Seychelles island hopping cruise
Description of Seychelles island hopping cruise
The Seychelles: granite boulders peeking out of a duvet of white sand, tropical rainforest twittering with birdlife, and you, on the deck of a small ship, about to diving in for a snorkel.
By taking a small ship cruise in the Seychelles not only can you see Anse Lazio, the most beautiful beach in the islands, but you can also get to uninhabited islands, too like Sister Island and Cocos Island – something even an all inclusive resort can’t include.
This cruise starts in Mahe, takes you over to Aride Island, then on to Praslin, famous for its Vallee de Mai Reserve and the coco de mer fruits that grows there. See birdlife on Cousin Island, then giant tortoises on Curieuse Island. La Digue island, at the end of the trip, is completely car free – everyone goes around on bicycles and oxcarts.
Thanks to Nature Seychelles and their partner, Birdlife International, birdlife on Cousin Island is both protected and recovering. Look out for the tiny Seychelles sunbird and the handsome, plump-breasted Seychelles blue pigeon.
Small local businesses run the on-shore excursions – rattle along in an oxcart behind a strong horned ox along unmade roads across La Digue island, or take a hike through the rainforest. And there are, naturally, plenty of opportunities to snorkel.
Map
Check dates, prices & availability
Travel guides
Reviews
3 Reviews of Seychelles island hopping cruise
Reviewed on 09 Mar 2022 by Elizabeth Kennedy
Fabulous beaches, friendly people, lovely islands, fantastic fish to eat Read full reviewReviewed on 31 Dec 2019 by Maurice Robinson
The last day when we finally got to do some decent snorkelling Read full reviewResponsible Travel
Planet
The smaller size of our ship and the smaller passenger numbers ensures that any detrimental social and environmental impacts are minimised whilst allowing the passengers to visit smaller communities that don’t usually benefit from this form of tourism. Most tourists to Seychelles stay (and often don’t leave) some large resorts in a few restricted locations, so by enabling our passengers to visit some different areas without putting any strain on local amenities, we are spreading the financial benefits and the load of our visit.We will visit Cousin Island, a bird sanctuary run by Nature Seychelles and their partner, Birdlife International. Our visit, apart from educating our guests to the fantastic work being done on the Seychelles, provides a little funding to the NGOs that are working to preserve some of the world's rarest species. In 1959 there were fewer than 30 Seychelles warbler left alive, all on Cousin Island. Following fantastic work by these NGOs and others, the population began to recover and birds were translocated to other islands. The island also hosts the incredibly rare Seychelles fody, Seychelles magpie-robin, the endemic Seychelles sunbird and Seychelles blue pigeon as well as the Malagasy turtle dove. The island hosts over 300,000 nesting seabirds of seven species.
We rely heavily on small local businesses for providing local excursions for our passengers, providing an income to several smaller local firms.
All the food on board is bought in the Seychelles; fruit, vegetables, plenty of fish, meat and other staples are all locally grown and produced, and much of it is bought from small retailers or even directly from the grower or fisherman.
People
We encourage all our passengers to engage with the local community on a social and economic level to ensure that this tourism has a benefit to both the visitors and the hosts.The ship’s managers will buy as much of their produce as possible from local communities, and we will also encourage our passengers to spend money in the communities that we visit. By trying some local fruit juice instead of a well known American brand of soft drink, you will support the economy, it will be better for you and, who knows, you might find you enjoy it more too.
We will endeavour to maximise the benefits of tourism and to minimise or eradicate any downside, socially, environmentally & economically.
We will encourage our passengers to learn and understand as much as possible about the local traditions and way of life to enable them to appreciate the reality of life in the Seychelles.
Popular similar holidays
Seychelles island hopping holiday
From £3470 14 days including UK flights
More then just a beach: culture, heritage, wildlife and more
Seychelles 7 day sailing cruise
From £1995 - £2399 8 days excluding flights
Discover the Seychelles the best way: By small ship
Seychelles sailing holiday
From £1169 - £2049 8 days excluding flights
Island hop round the Seychelles in a wooden hulled sail ship