This tour begins in charming Victoria, the world's tiniest capital, where our knowledgeable guide will introduce you to the 'Aladdin's Cave' of the bustling traditional market with its colourful ambiance and numerous treasures.

No tour of the capital would be complete without paying respects to 'Big Ben', Victoria's most famous landmark dating back to 1903, but we'll also stop at a boutique or two and at curio stalls for that special memento of the islands.

Leaving the capital behind on a cool, refreshing mountain drive that allows breath-taking vistas of the ocean, we make for the Mission Lodge - ancient ruins of a school for slave children in a fairy tale setting beneath a 'living cathedral' of towering Dragon's Blood trees.

Here, serenaded by the song of endemic birds, your eyes will feast on a majestic panorama of lush, rolling mountainside and boundless, Azure Ocean that few places on earth can hope to rival for sheer beauty. The descent through the almost surreal beauty of the countryside to the West Coast, is the answer to any photographer's prayer and will bring you to Port Launay, one of Seychelles' most pristine marine parks whose clear, silken waters wait to refresh you.

From this marine oasis our trail meanders through quaint villages and hamlets to Pineapple Studio where the owner will show you around her atelier where craftsmen produce a variety of arts and silkscreen prints.

The 'pot of gold' at the end of this 'rainbow trail' is the exquisitely beautiful Cap Lazare Nature Resort. Here, among the scented frangipani trees, Annick and her devoted team will welcome you into their private domain with a fresh fruit juice, followed by a speciality Creole lunch served right on the private beachfront.

While away the afternoon visiting this exclusive estate, home to one of the largest land tortoises colony of the granitic islands, or snorkel into Cap Lazare's dazzling underwater world ... still wondering if all the beauty you have witnessed is a dream!

 

Approximate price (October 2009)

child fare applies to ages 2-11 inclusive

Ex Mahe
per adult - Euro86; per child Euro72

Ex Praslin
per adult - Euro357; per child Euro214