Seychelles

An archipelago of 115 islands scattered across the azure waters of the Western Indian Ocean, the Seychelles seems almost divinely created as the world’s ideal tourist paradise.

Blessed by year round sunshine and cooling tropical breezes, the islands lie just to the north of the Indian Ocean’s Tropic of Capricorn cyclone belt and are free from these destructive storms throughout the year.

The islands of Seychelles are split between the inner islands – mountainous granite peaks which sit atop an underwater plateau, a refugee from the ancient continent of Gondwanaland – and the outer islands – golden sand fringed, coral atolls, standing only a few metres above sea level on top of giant extinct volcanoes.

Not formally inhabited until the 1750s, the population of Seychelles is made up of the children of settlers from Africa, Asia and Europe, who today live in a prosperous and harmonious society where the diverse influences of the early settlers have created a rich, vibrant and living culture.

The three national languages are English, French and Creole, all of which are spoken by the vast majority of the population, though Creole dominates daily life. A colourful and inventive language, Creole is largely based on eighteenth century French, but borrows words from the mother tongues of all of the islands settlers to create a dynamic and evolving palate for islands’ street poets and singers to paint with.

Inner Islands

The main centres of government, commerce and population for the country’s 85,000 inhabitants are all found on the island of Mahe, the largest of the inner islands and site of the international airport. Mahe is home to the capital of Seychelles (and reputedly the smallest capital city in the world) the bustling Victoria, whose picture-postcard charm belies a fully-functioning modern town, equipped with all the services a visitor could require, such as banks, communications and nightlife!

For the quintessential Victoria experience visit the market (with the suitably distinguished name of the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market) on a Saturday morning when it throngs with farmers, fishers and professional bargain hunters.

The country’s second most populace island, Praslin, is only a short boat ride or 15 minute flight from Mahe, but a further step back from the stresses and strains of modern life. Ready smiles, slow moving days and beautiful beach after beautiful beach are the hallmarks of a trip to Praslin. The island is also home to the second of Seychelles’ two World Heritage Sites (the other being the atoll Aldabra) the Vallee de Mai, a palm forest in the centre of the island where vast palms sway overhead and rustle in the breeze and an active imagination can spot dinosaurs behind every turn!

But if even Praslin proves too hectic, the ultimate taste of island relaxation can be found on La Digue, where cars are shunned in favour of bicycles and ox carts and the only pressing concern is choosing which stunning beach to visit next.

Outer Islands

Neptune Warrior offers a unique opportunity to explore Seychelles’ remote outer islands. Based upon the prevalent wind conditions Neptune Warrior spends three months (early November to late January) operating from the island of Farquhar and three months (early February to late April) operating around the Assumption atoll, enabling visitors to explore two distinct island groups.

Farquhar

Your Farquhar adventure begins with a glance at a map, where the very names of the atoll’s islands are a discovery in themselves. Manaha Nord, Manaha Milieu, Manaha Sud, Goëlettes, Lapin, Ile du Milieu, Depose, Ile du Nord, Ile du Sud, and Bancs de Sable stand sentinel around the Farquhar lagoon, where shoals of bone fish and Giant Trevallys wait to tempt the visiting angler.

Known locally as the “Rivers of Bones” the fast flowing waters of the Manaha Gaps channel record breaking bone fish and barrel chested Giant Trevally into tightly packed shoals, fighting to take an angler’s fly.

Some 700km from Mahé, a flight to Farquhar takes around two hours, from where Neptune Warrior opens up the enchanted islands of the Farquhar group.

The atoll’s unrivalled fishing opportunities are unlocked by the detailed knowledge of Neptune Warrior’s experienced crew, who can help you choose the perfect spot to go after the catch of the day. Whatever your favourite fishing style might be, Farquhar is waiting to be discovered.

Coetivy

Seychelles eastern out-post, Coetivy lies almost 300km from Mahe. Traditionally used to supply the inner islands with agricultural produce, the island was, until recently, home to a Tiger Prawn farm. The islands’ relatively intensive use led to the construction of an airstrip across the island’s modest width, making the rich fishing grounds which skirt Coetivy only a short hop from the international airport on Mahé.

And thanks to the island’s agricultural use, the nutrient-rich run off has fed the coastal waters, leading to bigger fishing trophies, as submarine sized dogtooth tuna and sailfish cruise around the atoll’s drop-off.

Saint Joseph

Offering perhaps the greatest concentration of fishing challenges in one location, the tiny atoll of Saint Joseph is located on the eastern edge of the Amirantes Bank.

The atoll forms a near unbroken ring around a shallow lagoon, which, at low tide, sends waters cascading through the single narrow channel of Passe Lerein Fin and out onto the broad, flat and abundantly stocked reefs. And the challenges of reef fishing are further enhanced to the west of the atoll, where shifting sand banks slowly drift over the reef, creating an ever-changing seascape and limitless fly fishing possibilities.

And after the challenge of landing ever larger bone fish and Giant Trevallys, Neptune Warrior’s tenders can make the short trip to the atoll drop off, where the sea floor disappears 1000 metres down and torpedo-fast wahoo prowl expectantly.

Providence

The large shallow bank, on which sites Providence and its neighbours, St Pierre and Ile Cerf, acts as a magnet for vast shoals of tropical fish.

The dense coconut palm forests which cover the island provide an idyllic tropical island backdrop to a day’s fishing and the perfect accompaniment to the evening’s (fish) barbecue! The shallow waters surrounding the island offer plentiful big game fishing opportunities, with regular catches of Giant Trevallys, emperors, snappers and groupers.

Providence lies some 110 km from Farquhar and is reached after a short eight hours cruise.

Assumption

A highly regarded Green turtle nesting site, the seven kilometre long island of Assumption is Neptune Warrior’s base from February to March.

Lying roughly 1,100km to the south west of Mahé, the island became home to an airstrip in 1990, opening the neighbouring islands up to scientific research and visits by the most discerning of tourists.

Flights to Assumption take approximately two and a half hours, depending upon the aircraft being used and the island provides a delightful platform for a few early holiday fishing excursions off the shallow reefs which skirt the island and are rich with snappers, groupers and emperors.

Cosmoledo

The vast atoll of Cosmoledo is the fishing paradise of the Assumption group, where a ring of nine islands stand guard around a 16km lagoon awaiting a baited hook. Neptune Warrior’s shallow draft allows the vessel to easily chart the lagoon’s waters, but for the best fishing the opportunities opened up the Neptune Warriors two Orca 530 tenders are almost unlimited. Fishing inside the lagoon offers the chance to catch a wide range of bone fish while a trip to the atoll’s fringing reefs, or even further, allows anglers to go after bigger game such as the prized Giant Trevally while the black silhouettes of two metre wide Frigate birds wheel overhead.

The island is roughly 150km from Assumption with a sailing time between the two islands of around nine hours. Make the crossing at night and let the dawn backdrop welcome you to Cosmoledo’s rugged beauty.

Aldabra

The jewel in the crown of Seychelles’ scattered atoll archipelago, Aldabra is internationally recognised as a “living laboratory,” a pristine paradise for visiting scientists seeking to unravel the wonders of the evolution of life in splendid isolation.

Over 1,000 km from Mahé, adrift in the Indian Ocean the vast island of Aldabra – the world’s largest raised coral atoll – has remained relatively free from human interference, due to its remoteness and the harsh, yet stunningly beautiful nature of the island, since its discovery. Thanks to its largely pristine environment and the number of unique species which the atoll supports it has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status, an honour conferred on only one other site in Seychelles, Praslin’s Vallee de Mai.

Home to over 150,000 Aldabran giant tortoises and myriad species of birds and marine life, Aldabra is out of bounds for fishing but offers a stunning and unique opportunity to witness firsthand the wonders of life’s attempts to subdue even the remotest environments.

Aldabra is managed by the Seychelles Island Foundation (SIF) and visits to the atoll can be arranged aboard Neptune Warrior from the hub of Assumption (around 40km away).

Getting there

Despite the remoteness of the beautiful islands Neptune Warrior visits, getting to and from your floating home couldn’t be easier.

Getting to Seychelles

Regular scheduled flights to the archipelago depart from major hubs in Europe, the Gulf and the Far East, making Seychelles no more than one connecting flight away from most visitors.

Getting to the islands

Neptune Warrior meets guests from the airstrips on the coral islands of Farquhar and Assumption before cruising to the outer island fishing spot of your choice.

Each flight to the islands is individually chartered by Neptune Warrior, allowing you to tailor your trip as you like. Visitors to Seychelles wishing to explore the main island, Mahé, before flying south can arrange for the flight to the islands to depart a few days after their arrival. But for diehard anglers, keen to bait their hook as soon as possible, the chartered flight south can be scheduled to meet their arriving international flight to whisk them straight out to Neptune Warrior.

Another option available to travellers aboard Neptune Warrior is to meet the boat directly upon arrival on Mahé and from there cruise to St Joseph to unlock the treasures of the Amirantes group of islands.

IDC

Flights from Mahé to either Farquhar or Assumption are provided by Neptune Warrior’s trusted partner IDC (the Island Development Company), the government agency which manages the majority of the country’s outer islands. Operating both Beechcraft and Caravan aircraft, IDC has over 25 years of unblemished experience in flying people and cargo to and from the islands.

Flights from Mahé take roughly two hours to Farquhar and two and a half hours to Assumption, depending on conditions and the pilots’ inclination to give you a scenic tour!