and custom to the islands resulting in a rich and fascinating Creole culture There are three official languages English French and Creole Creole is spoken by everybody and is an eclectic mix of 17th Century French with words and expressions taken from Africa and Madagascar The dominant religion is Roman Catholicism but on Mahe Praslin and La Digue one will also find Anglican and Protestant churches along with smaller Muslim Hindu and Baha i communities

Customs Regulations
Visitors are required to use only foreign currency in making payments in hotels guesthouses and for other holiday-related expenses such as hiring of cars or boats the services of tour operators or travel agents patronage of casinos and domestic transfers within the Seychelles

Economy
Credit cards are widely accepted throughout the Seychelles Incidental purchases or payments such as in restaurants outside hotels shopping excluding duty free shops and taxi fares are payable in local currency Seychelles rupees and cents Exchanging money may only be done at banks authorised money dealers at the Seychelles International Airport or with the hotel cashier It is a criminal offence to change money with an unauthorised person It is illegal to enter or leave the country with more than 2 000 Seychelles rupees in the Seychelles currency without authorisation Issued by the Foreign Earnings Regulation Division and effective as of 01st of June 2001

Currency, Departure Taxes and Visas
The local currency is Seychelles Rupee SCR and is made up of 100 cents Bank notes come in denominations of 10 25 50 and 100 Commonly used credit cards are American Express Visa Card MasterCard Access Diners Club to a lesser extent All passengers 12 years and older are required to pay a Passenger Service Fee PSF of US 40 00 per person upon departure The PSF coupons are on sale at all commercial banks and is payable in a foreign currency accepted in the Seychelles Credit cards can also be used All tourists are given a 30 day Visitor s Permit upon arrival

Health
There is no risk of contracting malaria or yellow fever in the Seychelles However passengers over 1 year of age who have passed through a yellow fever environment 6 days prior to arriving in the Seychelles are required to have a yellow fever vaccination

Local Time
The Seychelles are GMT 4 hours

Communication
IDD facilities are available at all hotels and there are two GSM networks available Cable and Wireless and Airtel While payphones are available clients should check the roaming agreements with their service providers so that they may make use of their own mobile telephones