| Seychelles, 3rd (Bradt Travel Guide) |  | Authors: Lyn Mair, Lynnath Beckley
Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
Category: Book
List Price: $23.99
Buy New: $14.66
as of 3/15/2010 16:09 EDT details
You Save: $9.33 (39%)
In Stock
New (24) Used (7) from $11.68
Seller: pbshop
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 86,161
Media: Paperback
Edition: 3rd
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 1841622591
Dewey Decimal Number: 916
EAN: 9781841622590
ASIN: 1841622591
Publication Date: November 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Tell A Friend
Add to Wishlist
Add to Wedding Registry
Add to Baby Registry
| |
| Features:
| | ISBN13: 9781841622590 | | | Condition: NEW | | | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Palm-fringed silvery sands, turquoise seas, misty mountain peaks and coral reefs coupled with tropical sun, starry skies and delightful people, the Seychelles are an idyllic escape for discerning travellers. A haven for those interested in natural history, the guide gives fascinating coverage of the islands' biodiversity, from mangroves, turtles and birds to nature reserves and conservation projects. Seychelles' many secrets like the coco de mer palm forest, island bird sanctuaries and Creole cuisine are all revealed.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Highly informative, practical, and resourceful October 20, 2005
P. Chen (Bay Area, CA)
27 out of 27 found this review helpful
Among the number of titles that we reviewed on our recent sailing charter in the Seychelles, this and the Sarah Carpin guide book (both 2005 publications) served us the best. In fact, this book was so recently made available that it arrived 2 days before our trip and we elected to ditch the Lonely Planet for the Bradt.
The first 80 pages provides an informative guide - the background, history, and nature of the Seychelles as a visitor would want to know before arriving. The Carpin book covers most of the background better in terms of history and folklore (not to mention many, many beautiful pictures), but Mair/Beckley covers practicalities and resources (transportation, contacts, sport, shopping, etc.) much more thoroughly. (n.b. Carpin spent a number of years living there whereas Mair is a frequent visitor.)
As with most guidebooks to the Seychelles, the focus here is mainly on the 3 large inner islands - Mahé, Praslin, and La Digue - and again, the practicalities covered by this guide is unmatched by any of the others that we researched. Good maps, ferry schedules (current as of 2005), thorough reviews and contact information (including web) of many hotels and restaurants, and descriptions of shopping which, in an area that is somewhat resource challenged like the Seychelles, is an invaluable resource. (As we were sailing/self boarding, we were much more reliant on whatever resources/people we could pry information on where to find things as simple as dish soap or soy sauce. If you are going resort/package, as it seems most visitors do, this may be less an issue for you.)
Mair's road-by-road descriptions of downtown Victoria give you just about a shop-by-shop mental picture of driving/walking the smallest capital city in the world. Again, another reason why we pulled this book out time and time again on our trip. For car renters/day trippers, she gives an excellent point-to-point description for exploring Mahé and Praslin (the only two island that you can drive on anyways) on your own. Although Mahé is the largest island, and most often the largest and most central focus in many guide books, there is plenty of attention paid to Praslin and La Digue and more than sufficient practical information - including getting to and exploring the Valée de Mai and Anse Source d'Argent - to make this your primary guide to visiting those islands as well.
When it comes to the other inner islands (Silhouette, North, Curieuse, Aride, Cocos, Cousin, Cousine, Felicite, Bird, etc...) there's about 25 pages devoted to information about these wonderful spots, getting there, accommodations, and other necessities (if any - the islands that have facilities tend to be single-resort type). For most Seychelles visitors, unless some of these resorts are your destination, getting to these islands may be more of a day trip from your base accomodation so there is sufficient advice and information provided here. For folks sailing these isles, the information here is useful in determinine what is worth visiting (well, everything actually, but some are private and do not allow you to land) but of course you're going to need more information on harbors, anchorages and such. For that, we relied on the Pilote Cótier guide (http://www.pilotecotier.com/) kindly provided by our charter in the Seychelles.
Although we did not visit the outer islands, there are another 10 pages on most of the outer islands and 12 on Aldabra alone. Despite these places being generally less accessible, these notes should inspire you to a second, third, or so on visit should you have the means to return to the Seychelles. Again, good practicalities, although here I'd say the Carpin book does just as well and also has a number of spectacular photos of these areas. There are 8 full-color pages of photos in the Mair/Beckley book that should further inspire you to the beauty of this rare, delicate place.
Finally, a note about snorkeling and scuba-diving. Besides highly recommending it, if you intend to learn more before arriving, the Carpin book has a fairly good section in the back detailing the major dive sites which the Mair book does not. I believe that much of the information here originally comes from the excellent out of print Pisces Guide written by Lawson Wood. This isn't required of course - dive resorts tend to pre-plan the daily dive spots based on conditions, guest abilities, likelyhood of good marine life, etc. - but we found it helpful to know more about the locations that we were diving. Even if you are planning on doing a lot of snorkeling, I also recommend picking up the Indian Ocean Reef Guide by Debelius (expensive, but worth it) which will help you identify many many new sea creatures and corals that you will see on your trip to the Seychelles.
Best Seychelles travel guide January 6, 2009
T. J. Singh
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This guide is by far the best Seychelles travel guide I found before my trip. The maps are helpful and up-to-date, restaurant recommendations are very good, and there's great historical context and information for general reading. I highly recommend this guide above Lonely Planet or other guides.
Great and Informative Book - EXACTLY what I was looking for! January 25, 2010
H. Cushing
First off, I'd like to say that when we booked our trip to the Seychelles, I immediately went to the book store to get Fodor's guide, as I've always used theirs in the past and found them very informative. The book combined Mauritias, Reunion, and the Seychelles. The Seychelles only took up 50 pages! It felt wrong to spend $25 on a 300-page book that only had 50 pages that I wanted. Then I found this 200-page strictly Seychelles book and I knew it would be perfect. It is! It has all of the info that I like - breakdowns on each island/region/town, with all of the hotels, places to eat, things to do... And correlating maps, too. The inside cover has a quick guide with time/money conversions and a key for the whole book. You know, the sort of stuff that a travel guide should have! I have yet to take my trip, it's 9 months away, but already I feel more prepared and aware. Thank you Bradt! I think I have found a new brand of travel guides!
Most Complete Guide for Seychelles October 3, 2008
Traveler in Dubai (Dubai, UAE)
This was the first Bradt Guidebook I have ever purchased, and I was delighted to have discovered it. It definitely is the most complete guidebook Seychelles to date that I have found! The website lists all the series they have done, and I have to say they have been under rated and hard to find so far; and seem to cover more of the exotic locations that other publications.
I highly recommend it!
| In Stock
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. |
| |
