Meet Teresa, one of our travel experts for the Seychelles islands.
Teresa Sullivan has been traveling and planning safaris in Africa for the last 15 years. She is one of the founders of Mango African Safaris.
Mango Safaris specializes in the finest tailor-made safaris, honeymoons and holidays throughout East and Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. Whatever your African dream may be, Mango Safaris can customize an adventure to suit your taste, budget and travel style.
For the current 10-day forecast for Victoria, Seychelles, click here.
Typical airfares from JFK
Airfares vary by season, but also day of week, and are definitely affected by holidays.
The chart above shows the typical minimum and maximum fares for a economy class ticket from JFK airport in New York to Mah�, Seychelles, by month.
December and January are the rainy months, but really, at only 1.5", it's not all THAT rainy.
You'll get a little rain about every other day during that period.
Most of the islands are well outside the cyclone belt, so storms are rarely an issue.
The southernmost islands, in the Farquhar Group,
are about 500 miles south of the main island of Mah�--most of the islands that tourists visit are much closer in, and not really at risk from cyclones.
Weather is heavily influenced by the trade winds: from October through March, the winds blow northwesterly from 8 to 12 knots; from May through September,
the winds are from the southeast at 10 to 20 knots.
Pictured at right: a private plunge pool and villa at the Banyan Tree resort,
on the south west side of Mah�.
SCUBA diving in the Seychelles
Outside of the October-March and May-September trade winds periods, the wind is pretty calm, making for excellent snorkeling and scuba diving, with
visibility as much as 100 feet. A big draw for scuba divers are the whale sharks, which can be seen year-round.
The remoteness of the islands mean fewer divers at the sites, and you'll find bigger, denser, more plentiful schools of fish than pretty much
anywhere in the world...and, an amazing number of octopi--some of the reasons I included the Seychelles in this article I wrote for Go World Travel Guide on top 10 "bucket list"
destinations for every scuba diver.
Diving is possible year-round, but the best months are considered to be April-May and October-November.
Water temperatures generally range from 77F to 84F, although in the outer islands, you can see temperatures as low as 66F at drop-offs and big walls.
How to get to the Seychelles
The Seychelles are a tiny group of islands located about 1000 miles off the coast of Africa. You'll fly in to the main island of Mah�,
where there are a wide range of resorts from 3-star to over-the-top luxury. There are a number of islands a short flight or shuttle ride
away with fabulous boutique resorts; some 150 miles away is Desroches Island (pictured above).
You can get there from JFK airport in New York, via Dubai,
in about 23 hours, with just that one stop;
from Los Angeles, in about 27 hours, also with a stop in Dubai.
From London Heathrow, you're looking at about 12 hours, with a stop in Dubai as well.
Many people combine a stopover in either London, Dubai, or do an African safari in combination with their Seychelles trip--gives you a break,
a chance to stretch your legs and explore an amazing city. On my own honeymoon in 2005, we combined stops on Mah�, Praslin, and Desroches islands with an overnight stop in Nairobi,
and safaris in Meru National Park
and the Masai Mara in Kenya.
Direct flights from the Seychelles to Nairobi, Kenya only take 3 hours, and run as low as about $500 per person.
You're also not all that far from India, if you wanted to combine beach/tropical time in the Seychelles with an exotic
and cultural adventure there.
We'll talk with you to find out what you're looking for, what you like/don't like, etc.
We'll use our first-hand knowledge of the destination to pick out a handful of resorts we think you'd like
We'll create a custom mini website for you, with photos, videos, maps, etc. of the resorts we are recommending
We'll follow up with you to help you make your decision
We'll go to work with our suppliers to get you the best deal available on what you've decided on.
About the author, Michael Cottam
Founder of Visual Itineraries, Michael lives in Bend, Oregon. He's an avid traveler, scuba diver, photographer, and a private pilot,
and also the founder of Bright Yonder.
He's been a Rotarian for 20 years, currently on the board of the Greater Bend Rotary Club.
Follow Michael on LinkedIn,
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