Maldives vs seychelles
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SetheryJ
Banned
I was in the Seychelles this past September for my honeymoon and overall it was pretty awful. We were there for almost three weeks and split the trip between Praslin and Mahe. In Praslin, we stayed in an Airbnb, and that was probably the highlight of that island. The host was great and the house was cozy. The beaches on Praslin are gorgeous, but the currents are fairly dangerous and most of the beaches are closed to all swimming (think Cozumel currents on steroids). We booked a two tank diving trip with the only dive operation on the island, but the day we showed up the owner no-showed on us and when we finally got them on the phone, they said they wrote the wrong dates down and basically, "sucks to suck".
Praslin is almost exclusively bicycle access, which is actually pretty cool. We went all around the island on the bikes that were included with our Airbnb rental. But, when I left my sandals in the basket on the bike while we laid on the beach 10' away, they were stolen...Talked to the Airbnb host to get their take on things and they basically said 'welcome to Seychelles, there is a lot more crime then there used to be'.
In Mahe, we splurged for the honeymoon and got a suite at a hotel across from one of the main beaches. The currents around Mahe are much more chill and swimming/snorkeling is allowed. That being said, the "reef" is all but dead and pretty much worthless to snorkel. Mahe has substantially more crime than Praslin and the hotel staff was pretty direct about being very careful exploring downtown for fear of getting robbed or having your vehicle broken into, etc. We did do a surfing lesson one day and that was pretty fun if you are looking to break up the trip with different activities. We also booked a two tank dive trip and this time the operator did show up, but 10 out of 10 would not do it again. The diving was pretty expensive (200usd+ per two tank per person) and the dive sites were terrible- dead reef, boring profiles, 40 minute dive times, with nothing to see. We had planned on doing a ton of diving, but both agreed that it wasn't worth the money.
We caught up with some locals who dive and got the skinny. Basically, the diving closer to the main islands is all junk. If you have the money and you can get to the outer islands, then the diving and biodiversity picks up quite a bit. Don't be confused by operators talking about taking a boat trip to "further sites", they basically said unless you charter a catamaran an sail out for a few days to the far reaches of the archipelago, don't waste your time.
For whatever its worth, my wife has lived around the world, including Africa, and I've done some pretty extensive travel around the globe. We aren't your typical "cruise ship tourists". We both sat down after the trip and talked through things and agreed that we would likely never return to Seychelles when you have so many other options in the Indian Ocean that are a million times better. We should have gone to the Maldives. The worst part of this whole experience is the Seychelles was my idea.....Way to start the marriage off
.
Praslin is almost exclusively bicycle access, which is actually pretty cool. We went all around the island on the bikes that were included with our Airbnb rental. But, when I left my sandals in the basket on the bike while we laid on the beach 10' away, they were stolen...Talked to the Airbnb host to get their take on things and they basically said 'welcome to Seychelles, there is a lot more crime then there used to be'.
In Mahe, we splurged for the honeymoon and got a suite at a hotel across from one of the main beaches. The currents around Mahe are much more chill and swimming/snorkeling is allowed. That being said, the "reef" is all but dead and pretty much worthless to snorkel. Mahe has substantially more crime than Praslin and the hotel staff was pretty direct about being very careful exploring downtown for fear of getting robbed or having your vehicle broken into, etc. We did do a surfing lesson one day and that was pretty fun if you are looking to break up the trip with different activities. We also booked a two tank dive trip and this time the operator did show up, but 10 out of 10 would not do it again. The diving was pretty expensive (200usd+ per two tank per person) and the dive sites were terrible- dead reef, boring profiles, 40 minute dive times, with nothing to see. We had planned on doing a ton of diving, but both agreed that it wasn't worth the money.
We caught up with some locals who dive and got the skinny. Basically, the diving closer to the main islands is all junk. If you have the money and you can get to the outer islands, then the diving and biodiversity picks up quite a bit. Don't be confused by operators talking about taking a boat trip to "further sites", they basically said unless you charter a catamaran an sail out for a few days to the far reaches of the archipelago, don't waste your time.
For whatever its worth, my wife has lived around the world, including Africa, and I've done some pretty extensive travel around the globe. We aren't your typical "cruise ship tourists". We both sat down after the trip and talked through things and agreed that we would likely never return to Seychelles when you have so many other options in the Indian Ocean that are a million times better. We should have gone to the Maldives. The worst part of this whole experience is the Seychelles was my idea.....Way to start the marriage off
.
admikar
Contributor
SetheryJ
Banned
Wagiman
Registered
Dove both. On Mahe in 2017, land based. Beautiful islands. Diving was good but not spectacular. Coral reefs were very much bleached. Did the Maldives in Jan on a liveaboard, central atols. Diving was spectacular, reefs healthy, lots of large pelagics. With a liveaboard, you obviously are able to seek out all the best places over a larger area, so I would definitely recommend that.
This was so incredibly helpful. thank you@!I was in the Seychelles this past September for my honeymoon and overall it was pretty awful. We were there for almost three weeks and split the trip between Praslin and Mahe. In Praslin, we stayed in an Airbnb, and that was probably the highlight of that island. The host was great and the house was cozy. The beaches on Praslin are gorgeous, but the currents are fairly dangerous and most of the beaches are closed to all swimming (think Cozumel currents on steroids). We booked a two tank diving trip with the only dive operation on the island, but the day we showed up the owner no-showed on us and when we finally got them on the phone, they said they wrote the wrong dates down and basically, "sucks to suck".
Praslin is almost exclusively bicycle access, which is actually pretty cool. We went all around the island on the bikes that were included with our Airbnb rental. But, when I left my sandals in the basket on the bike while we laid on the beach 10' away, they were stolen...Talked to the Airbnb host to get their take on things and they basically said 'welcome to Seychelles, there is a lot more crime then there used to be'.
In Mahe, we splurged for the honeymoon and got a suite at a hotel across from one of the main beaches. The currents around Mahe are much more chill and swimming/snorkeling is allowed. That being said, the "reef" is all but dead and pretty much worthless to snorkel. Mahe has substantially more crime than Praslin and the hotel staff was pretty direct about being very careful exploring downtown for fear of getting robbed or having your vehicle broken into, etc. We did do a surfing lesson one day and that was pretty fun if you are looking to break up the trip with different activities. We also booked a two tank dive trip and this time the operator did show up, but 10 out of 10 would not do it again. The diving was pretty expensive (200usd+ per two tank per person) and the dive sites were terrible- dead reef, boring profiles, 40 minute dive times, with nothing to see. We had planned on doing a ton of diving, but both agreed that it wasn't worth the money.
We caught up with some locals who dive and got the skinny. Basically, the diving closer to the main islands is all junk. If you have the money and you can get to the outer islands, then the diving and biodiversity picks up quite a bit. Don't be confused by operators talking about taking a boat trip to "further sites", they basically said unless you charter a catamaran an sail out for a few days to the far reaches of the archipelago, don't waste your time.
For whatever its worth, my wife has lived around the world, including Africa, and I've done some pretty extensive travel around the globe. We aren't your typical "cruise ship tourists". We both sat down after the trip and talked through things and agreed that we would likely never return to Seychelles when you have so many other options in the Indian Ocean that are a million times better. We should have gone to the Maldives. The worst part of this whole experience is the Seychelles was my idea.....Way to start the marriage off
Tippytoes12
Contributor
We have only ever been to the Maldives, on many occasions and it is wonderful !!!
Karlstumke
Registered
Maldives 100%. The choice of whatbto experience is wider to the fact that its geared towards diving. But lkme anywhere... U will jBe dives that makenyou yawn and which u will forget by the followkng day and the knes that make you want tobget back in tbe water immediately
Sorry for your experience.I was in the Seychelles this past September for my honeymoon and overall it was pretty awful. We were there for almost three weeks and split the trip between Praslin and Mahe. In Praslin, we stayed in an Airbnb, and that was probably the highlight of that island. The host was great and the house was cozy. The beaches on Praslin are gorgeous, but the currents are fairly dangerous and most of the beaches are closed to all swimming (think Cozumel currents on steroids). We booked a two tank diving trip with the only dive operation on the island, but the day we showed up the owner no-showed on us and when we finally got them on the phone, they said they wrote the wrong dates down and basically, "sucks to suck".
Praslin is almost exclusively bicycle access, which is actually pretty cool. We went all around the island on the bikes that were included with our Airbnb rental. But, when I left my sandals in the basket on the bike while we laid on the beach 10' away, they were stolen...Talked to the Airbnb host to get their take on things and they basically said 'welcome to Seychelles, there is a lot more crime then there used to be'.
In Mahe, we splurged for the honeymoon and got a suite at a hotel across from one of the main beaches. The currents around Mahe are much more chill and swimming/snorkeling is allowed. That being said, the "reef" is all but dead and pretty much worthless to snorkel. Mahe has substantially more crime than Praslin and the hotel staff was pretty direct about being very careful exploring downtown for fear of getting robbed or having your vehicle broken into, etc. We did do a surfing lesson one day and that was pretty fun if you are looking to break up the trip with different activities. We also booked a two tank dive trip and this time the operator did show up, but 10 out of 10 would not do it again. The diving was pretty expensive (200usd+ per two tank per person) and the dive sites were terrible- dead reef, boring profiles, 40 minute dive times, with nothing to see. We had planned on doing a ton of diving, but both agreed that it wasn't worth the money.
We caught up with some locals who dive and got the skinny. Basically, the diving closer to the main islands is all junk. If you have the money and you can get to the outer islands, then the diving and biodiversity picks up quite a bit. Don't be confused by operators talking about taking a boat trip to "further sites", they basically said unless you charter a catamaran an sail out for a few days to the far reaches of the archipelago, don't waste your time.
For whatever its worth, my wife has lived around the world, including Africa, and I've done some pretty extensive travel around the globe. We aren't your typical "cruise ship tourists". We both sat down after the trip and talked through things and agreed that we would likely never return to Seychelles when you have so many other options in the Indian Ocean that are a million times better. We should have gone to the Maldives. The worst part of this whole experience is the Seychelles was my idea.....Way to start the marriage off
We dove Praslin in 2016 with Octopus divers and especially “Santa Maria” dive site was excellent. Was not impressed by the diving in Mahe, but it seems it’s gotten a lot worse since then.
If you want to have a mix of diving and something to do topside Seychelles could be a good place, but Maldives has much better diving (and not so much to do on land - except soak up the sun.
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