Is Seychelles worth the money?

Seychelles has a reputation for being eye-wateringly expensive, and some of it is earned. But the cost is not quite where you expect it, and there is a way to do a trip here so it feels worth every franc rather than like something you regret paying for.

The expensive part is mostly structural. Almost everything that is not caught locally is shipped or flown in, so even ordinary restaurant food carries the freight, and the hotels at the top end cost what top hotels cost anywhere in the world. Book nothing but those, and of course it adds up fast.

But the splurges are optional, not compulsory. We mixed a few nights in the best hotels the islands offer, private pool and the full treatment, with simpler, well-rated guesthouses we loved just as much for the hospitality. We drove ourselves everywhere instead of hiring taxis and drivers. And some of the best food we ate was the cheapest: the standout meal of the whole trip was a takeaway on the edge of La Digue, thousands of reviews, a five-minute bike ride away, that cost next to nothing.

And the thing people actually fly here for, the beaches, are mostly free. Anse Lazio, regularly ranked among the best beaches in the world, costs nothing to walk onto. Source d'Argent, the most photographed beach on earth, was about nine euros to enter, and at dawn we had it almost to ourselves. The islands do not charge admission, and the sunrise over them is the same price for everyone.

So, is it worth the money? Yes, as long as you treat the splurges as choices rather than requirements. Pick the few hotels and meals worth paying up for, balance them with simpler places that are often just as good, and spend your days on beaches that cost nothing. Do it that way and Seychelles is expensive in the way a special trip should be, not in the way that ruins it.