Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, situated northeast of Madagascar and about 1500 kilometre off the coast of eastern Africa. It is considered as one of the most beautiful and scenic tourist destinations of the region due to its wonderful coral beaches, dense forests, equable climate and exotic ecology. It provides a perfect environment for relaxation and rejuvenation for travellers. Tourism sector is among the main contributors to the GDP of the country. Indian tourists also visit its picturesque islands for vacationing. They have the option of taking cheap flights to Seychelles on a number of domestic or international carriers.
Airlines and Flight Routes
Carriers from India fly to two destinations in this country – Mahe and Praslin islands. Mahe is home to the international airport of this country and a number of international carriers such as Etihad Airways, Kenya Airways, Mihin Lanka and Emirates fly there from major Indian cities. Praslin is reached only by Etihad Airways and its partner, Air Seychelles.
Indian full-service carriers like Jet Airways and Air India also operates overseas flights to Mahe Island. While contemplating a holiday to this destination, travellers shall take due note of the following:
There is no direct or non-stop India to Seychelles flight. Though there are good connections from Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Surat, Vadodara, Jaipur and Cochin, but these are not direct. Travellers shall also note that these could be operated by one airline and marketed by another under their mutual codeshare agreements.
Airlines flying Delhi to Seychelles route generally have one or two stopovers at cities at Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Mumbai. Jet Airways takes anywhere from 11 to 37 hours (depending on location of layover stops, number of such stops and time gap between connects) to reach there. Air India takes about 28 hours as it invariably has two stops in between.
Mumbai to Seychelles air connection is provided with most common stopover locations in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Nairobi, Pune, Colombo and Chennai. Jet Airways connections normally take 10-37 hours duration whereas Air India reaches there in about 13-14 hours, with two layover stops quite common.
While Seychelles is not that far from the southern Indian coast as destinations in America, Europe or Far East Asia, the time of flight varies significantly from one route to another since there is no direct air connection from Indian cities. This could mean a long journey time.
Entry Requirements
After knowing how to reach Seychelles from India, visitors shall also know what are the requirements for entering the country. To make it convenient for tourists to arrive in the country, there is no visa requirement for travellers, irrespective of their nationality. The only need is for a passport, a proof of stay and an air ticket of onward journey. The only exception to this rule is the visitors from Ebola-affected countries, including Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, who need to have a visa. All tourists come on a visitor permit, which is issued for one month, and extendable up to two more months at no extra cost. Thereafter, extension can be sought by paying SCR 5000 for staying for three months more.
Source by Priyanka Manjari Mishra
