houtbaydiver
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Is this the forum regarding questions for Seychelles? Anyone out there with POSITIVE news? I am going to Praslin and la Digue in October 2009
Seychelles
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melg
Registered
Hello,
Have you got any extra information since this post? Are you still going? I am researching Seychelles because we are interested in going in January. The websites make it all seem great but some of the posts are not very encouraging!!
Have you got any extra information since this post? Are you still going? I am researching Seychelles because we are interested in going in January. The websites make it all seem great but some of the posts are not very encouraging!!
OP
houtbaydiver
Registered
Yes still going 2 - 18 October, my friend has a holiday house in the Seychelles and says the diving is great! We also tought so (have been thereX3, but last time was in 2002 so things might have changed. Will report back on my return but we love Seychelles anyway, its beautiful, much nicer than Mauritius. Make sure you skip Mahe Island and rather concentrate on the smaller Islands if you are going land based. (La Digue and Praslin are great, also going to Denis this time)
melg
Registered
Hello again,
I would love to hear your feedback from your trip if you have a moment. We finally booked Praslin Jan 16th-23rd. It is not supposed to be the best time for diving but I am sure it will still be good. Thanks in advance!
I would love to hear your feedback from your trip if you have a moment. We finally booked Praslin Jan 16th-23rd. It is not supposed to be the best time for diving but I am sure it will still be good. Thanks in advance!
OP
houtbaydiver
Registered
Hi there
Just returned last night, will send proper reply tonight but had lovely diving abundance of reef live! Where are you staying on Praslin?
Jeanne
Just returned last night, will send proper reply tonight but had lovely diving abundance of reef live! Where are you staying on Praslin?
Jeanne
melg
Registered
Hello and welcome back. Thank you for your prompt response and I am glad to hear you had a good time. I have asked Acajou Hotel for a quotation. It is a little pricey but seems wonderful and on the Cote d'Or which seems beautiful. I welcome any other recommendation you might have since i have not made a final booking yet. I booked the tickets to Mahe and now I looking to find flights from Mahe to Praslin. I found that Air Seychelles fly regularly but the cost I have been quoted is 165€ which seems outrageous for a 15 min flight. Anyway, i am looking forward to your feedback when you have a minute. thanks!
OP
houtbaydiver
Registered
Finally some time to report, back into the rat race with a shock! Irrespective of previous opions, I still rate the Seychelles as one of the nicest holiday destinations for a recreational diver to visit, it offers a lovely combination for scuba, snorkeling (especially great for those non- scuba divers and snorkelllers in the family), worlds best beaches (who wants to come back without a tan?), fun island cycling and friendliest people. Only down side is the cost, especially food (for a South African anyway...
The Seychelles is not another Sipidan or Manado (I have been diving there), it does not have the multitude of macrolife, but it has an absolute profusion of reef life - (like swimming in an aquirium) and bigger stuff like sharks, bumphead parrot fish, rays, turtles, Napolean fish, tuna often to be seen. Some divers spotted three manta rays on a dive off Mahe - our dive master who has been there many years said it was a first in the region for him. We spotted schools of Trevelli, Jacks, barracuda, lots of batfish. At Marion Island (40 minutes by boat from Praslin) known for its sharks, we saw 40 plus white tip reef sharks circling in a "shark pit". Also saw blacktips and huge nurse sharks. And swam with a "small" 5 meter whale shark to hearts content, it loved our boat and just came back again and again...(october is season). Huge eels, mostly black-cheel moray but also saw a group of 8 geometric eels. Abundance of the other reef fish - parrot, trumpet, squirrel, lizard, lion, beautiful groupers, big eyes,damsels, butterflies, angelfish, scorpion fish, unicorn fish, trigger, porcupine, puffer, you name it, its there .Also a few we still need to identify, think it is of wrasse family, many extremmely colourful and patterned, a joy to just look at all the intricate detail on the fish bodies in profusion. As mentioned, definately a lack of macro life - saw no ghostpipe fish, very few shrimps, a few nudi's all same type. I am no expert but would say this is due to the lack of coral, especially staghorn, which died around 2000 due to El Nino effect. The good news is that coral is rapidly growing back and nemos and coral critters with them. In Mahe we visited coral gardens where the coral is nearly back to normal - a great site. sadly most places are still in infancy (or todler stage), in the process of recovery.
In summary I would say that if you are an experienced diver on the look out to see the lesser seen critters or an something new to add your list of sea life not seen before, then this is not your scene. if you are a diver loving the sight of an abundance of joyous underwater reef life bursting with colour, shape and variety of big and small marine life -- dont hesitate, the Seychelles will not dissapoint. (If visibility is good, which it was for most of our visit in Oct).
Our diving was done with Angelfish dive centre from Mahe, La digue Dive Centre La Digue and White Tip Dive Centre Praslin. We also snorkeled at many other island inlets during a 4 night catamatan trip (no scuba was done in that time).
Melg, we stayed at a wonderful B/B Aquario Self Catering Apartments (see my tripadviser report) which is one minute away from White tip Dive centre Cote d'or and I can highly recommend it. Very reasonably priced. Other well situated hotel is Paradise Sun and Le Duc de Praslin looked great but definately higher priced than Aquario (somethimes spellt Acquario). Another well situated hotel, cheapest in the area in Berjaya Praslin but very run down. We stayed in the"superior" there on previous visits, its spacious and if you are not fussy, you can consider that too. its next to Octopus Dive Centre). Unfortunately I am not familiar with Acajou. Yes flights to Praslin expensive but cheaper if you book it together with you home flight if you Air Seychelles. You can also get another 10kg for diving equipment from air Seychelles (must apply for this seperately). One can take the ferry Mahe to Praslin which is good on a nice day but no fun if the sea is rough.... I will go for the flight option. Hope this report helps somewhat, I am happy to respond to questions.
The Seychelles is not another Sipidan or Manado (I have been diving there), it does not have the multitude of macrolife, but it has an absolute profusion of reef life - (like swimming in an aquirium) and bigger stuff like sharks, bumphead parrot fish, rays, turtles, Napolean fish, tuna often to be seen. Some divers spotted three manta rays on a dive off Mahe - our dive master who has been there many years said it was a first in the region for him. We spotted schools of Trevelli, Jacks, barracuda, lots of batfish. At Marion Island (40 minutes by boat from Praslin) known for its sharks, we saw 40 plus white tip reef sharks circling in a "shark pit". Also saw blacktips and huge nurse sharks. And swam with a "small" 5 meter whale shark to hearts content, it loved our boat and just came back again and again...(october is season). Huge eels, mostly black-cheel moray but also saw a group of 8 geometric eels. Abundance of the other reef fish - parrot, trumpet, squirrel, lizard, lion, beautiful groupers, big eyes,damsels, butterflies, angelfish, scorpion fish, unicorn fish, trigger, porcupine, puffer, you name it, its there .Also a few we still need to identify, think it is of wrasse family, many extremmely colourful and patterned, a joy to just look at all the intricate detail on the fish bodies in profusion. As mentioned, definately a lack of macro life - saw no ghostpipe fish, very few shrimps, a few nudi's all same type. I am no expert but would say this is due to the lack of coral, especially staghorn, which died around 2000 due to El Nino effect. The good news is that coral is rapidly growing back and nemos and coral critters with them. In Mahe we visited coral gardens where the coral is nearly back to normal - a great site. sadly most places are still in infancy (or todler stage), in the process of recovery.
In summary I would say that if you are an experienced diver on the look out to see the lesser seen critters or an something new to add your list of sea life not seen before, then this is not your scene. if you are a diver loving the sight of an abundance of joyous underwater reef life bursting with colour, shape and variety of big and small marine life -- dont hesitate, the Seychelles will not dissapoint. (If visibility is good, which it was for most of our visit in Oct).
Our diving was done with Angelfish dive centre from Mahe, La digue Dive Centre La Digue and White Tip Dive Centre Praslin. We also snorkeled at many other island inlets during a 4 night catamatan trip (no scuba was done in that time).
Melg, we stayed at a wonderful B/B Aquario Self Catering Apartments (see my tripadviser report) which is one minute away from White tip Dive centre Cote d'or and I can highly recommend it. Very reasonably priced. Other well situated hotel is Paradise Sun and Le Duc de Praslin looked great but definately higher priced than Aquario (somethimes spellt Acquario). Another well situated hotel, cheapest in the area in Berjaya Praslin but very run down. We stayed in the"superior" there on previous visits, its spacious and if you are not fussy, you can consider that too. its next to Octopus Dive Centre). Unfortunately I am not familiar with Acajou. Yes flights to Praslin expensive but cheaper if you book it together with you home flight if you Air Seychelles. You can also get another 10kg for diving equipment from air Seychelles (must apply for this seperately). One can take the ferry Mahe to Praslin which is good on a nice day but no fun if the sea is rough.... I will go for the flight option. Hope this report helps somewhat, I am happy to respond to questions.
melg
Registered
Thank you very much for your report it is most helpful since there is practically no information on the Seychelles. I hope you are well rested and ready for your next trip!!
cal776
Contributor
I recently returned from a trip to the Seychelles. We stayed at the excellent Aquario Self-Catering Apartments on Praslin the entire trip, but made a day trip to La Digue, which was worthwhile. I did a single dive with Whitetip Divers on Praslin. During the rainy season, which includes January, Whitetip apparently only runs one-tank boat dives in the morning. The cost was €50 including equipment; it would have been €40 had I brought my own.
Whitetip Divers is on the northwest end of Anse Volbert next to the Paradise Sun hotel. Their rental gear was fine and the divemaster and crew were friendly enough. It took about 10 minutes to get to the dive site, Coral Garden, on their comfortable boat. The dive was for a planned 50 minutes. The maximum depth was 47 feet. Water temperature was 81 degrees. Honestly, the diving wasn't anything spectacular and certainly wasn't challenging. The coral formations were alright and there were plenty of smaller tropical fish, but that's about it. Visibility was so-so.
The Seychelles are lovely top-side. They have some beaches that rightfully belong on anyone's "best beaches in the world" list. The two standouts are Anse Lazio on Praslin and Grand Anse on La Digue. World-famous Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue, on the other hand, was something of a disappointment given the hype.
I certainly would recommend the Seychelles highly to anybody who has the time and money to get there and is looking for an uncrowded, exotic, and picturesque island destination. But assuming my experience and the dive site I visited weren't aberrational, frankly, unless you must check the Seychelles off your list of dive destinations, I don't think you'd be missing a lot if you pass on the diving (especially if you have been spoiled previously with visits to other, more acclaimed warm water dive destinations).
Whitetip Divers is on the northwest end of Anse Volbert next to the Paradise Sun hotel. Their rental gear was fine and the divemaster and crew were friendly enough. It took about 10 minutes to get to the dive site, Coral Garden, on their comfortable boat. The dive was for a planned 50 minutes. The maximum depth was 47 feet. Water temperature was 81 degrees. Honestly, the diving wasn't anything spectacular and certainly wasn't challenging. The coral formations were alright and there were plenty of smaller tropical fish, but that's about it. Visibility was so-so.
The Seychelles are lovely top-side. They have some beaches that rightfully belong on anyone's "best beaches in the world" list. The two standouts are Anse Lazio on Praslin and Grand Anse on La Digue. World-famous Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue, on the other hand, was something of a disappointment given the hype.
I certainly would recommend the Seychelles highly to anybody who has the time and money to get there and is looking for an uncrowded, exotic, and picturesque island destination. But assuming my experience and the dive site I visited weren't aberrational, frankly, unless you must check the Seychelles off your list of dive destinations, I don't think you'd be missing a lot if you pass on the diving (especially if you have been spoiled previously with visits to other, more acclaimed warm water dive destinations).
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