I must be honest in saying that since I would have ordinarily believed a destination such as the Seychelles to be similar to the Cayman Islands, these islands off the east coast of mainland Africa never really made for a destination I was ever planning to visit. However, I had the pleasure of spending nearly a full 24 hours on the main island of Mahe as part of a 20-hour, overnight stopover en route from Abu Dhabi to South Africa.

I simply had to go back and spend a little longer as my heart was captured by the majestic beauty of the islands!

Look, I’ll be the first to admit that I got very lucky with my business exploits and so I am in a position to enjoy some of the finer things in life, but I had to save up for a quite a bit of time just so that I could enjoy a singular week in the Seychelles, such is the high cost of enjoying this tropical island destination. One night in a five-star hotel will set you back an uncompromising 500 Euros and don’t get me started on the cost of feeding yourself, especially if you’re going to be dining out.

The Seychelles are a group of islands which are a favourite amongst honeymooners, particularly the smaller islands off Mahe, like North Island and Praislin. So this is somewhat of a once-in-a-lifetime escape, which is perhaps why it’s insanely expensive.

Unless you’re loaded, this isn’t a place you come to shop either as pretty much everything which is imported costs double what it would cost on average anywhere else. In fact, many of the locals jump on a flight and head down to South Africa to do their shopping for basic groceries and supplies. The cost of food is perhaps inflated to match the cost of everything else I suppose, but if one moves away from the expressly touristy places it becomes a lot more bearable by way of the costs.

I enjoyed filling up on fresh seafood dishes which come in a rich variety, a lot cheaper if you buy them from the vendors whom you’ll find along the beaches. Try the red snapper and your palate will forever be spoilt if you’re a fish lover. You won’t want to eat much of any other fish!

Stay in a guesthouse and you’ll pay up to 7x less than what a five-star hotel would cost you and generally try to live your daily life like a local. Shop for supplies where the locals shop and prepare some of your own food and it’ll become a lot cheaper to enjoy this little paradise on earth.

Of course you’d want to engage in some of the touristy activities, so there’s no scrimping as far as that goes, but otherwise getting around is super cheap if you use the public bus for example and island hopping is not too bad either by way of the cost of the ferry rides.