2. Seychelles

Pirate, rum and rainforests. Plus, fancy a spot of island hopping?  In this episode,  you'll hear about the real Seychelles - with facts only a local would know: from travelling,  to eating, to shopping,

For a free factsheet on the Seychelles and other goodies, email May at her website:  https://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/may.swan-easton

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[00:00:00] Pirates , rum and rainforests plus fancy spot of island hopping. Welcome to episode two of travels with May.

hello, I'm May Swan-Easton. And in this episode, our destination is the Seychelles. Now keep listening because I'll be telling you how you can download a free fact sheet on the islands a little later. Let's get straight into the conversation I had with Karen confi, who is director of UK, Ireland and Nordics Seychelles, tourist board,

50 minutes. Or so you hear about the real Seychelles with facts on your local would know from traveling to eating, to shopping. Karen welcome. Thank you for inviting me. The first question, I guess is, um, why should the Seychelles be on everyone's wishlist? Oh, wow. That is a good one. So Seychelles, I would say [00:01:00] it's very unique.

It's very special, uh, different from many of the Indian ocean islands. Um, firstly, I would say we're so diverse. Uh, there's so many things to see so many things to do so many islands to, uh, explore island hopping is the way to go. Um, there's so much culture nature, so it's a little bit of everything. Um, you can do as little as you want.

And as much as you want, it's still pristine. It's still exclusive. It's not overrun by tourists. So you, when you get there, you still have this. A Virgin forest, that uncrowded beaches. So that's why I think it's, it's one of those places that you have to visit at least once in your life. So good. I did it twice.

So yeah, I totally agree with you about the history of the Seychelles current, um, was discovered in 1502, but I've asked her that gamma. And then along the way we were, uh, basically, uh, the French. Um, and we had the first settlers in the Seychelles [00:02:00] in 1770, and they settled on the island of John. Um, and then we would take, uh, the station, the islands was taken over by the British and we were under the British until we gained our independence in 1976.

So we are a pretty, quite young, uh, country. And again, that's why we have a lot of it. From the UK. Um, as you will see with the driving on the left with the court system, with the judiciary system and the school system, as well as English. So English is one of the official languages on the island and, uh, a little tick.

That's good to know about our history in 2020, we say book celebrated 250 years of the civilization of Seychelles, the first . So that was. A great achievement to 150 years of its existence and, and the, the main island of, um, Mar Hey, it's not actually that big, is it because you've evidently Victoria is the smallest capital in, in, [00:03:00] well, one of the smallest capitals in the world is that right?

Yes, it is our little town. Detroit is known to be one of the smallest capitals in the world. Um, it's really small. You can walk around and half an hour and discover the little town and what is great as well. We have a beautiful little clock tower, um, and we call it, I call it the little big Ben it's similar to the one in Victoria, and that was placed there by queen Victoria as well.

Because of your history. Um, there's lots of pirates that have, um, showed up against the, um, the shores and the beaches. And so I've heard that there's thousands of pounds worth of pirate, treasure buried somewhere on the islands. True. That is true. Stations was actually. Pirates back then, because, you know, we were in the middle of nowhere.

So the, when they found these islands, they came, they said, oh, they were not settled, but they came on the islands, they buried their treasures and they left. So there's still a little bit historians today, still trying to find the treasures and that for and [00:04:00] for one pirate are very notorious. One love views.

He was one of the famous ones that was actually in, in the notion. These believed to have very. Quite a lot of treasure here, so definitely need to get your bucket and Spader. Exactly. You can even do great treasure hunting. Um, a lot to discover in the history of, uh, of the piracy of Acrobat. Maybe a lot of people may not know this.

And you mentioned about island hopping because the Seychelles isn't just one island, is it? It's lots of different islands. It is that's exactly it. Um, in total we have hundred and 59 minutes, so many tiny, tiny little islands. Um, and we have both granitic and Coraline islands or the granitic islands is the ones with the boulders.

And that's the typical Rinat of the Seychelles, the forest and nature reserves. But we also have the little laterals, since both islands are so different. Um, they're perfect for island hopping. Um, so you can do a couple of days and one of the main islands, you can go out further [00:05:00] into the coral islands. Um, so it is great for that, and it's easy to move between the islands as well.

And just a quick stat for you as well. Did you know that seashells is actually the only mid or shiny quantitate islands in the world? No, I didn't know that. So you mentioned the islands, how easy is it to get from one island to the other? It is very easy. For example, from the main island of my, you can easily go to Prada, which is the second largest island, and that is by fast ferry boat.

So it's only one hour and we also have the small domestic flights, which is 15 minutes. So probably one. Right. You will ever have. So you just hop on a flight, go down to Prada. And then from pilot, it's very easy to go to Latik. Um, and that is only 15 minutes. So we always say, when you're in the Seychelles minimums, uh, I will always say minimum 10 nights, but over eight to 10 nights, you can do the three main islands, which is my

The other islands. Most of them are island [00:06:00] resorts. So they, you can combine them. They one island, one resort concept, so you can combine. And most of them is either the further one is either by small domestic flight or fairies and our boat trips as well. So these are all organized either, uh, the, the scheduled, uh, boats or organized by the hotel.

So it's very easy and not complicated at all. Okay. So people can actually wait till they get there to decide what they want to do. Or would you recommend that people pre-book to avoid disappointment? Um, if they're planning to do island hopping. Yes. I think it's better to pre-book because you need to book your accommodation as well.

So if you're thinking of a holiday in the Seychelles, firstly, think island hopping, then you think, okay, let me do my end problem, which is the two largest. Um, and then once you decided on that and you decided on your hotel, Um, uh, then you organize your, um, transfers. So you organize your boat very out, or if you prefer the domestic flight, [00:07:00] then you can book that prior when you're in prime and what we always encourage go to the deep for the day.

Um, it's only 15 minutes and it is beautiful island. I think you've been there as well. It's small. Um, Authentic. And it's only 15 kilometers by three kilometers and they only mode of transportation on the island is bicycles. So it's really great for you to go for the day. Um, you can go at nine in the morning or, and come back and five in the evening.

You've got a perfect day on like, so would you say what would be the best time to visit Seychelles? Cause you have to monsoon seasons, don't you? And when people hear the word monsoon, they think, oh, torrential rain. Moni Noonan night must avoid that time. But tell us a bit about the weather patterns there.

It's actually very pleasant all year round. We've got a temperature of about two minimum 26, maximum 32. So ideal range. Um, yes. When we talk about months when it is not that monsoon with Tourette's or [00:08:00] rain, uh, thunder storm and all that, what we do get is, um, showers. Rain showers. And that is mainly between December to about mid February.

We are close to the equator. Um, and we do get a bit of rain showers throughout the year. But again, um, that is just like little showers for a couple of hours, December to January. This is where you can expect more frequent rainfall. So maybe a couple of hours it's day, and then the sun comes out and, you know, it's as if.

You never eat that the rain was never there. Um, so it really cools down a little bit and you can still go about and do your activities. So if you were looking for some of the best months to travel in the Seychelles, we would always encourage a March, April, may. So 10 October, November. This I would say is the best of the best of the month throughout the year.

But again, we all considered an all year round destination. Okay. Would you say the Seychelles is more for couples and honeymooners or is it really good for families too? [00:09:00] It's ideal for families initially, we were always known as, as a couple of destination, very romantic honeymoons and weddings, but more and more.

Seeing that it is, has become more of a family destination. And it's perfect. I always say it's perfect for kids. It's overall a very safe destination. The beaches are safe. There's so much for kids to discover to do between the underwater world and the nature and the hiking. So, and the hotels are very family.

Friendly they've got activities, but kids. Um, so I think it's perfect for families multi-generational families. Um, so it is, I think ideas will, we want to try to move away from people thinking, oh, it's just coupled and just, you know, honey. That's good to know. And, um, what types and spans of accommodation do you have?

Cause you mentioned you're catering for families as well as couples and honeymooners. So, um, do you have self catering right up to five star, all inclusive, B, B and B. [00:10:00] Exactly. We do. That's the great thing about the islands as well. The three main islands, my, his violin and leak. We have everything. So ranging from small guest houses, self-catering apartments, little chalets and bungalows on the beach to your 3, 4, 5 star luxury.

So across the board and whatever your budget, you can find something in the three islands. Um, the island resorts would be the exclusive ones with your private butlers and private pool village. Uh, but the look of guest houses, these, they are run by our local families. Um, and you really get a different experience.

You, you sort of, kind of like, you know, home and they really look after you and you become a station yourself. So across the board, and you've got some international chains. Um, but again, you are really spot for choice. I all inclusive. We're not really an all inclusive destination, but we do have one property that opened this year, which is the club met and they are an all inclusive resort.

And it's basically the only one in this age hours. [00:11:00] When you do go far out on the islands, where obviously there's nothing else there, unless you want to go and fish for your own dinner before basis. And they do provide you with everything. So how easy is it to get around the Seychelles? Do you have a public transportation system or is it better to hire a vehicle and get out on your own and drive?

It's it's it's both options. We do have a public bus, public buses, and that is on my end product. So you can hop on the bus and, you know, you can drive around the island and you can stop at the various beaches. Ideally, renting a car is even better because you're more independent and you can just take your car.

Um, you can drive around, stop at different beaches, stop at the local restaurants and it's driving on the left, just like in the UK. Um, so that makes it easy for you guys as well. And in Seychelles, I would say you will never get lost. We've got one road around the island. So there's no way you would get lost in the St.

John's and on [00:12:00] it's bicycles. Um, everybody, even, um, locals, you're not allowed to have private cars. So everybody on that, the visitors and locals is bicycles. If you mentioned the road all the way around, uh, mark, just to give my list or an idea of how big more hay is. If you were to take a car and drive all the way around the perimeter, how long would it take you?

I think it will probably take you about two hours. Um, because the lens of the island is 28 kilometers from top to bottom. So it's actually not that big. When you think about it, 28 kilometers long and about 18 kilometers wide that's that's my head. So if you were going to do, um, the, it comes to a point where there is, uh, there's a stop on the road, so you can't go further.

So, um, I would say about two hours you can do from one, one end to the other end. What the Seychelles be a good option for people with mobility issues or [00:13:00] physically challenged, such as a wheelchair user in some places it is possible. Um, because we do have some resorts that cater, um, but a lot of the activities I would say it can be a bit difficult.

Um, Victoria is possible some of the, some of the attractions of possible, but again, if you want to do sort of the valid domain, if you want to do, um, some of the viewpoints that might be a little bit more, uh, more difficult, uh, but the beaches is not a problem at all. Accessibility is great. Um, and restaurants as well.

That's definitely that most of them are, is not a problem. Plenty of restaurants to choose from because you mentioned there's only one hotel that has all inclusive, which is the club med, but all the other restaurants are bed and breakfast, half bald, et cetera. So. What's the restaurant situation.

Definitely most of the hotels are BBB or half board. Um, so, um, in the villages or around my head, you do have many local restaurants, obviously the hotels have their own. [00:14:00] Um, but once you step outside and I would say the area of overlord in the north of my would be the area that has the most, and it is the area where it's, it's, it's the easiest for you to move around.

Uh, between, let's say between the hotels and the restaurant, everything is in within walking distance. You've got many shops in many restaurants to choose from, and all the hotels are quite close together. As you go further down in the south, um, hotels and restaurants are a bit more spread out, but yeah, again, if you have a car, you can take a taxi and you do have quite a bit in Victoria as well.

Some great local restaurants. We've got quite a few. Typical Creole restaurants, we Creole buffets feet in the sand type of a style. These are great. We also have a man-made island that, um, it's a, a sort of like a real estate man-made island that was created a couple of years ago. And only there you've got some bars, you've got some restaurant and there is more or less a marina feeling, which is the Eden island.

So these are great options as well. [00:15:00] Um, and Victoria has also quite a few. So you do have some options all around. So dining out, is it, is it very casual? Is, are they fine dining restaurants? Do you need to dress up or is it just flip flops and shorts? That type of thing. So it's more casual. Um, uh, some restaurants may be not flip props.

You have to wear shoes. Uh, but it is, it is, I was still on a more casual basis. Um, especially for the day restaurants, if you're doing a beach restaurants and very, very casual, um, in the evening, Smart casual. Uh, but, uh, I wouldn't say on the, on the, on the level of fine dining, um, one or two places, especially in the hotels, you would have that more sort of food.

Can a listener expect to find, you mentioned Creole. You've obviously got the French influence. I would say the main. I would say staple food in the Seychelles is the fish. We do have some of the best, best dish in the world, the freshest fish, because you've got the fisherman that goes out on daily to, [00:16:00] to get the fish.

So the grill fish, um, on the barbecue, on the oven with a lot of stuff. Spices and ginger and dilate. And of course, a lot of chilies, the sexual act, people love cheating, but equally with everything. So, but you don't like the Chili's obviously they will make it a little bit, um, um, uh, mild off for you. So the chilies, um, the grill fish, oh, one delicacy that we love is the chicken coconut Curry.

So it's chicken cooked in coconut milk. So, so tasty, we love the chutneys. So papaya, chutney, mango chutney. We do have a lot of local fruits that you don't really find that in other places like golden apple. So the golden apple chutney is really, really tasty. And all of that, obviously we eat it with Chile.

The octopus Curry is it's amazing. Um, so you can see, we have a lot of Indian influence, a lot of French influence and Chinese as well. Um, and of course you can get international dishes, but these are some of the. [00:17:00] You, I would say you need to date. And one very special dessert that we have, which I door is banana cooked in coconut milk with the tea tinge of nutmeg, attend of vanilla.

And it's cooked until it's really soft. And the coconut milk pagans. This is one of the best desserts and it's called LADOT. Um, and this, I don't know if you tried it, but you definitely have to try it when you're in the Seychelles. I can't remember trying it, but honestly it sounds delicious. And what sort of, what's the average cost for a dinner?

Um, in a, in an average restaurant, in an average restaurant, I would say you would get a meal for about 300, 400 rupees. Um, and to the pound right now, one pound is about 20, 20, 22 rupees. Um, so we, I would say around 300 rupees, 400 rupees, if you're getting mainly a, a three, cause it can, it can go [00:18:00] to about maybe 800 rupees or three course if you're having a starter and a dessert.

Um, so that would be maybe from about 20 pounds onwards. But you do have cheaper ones. Let's say you're getting a Creole buffet. That would be about 250 rupees for a typical Creole buffet. Um, and you can choose from the curries to that, to the chutneys, the, the lentils and the stir fries. We love the stir fries by the way, like the Chinese.

Um, so it, it can be quite affordable. I would say the local restaurant. So in the Seychelles, do you cater special meals for people like vegans, Hillel, kosher? Yes, we do. We do the restaurants, I would say probably not the, the sort of daily local restaurants, but let's say the restaurants that you go in the evening.

They would definitely quit keto, vegetarian, um, kosha as well. [00:19:00] Um, kosher is not as popular here in the Seychelles. Uh, I mean, I, as popularized that we get, we, we there's the demand. Um, but. Yes, very much. So the vegan, vegetarian, um, and, and these, and these, uh, restaurants would also cater for that. I remember when I stayed alcohol was quite expensive and it's also got the reputation for being expensive.

But do you make your own beer or do you create your own liquor or anything like that? Is there anything that's produced on the islands? That is from the Seychelles? Yeah. Yes we do. Of course. We've got our own rum. Um, and that is the attacker muck around. We've got a distillery and, uh, it's fantastic because you can go there, you can see how they make the run from the sugarcane.

Um, you can get a, to of the distillery and you can do some non tasting as well. So this is what it's great. It's great excursion actually it's as a great day trip. Um, and they have a beautiful plantation has [00:20:00] said, you can have a meal there, they've put a shop and they've got a shop where you can buy the rock.

And the tech America is really good. It's got different ranges from the coconut liquor to the pineapple version. To the caramel, white rum, the caramel dark rum and the white rum as well. And then you've got the more eight year age rum. So you've got a range across the board to choose from. And I would say the rum is, is it's not too expensive because that is made here.

Um, a bottle is about 230 rupees. Um, for a bottle of rum, um, and that is sold in all the shops. We also have our own beer, the saber beer, and apparently I'm going to be a drinker, but uh, people say is very, very good. Um, and it's made locally by our breweries Seychelles breweries. Um, and, uh, they they've done, they've been produced in producing this for many years, so we've got the saber and we've got the Aiko.

And we [00:21:00] also have a Guinness as well. Um, so, so you can, you can try all of that in the same shot with tipping. Um, is that expected when they, when visitors go to restaurants? Um, no, it's not expected. Um, but obviously it's at the, the, the customer's discretion if they wish to do so. So it's not like a typical custom in the Seychelles, so you can, um, but, uh, it is not.

Always expected. And as an insider tip, what's your favorite restaurants in the stations where you go to eater? That's difficult to say, isn't it? Um, I do like sort of, um, the local restaurants. The sort of feet in the sand where you can get a good buffet. You've got, um, you've got the ship access style.

You've got the boat house. Um, these are the typical sort of, of of day restaurants in the evening. Um, we've got a few in the north of the island. We've got less  [00:22:00] they've got some really good steak and some really good, um, fish dis dishes as well. Um, One of my favorites actually, which is kind of funny is area because it is known to have the best pizza in the world.

Right? Can you imagine in the same shots is everywhere. And I have to say about, about pizza on Bobo beach is still one of the best and that every local person that leaves overseas, the first thing they do when they get to Seychelles. They go and buy a pizza at Bob. And I did that always as well. Um, so that's just a funny story for me, but, um, yeah, I mean, uh, all in the hotels have some good restaurants as well, because you can, even if you're not staying in that hotel, you can go and enjoy.

You've got some specialties, uh, where they have the teppanyaki. You've got some Indian restaurants as well. So, you know, you, [00:23:00] you are quite exposed or need an island. Like I mentioned, there's a few favorites as well. Uh, and it's a nice feeling because you've got the marina and you can sit, relax, have a drink and have dinner as well.

And is the marina on more high or Paula? So it's a small island just next to my head and it's got Eden island. So it is a new development. You've got some villas and apartments on the island and there's a commercial area. There's a small little shopping area. Um, as well as some bars and restaurants, and then you've got dogs that come there and then they, they, they, they stay there on the marina and the people usually either they come here on holiday or they, they live in here in the same house.

So do the hotels and bars have entertainment. Are there nightclubs to go to, or when people go to restaurants, is there live music? Yes, we do. Um, uh, most of the hotels, they have an entertainment program, so different times of the week [00:24:00] either they would have a local band coming in. So that's where you would really see the moot yard, the Sega, all the traditional dances.

A few days, they will have a solo artist coming in for some light music. Other days they would have like a local band as well. Um, but I think that the group dances are some of the best because they have in there, they come in their costumes. So most hotels do that for a couple of days a week. Um, and in terms of nightclub, we do, we have two nightclubs in my head one and probably, and I think we have one on logic as well, but now what is more popular at the bars?

For example, we have a buyer, I need an island that's quite popular. Um, and we've got, uh, a few lounges, a few hotels that are open to the public, their bars open until much later around 1:00 PM. So visitors can go and have some cocktails. We've got a new little beach bar on bovine, long beach, beach shack.

Um, so that is open until quite late as well. And people can go there. So that's like right on the beach and it's open to everyone. It's not in a hotel or a [00:25:00] restaurant. Tourism attractions. You've got 50% of the Seychelles. Landmass is protected by national parks and reserves. So what's the most popular tourist sites that two is must see, and they must pre-book before they arrive.

Um, there, um, there's nothing that you have to pre-book actually, because everything, you can do it when you arrive. Um, so I think one of the main one has to be the valid domain. Um, the valid me on file is a UNESCO world heritage. And, uh, I don't know if he knew it's actually one of the smaller, it is this more or less UNESCO site in the world.

Um, and it is a beautiful tropical rain forest. When you walk around in the valley to make you feel like you're in an ancient forest, um, the poems are over 200 years old and it is the home of the very famous cooker to Matt. So I'm sure you saw it when you were in the Seychelles may and it is the world's largest and heaviest nuts, and it can grow up to about 30 [00:26:00] kilos.

So it's quite unique in terms of its shape. You've got the male trees and the female trees, and they take quite a long time to grow and bear fruit, but it is very special and it is kind of like the icon in the Seychelles. So the vinyl to make is a must. Uh, if you are a nature, enthusiastic and walk around for about three hours, if you just want to have an idea of the forest, you can have a guided two for about one hour, and this is where you will discover the endemic bombs

But again, also, what is a unique to the valley to me is the black parrot. The black parrot is our national bird bird, and it's actually the only place in the world where you can find it here in the Seychelles and in the valley to me. So if you're lucky, You can get to see them flying around and, um, building their nest in the, in the, in the trees is about a dummy.

You mentioned the Coco de Mayo. It's my prized stamp. Two of them in my [00:27:00] passport. It's the funniest, because when you look at it, it looks like ladies' posterior. Um, so it's quite fun and it's very different to all the other passport stamps that I have. In in the pages. So yes, my prized possessions. Yeah.

Sure. What can my listener see an experience they can't in any other destination? I think you've mentioned some on Ludwig. I would say we've got some of the most stunning beaches. We do have beautiful beaches all over the Seychelles, but in Ludwig it's quite different. And I think it's because of the granitic formation.

And that is unique to this age, as you will not find this anywhere in the world, you've got the beaches, like also stars. Um, and th the granitic formation almost feels like sculptures. Um, and I've seen, I haven't seen that anywhere else in the world. You've got petty towns, you've got grantors, you've got ASCO, you've got asthma.

And [00:28:00] you can just walk around that tiny island and everywhere you will see this. Stunning, stunning beaches. Um, so that's why we always do not miss latte. You have to go to the T. Um, so the beach, is there a spectacular, the valid, uh, may, uh, we've got certain islands that are dedicated for beds. We have about 13 species of endemic birds in the Seychelles.

So if you, you can visit, um, uh, Kusa you can visit Ari. These are birds and trees, but nature reserve. So that is all you have on the island. Um, bird island is very special. Uh, it is the island where you have millions and millions of birds that come on the island during net nesting season. So this I think is also quite unique in the world.

And what makes it even more famous is that we have a very special guest on the island and his name is Esmeralda and he is actually one of the. All this giant tortoises in the world. So he's Neely about 200 years old and he lives here on the island and he weighs at time. So it is [00:29:00] a very unique place as well.

Yeah, they're so cute. Those was to sit well, no, they're not, they're not little. They almost look pretty historic like dinosaurs. Um, but they are amazing creatures. They're like our pets here. Um, in the Seychelles we have about a hundred and more than 150,000 tortoises, um, Seychelles and the Galapagos are the only two countries in the world where tortoises are actually originated from.

So if you see tortoises in certain countries, they have, they, are they more or less the other tortoises that Seychelles have donated, um, in, in various views, uh, around the world, but here they're like our pets. Uh, we loved them. Do you have a conservation program for these courses? Do we have a conservation program for the tortoises as well as the turtles?

Because in the Seychelles, we've got the green turtle and the hock people, third child, and they come on the beach and such and peers of the year to lay the eggs. So we have a conservation program to make sure that there's new poaching [00:30:00] to make sure that when they come on the beat, that the area is protected.

Um, and we actually, one of the few. I think only country in the world where they also come during the day because there's no disturbance. There's not a lot of people. So they come on the beach, they dig that little hole, they lay the eggs and then they go back in the ocean. Um, and then a couple of months later you will see the little hatchling going out into the sea.

And so both of them, there is major conservation projects going on. For protecting, and there's not just, um, tours and attractions on land. You've got lots of things outside as well. You mentioned the turtles. So scuba diving, snorkeling, big game fishing, that's all really popular. Isn't it? On interstate.

That's why we say Seychelles is a very active. As an active place, it's not just a sun and sea destination. There's so much to do. Um, it's so, uh, I can be as adventurous as you want. You've got amazing snorkeling and you don't have to go far. You don't need a boat, just your mask and your [00:31:00] flippers, and you go out a lot of the areas around the islands are protected Marine box as well.

So no commercial activity, and that's where you have the reef and you can really do some great snorkeling diving diving of all the islands. But the best for expediters, uh, outside, uh, much further on the outer islands. This is where you would have underwater grottoes. You would have caves for some really of the best diving's.

Um, we'll see mentorees the size of tables, and you would see the dolphins and amazing underwater world fishing is very popular, big game fishing, deep sea fishing. And one of the most popular I would say is the fly fishing. So we have that on the adults, on the Alphonse and they're adults. And we do have some of the world-class fly fishing and this HR people come from everywhere and they come to Sage house for one week.

All they do is fly. Fishing. Sailing is very popular as well. Um, kayaking, canoeing sailing, I would say is one of the best ways to discover the islands. [00:32:00] We have these amazing, uh, sailing, um, itineraries. For example, companies, they offer five nights, six nights sailing programs, and every day you would stop on one island and visit.

Um, and you get to see up to eight to 10 islands in just six days. Um, and along the way you would do your snorkeling. Okay. Yacking. So I also think it's one of the best ways to see the hidden beaches and the codes that you will not see on land as well. So very active on, on my, Hey, you got, uh, one of the resorts, uh, they have rock climbing.

They have zip-lining. Viking is very popular. Oh, and one last thing I did mention that hiking on my aircraft, Ella, did you have about 15 different trails? And this is where you would really discover the floor and find out going out of the guide. You can see all the endemic arms, you can see the pitcher plant.

You can see the jellyfish tree, which is endemic to the Seychelles. Uh, so the hiking is really excellent as well. I think next time I'm coming, I'm going to have to go for three weeks. [00:33:00] Yes. Because there's so much to do so much to do, and I love shopping. So all the shops open every day. Um, what sort of times, and are they just at about, or are they, are they mainly in Victoria?

The capital or the shopping? The shops are open from Monday to Saturdays. Um, on Saturdays, they close at midday. So Seychelles, we've got a tradition by midday. Everything is closed on assassinate, but every day it's from about nine to about 4, 4 30. Um, so we do have a lot of local designers and local shops.

So you can get some really great souvenirs, some local clothing, some sarongs some, t-shirts some local towels, but also local soaps and jury. We've got some really great silver jury and you can get a coconut mat, um, shaped earrings and the cocoa demand necklace. Um, and also they do a lot with the Palm trees and a lot with the [00:34:00] flora and fauna.

So with the lizards co octopus, so beautiful little local things. Um, the market has some grapes of Binney, um, places where you can also get local spices from the nutmeg, the vanilla, um, the saffron and the, and the Curry powders, um, the Chili's and the chutneys. So these kinds of things, you will get. Um, you will get in this age as we don't know how many international brands.

So, um, you don't have the typical shops that you will find in the UK. Um, most of us do the shopping overseas most of the time. Uh, but locally you can find some really great designers and really great local products as well. So does the Seychelles practice, environmental sustainability? I think Seychelles, we are very much in the forefront of that.

Um, firstly, I would tell you we've got a sustainability label program that the hotels are adopting and this was established by the tourism board a couple of years ago and the hotels have to follow and [00:35:00] meet certain criteria for them to get their sustainably label stamp. So they need to make sure they have all that.

He plays in terms of wastage recycling. Eat water. So they need to meet all these requirements. And once they do, they become a sustainable, they get their sustainability late label. Um, and about, I think right now we have about 25. If I'm not mistaken, 25 to 30 hotels that have reached this level. Uh, and in addition to the hotels, Um, Seychelles overall, we've banned all the plastics.

So no plastic, uh, plastic boxes, plastic bottles, plastic bags, we've banned the plastic straws. The most of the hotels. Now you'll be drinking from a pastor, um, from a pastor's straw. Um, we've banned the balloons as well because. So that balloons was quite, uh, a hazard waste for, for the ocean. They were going into the ocean, um, and eaten by animals of the balloons banned as [00:36:00] well.

So, um, we have a lot of projects, um, in place for the protection and preservation of the animals and, and the nature. We've got a lot of beach cleanups happening all around. Uh, Uh, the islands, um, forest and hikes, uh, trails being cleaned up as well. Uh, a lot of NGOs that are doing a lot of sustainability work.

We've got these interesting, um, interesting, uh, projects on certain islands. Uh, it's called a conservation bootcamp where you go there and you volunteer to look after the birds and all the animals on the island. Uh, but Seychelles, I, I have to say. We are doing a lot, uh, because we understand, um, the importance of it.

We understand that our nature is our biggest asset and we need to preserve it for the future generation and also to sustain it so that we can keep having to risk coming to, to, to, to actually see this amazing beauty that we have here. Karen. I want to stand up and do a little jump and a shower [00:37:00] and a jig because the fact that you're, you're, you're doing so much to preserve and conserve, you know, the nature you're getting rid of plastics.

I wish all destinations would take a page from, from your book. Um, because that's, that's brilliant. That's, that's really good. We do need to protect and to keep safe for future, for future generations and for, for tourists and for visitors. To the islands. So, so what's new. Is there anything new that's planned for the Seychelles?

So, um, now we've got, we've got, uh, uh, the two research. I mentioned club med opened in March. We've got a new one opening in June, which is going to be part of the Hilton properties. Um, we're doing a lot of, uh, product diversification, um, programs to ensure that when visitors come down. They have more things to do.

Um, you know, we've got, uh, trying to get people to, to be a bit more, um, innovative, um, establishing a few of, let's say places that you [00:38:00] can go and see a bit of the culture where they take you to see, for example, a typical Creole woman in her kitchen, uh, cooking, typical Creole food, learning the Creole dances, um, learning how to do the banana chips.

Learning to make things out of coconut. This is something we are good at in this Asia. We can make so many things out of coconut and coconut leaves. Um, so this is things you can learn. Um, one you think we launched this year actually, which is, I think is really amazing is we've launched a new workation retreat program may, so you can come down to the Seychelles for a whole year and work from here.

So it's basically offering this exotic escape to work from paradise. So you can come down for a year, rework remotely, and I think it's a fantastic program and this is something we're going to push a lot this year. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. That sounds fantastic.

Thank you so much for [00:39:00] having a chat to us. I've got one last question for you. What would be your top tip for anyone? Visiting the Seychelles. Okay. Number one, number one definitely is island hopping. Um, minimum stay, I would say 10 days. Um, try the local restaurants. Don't be scared. Um, try the octopus, Curry, try the fish.

Um, go out and do things. Do the hiking. Um, sometimes I feel sad if somebody said, oh, I came here and I didn't find anything to do, but you have to go out and see it and do it. Um, go down to the villages, talk with the people. People are very friendly. They really make you feel at home. You become part of the family and you get friends for life.

Uh, the results are fantastic. They've got all the facilities, but when you look at it, Seychelles is not a, it's not a destination where people come to stay in a resort, they come and they come to explore. So this is what you should definitely do and bring the family. Very family friendly. [00:40:00] Um, it's excellent for kids.

They will see things that they will never see anywhere in the world from the giant tortoises to the cooker, demand to the beds, to the big green geckos, to the tiny frogs. So bring the kids. They will love it. Thanks for joining us today. And sharing your knowledge and your expertise on all things Seychelles.

Thank you, man. It was such a pleasure. Um, I know we could sit here and talk about Seychelles all day, but I hope I gave you quite a bit of interesting information. Thank you. Thank you

for free fact sheet on visiting the Seychelles with some great hints and tips. Visit my website, https://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/may.swan-easton and request.  Next time on travels with May show, we head to my favorite us city, Nashville with guests, Laurel Bennett.

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