The Seychelles: FAQs
Published on: October 31st, 2016
Last modified: August 3rd, 2022
Our frequently asked questions about travel to the Seychelles. If you have any other questions, please contact your travel designer or concierge.
Flights and luggage restrictions
Please note that when packing for your trip to Africa, it is extremely important to note that there are strict weight restrictions enforced by the airlines. This is to ensure the safety and comfort of all passengers on board. Light aircraft are designed with a maximum body weight and luggage weight allowance in mind, and are limited to physical space restrictions.
Important: Max luggage allowance on your light aircraft flight is 15kg/33lbs (including camera equipment and hand luggage). Luggage must be in soft bags, with no wheels or hard aspects, as needs to pack in to small undercarriages of light aircrafts.
Please inform us in advance if anyone travelling has an individual weight of more than 100kgs (220lbs) as additional weight allowance on the aircraft must be purchased for safety and comfort.
On ALL light aircrafts, only one soft bag per person will be accepted – no hard suitcases, as they cannot physically fit in the aircraft. The most efficient bags are soft, non-rigid bags with no wheels. Some airlines also impose luggage size restrictions – these can be found in the information to follow.
These luggage restrictions may sound very limiting, but bear in mind the following:
- Most safari camps / lodges and hotels provide basic toilet amenities
- Laundry can be done on a daily basis (and many camps provide this service free of charge but hotels do charge a nominal fee)
If you wish to bring additional luggage with you that exceeds the allotted weight restrictions for one person, you may choose to purchase another seat.
Do I need any vaccinations before I go away to the Seychelles?
Please seek professional medical advice and recheck close to the date of travel as the situation may change. It’s very important that if you have recently travelled to a country where Yellow Fever is prevalent (or if this forms part of your itinerary with us), you will need to show your yellow fever certificate on arrival in the Seychelles (otherwise you may be denied entry). What is recommended for all is that you ensure you are up to date with hepatitis A, typhoid and routine immunisations – specifically tetanus-diphtheria, measles-mumps-rubella, polio, and varicella.
Do I need to take malaria tablets?
They Seychelles is not a malarial risk area. Check with your medical advisor about the areas you are going to (regarding other destinations within your itinerary with us) before travelling to see whether you should bring malaria tablets with you. We recommend you bring some bug spray as this is a tropical island and you may like to have it handy.
Do I need to get a visa?
This can always change, and you should check with your local embassy before travel. To enter the Seychelles visas are not currently required by citizens of EU, US, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong or the UAE. Documents required for immigration clearance are a passport valid for more than six months after your intended departure, return or onward ticket, proof of accommodation and sufficient funds for the duration of your stay. If your itinerary crosses into other countries, please bear in mind that you may need visas for these.
Please also ensure that you have sufficient blank visa pages (not endorsement pages) in your passport, with at least two consecutive/side by side blank pages. Our recommendation is three pages (or even four if you are travelling through more than one country on your journey). If there is insufficient space in your passport then entry into a country could be denied.
Should I bring travellers cheques?
Travellers’ cheques can only be changed at banks, authorised money dealers and at the International Airport. However we don’t usually suggest bringing them as they can be troublesome and time consuming to change. Cash machines are always nearby in big cities and airports. Credit cards are accepted with almost as much frequency as they are at home; all major credit cards are accepted in most places.
Which currency should I bring?
The local currency is called the Seychelles Rupee. We advise you not to change any foreign currency into Seychelles Rupees until necessary and even then we recommend you only change a small amount of money as it is not easy to change Rupees back into foreign currency. The majority of hotels, restaurants, shops and service providers accept Euros, Sterling or US Dollars and we suggest you have plenty of notes of smaller denominations to avoid getting too many Rupees in your change. All hotels accept credit cards.
There are banks on all three main islands with ATMs. Bank opening hours are 8.30am to 2.00 pm Monday to Friday, 08.30am to 11.00am on Saturdays. They are closed on Public holidays. Please bear in mind that ATMs only give local currency. Most hotels will also assist with currency exchange.
Travel insurance
It is vital that you take out valid comprehensive travel insurance that covers medical repatriation, cancellation and curtailment for you trip to Africa. This gives you peace of mind that you will not lose money should you be forced to cancel your trip due to illness before you travel or during your vacation.
Please ensure that your insurance covers you for medical evacuation and repatriation both internationally and locally, and we could advise that your policy covers loss and theft of your possessions.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your travel insurance covers you for all aspects of your vacation. You must ensure that you will be covered for activities such as walking, rafting, canoeing and horse riding.
Remember to carry your insurance details with you at all times.#
Laundry
Most camps and lodges have laundry facilities, provided you have sufficient time to allow for drying and ironing. Some properties charge a nominal fee for this (some include it). As laundry in lodges is generally done by hand, we suggest that you wash your own underwear.
Electrical plugs in the Seychelles
There is a huge variation in the type of plug socket in use in Africa and it is best to be armed with a universal adaptor. Most sockets tend to be in the square three pin but you will also find the larger three-pin socket in the Seychelles.
