Paradise on a budget – how BA is bringing luxury Seychelles holidays to the masses

Bernard, my proudly Seychellois driver, was adamant. “Seychelles is much more beautiful than Mauritius.” When had he been to Mauritius, I wondered?

“Oh never,” he shot back confidently as he negotiated puddles and tried not to splash pedestrians making their way to work in Victoria, the compact capital of Mahé. “But that’s what everyone tells me.”

For all I know, that may be true, having never been there either. This was also my first visit to the Seychelles, and based on the drive from the airport, with lushly clad granite hills swathed in mist soaring away to my left, things certainly looked promising, even if the ominous rain clouds did not.

I was here in January, looking for some winter sun. I should have read my guidebook a bit more closely, for November to March is rainy season. “Well I could have told you that,” said a friend, who grew up there, unhelpfully, once I was back. “It bucketed down in January. And don’t go at Christmas. It really chucks it down.”

But still it was hot, around 30C (86F) every day, and I was in shorts and T-shirt in winter. In between the showers, the sun came out and all was right with the world. When I was confined indoors, I wrote Christmas gift thank you cards and subsequently received many brownie points for the colourful, fish-themed stamps. Even at airmail rate they were cheaper than a first-class stamp sent from home.

The end of the wet season this month rather fortuitously happens to be when British Airways resumes service to Mahé, the main island, after a gap of 14 years. The twice-weekly non-stop flights from Heathrow that started over the weekend will mean passengers no longer have to transit at Doha or Dubai in the middle of the night, and the islanders are hoping for a boom in British holidaymakers.

BA first flew there in 1971, with a weekly VC10 touching down in Nicosia and Nairobi en route. When it finally reached the Seychelles, some 12,000 people turned out to see it land. By contrast, my arrival was greeted by an airport worker in a Day-Glo yellow vest, eating a sandwich.

A trip to the Seychelles, of course, is never going to be truly cheap but, as my stamps showed, you just have to know where to look for your bargains. Hop on any bus in Mahé, for example, and your chauffeur-driven tour of the island will cost just seven rupees, or 40 pence. Avoid rush hour, though, when they’re packed.

At the other end of the spectrum, there’s Fregate or North Island, private slices of Seychelles paradise, where, in the latter case, a villa for one night starts from a cool ￡6,300. William and Kate honeymooned there and Seychellois have fingers and toes crossed that he might have slipped in a good word to his brother come May.

But I’d come to stay at four resorts where your money can go further without compromising on paradise moments, especially if you book in advance and don’t stay at peak times.

My first, Hilton Labriz on Silhouette Island, stares out towards North Island – a cat can look at a king and all that – and is about 40 minutes away from Mahé by boat. We bumped across truculent seas and I was glad when the towering mountain that dominates its centre slipped into view and we docked.

There are no roads here and, apart from the resort, there is just one other small B&B run by a French family. Getting from A to B around the island is by boat or on foot along paths that cut through the trees. There isn’t an awful lot to do here, but really that’s the whole point, and if you conjure up the word “paradise” in your head, this island fits the bill, with talcum powder beaches and crystal-clear waters.

You can borrow free bikes to get around, perhaps to the spa at one end of the resort, partially set into the hillside and almost enveloped by plants. In the other direction there’s a dive school, where Steffen Eberlein, one of the dive masters, told me enthusiastically that here you might see sharks on seven out of 10 dives. I told him I’d be hoping for one of the three. He looked a bit hurt.

Inspiration: Our favourite beaches

Food at the resort is varied if not entirely earth-shattering, ranging from sushi and pizzas to local Creole favourite, octopus curry, which you’ll see on menus throughout the Seychelles. Having only just finished bingeing Blue Planet II, however, I couldn’t bring myself to eat this most highly intelligent of creatures, which, according to Sir David, seems to be just a tentacle away from driving for Uber or attending sixth form college.

Back on the mainland – if you can call 16-mile long and four-mile wide Mahé that – I flopped at Hilton’s other swish property, Northolme, which consists of several rows of private but densely packed villas, some with private infinity pools that levitate above a small beach. This really is a spot where, apart from meals, you can escape your fellow man, perfect for honeymoon solitude, which is what the Seychelles excels in.

In a way, the condensed layout of the villas felt a tad overpowering to me. I was happy to escape by taxi for an afternoon through the nearby village of Beau Vallon, for a secluded, sweaty, hour-long hike along cliff paths to the lovely little beach at Anse Major, which I shared with just a few others.

En route to the south-west of the island, I paused in Victoria. There’s not much of a tick list to keep you dawdling in the capital, but it is friendly and charming and the streets around the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market, with a colourful Hindu temple and the 115-year-old Lorloz clock tower, provide some excellent people-watching. My taxi climbed up out of town – you’re usually going either up or down on Mahé – until I reached Avani Seychelles Barbarons resort near Grand Anse on the west of the island.

This more egalitarian property contained a mix of Far Eastern, Indian, east European, French and German families, who congregated at its large pool, although it never felt crowded. It was backed by low-rise ribbons of surprisingly contemporary accommodation, all of which had a balcony or patio.

I was drawn, though, to the lovely, long, tree-lined horseshoe beach in front, which was perfect for sunrise strolls before breakfast or pre-cocktail evening promenades. A bus stop outside means you can explore a bit if you don’t have a hire car, although most people seemed content to just drop and flop.

My last port of call was in Anse Forbans, at the Doubletree Resort Allamanda, almost an afterthought really. It was the smallest of the four hotels with just 30 bedrooms. But the warm greeting from Doreen, the manager, the friendly atmosphere generated by the staff and the gorgeous stretch of beach at the front made it my favourite.

In numbers | Seychelles

My bedroom, with a large balcony, was spacious, the pool area was quiet, and food in the hotel’s restaurant was overseen by a friendly chef from Kent, who told me he felt very at home on the island, and I’m sure by now knows everything there is to know about octopus.

But I still couldn’t bring myself to eat one as I waited for Bernard to give me a lift back to the airport, evening thunderclouds rumbling over the forest, and fruit bats taking to the sky silhouetted against the sinking sun.

Essentials

Will Hide travelled with Beachcomber Tours (01483 445685; beachcombertours.uk) which offers seven nights half-board from ￡2,330 per person at the Hilton Seychelles Labriz, from ￡2,015pp half-board at the Avani Barbarons, from ￡2,525pp half-board at the Hilton Northolme and from ￡2,100pp half-board at the Doubletree by Hilton Allamanda (all based on two sharing). This includes return flights from Heathrow with British Airways and transfers. Prices include advance-purchase discounts and are based on travelling this June.

British Airways (ba.com) offers flights from London Heathrow to Mahé from ￡647 return this June.