Mahé Transportation

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Mahe International Airport is the gateway to the Seychelles. All international flights both scheduled and chartered land here. There are two terminals one inernational and one for domestic inter island flights. A duty free zone and a bar and restaurant offer services in the international terminal and a small shop allow purchases in the domestic terminal.

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The national airline of the Seychelles does not appear to operate a regular schedule of flights. Both the inbound and outbound international flight departed late and from discussions with the tour operator this is a regular occurrence. Residents and guests should be warned if they choose to fly with this airline, since the outbound delay resulted in me missing my onward flight and meant an overnight in Johannesburg.
In case of delays and changes in schedule the airlines airport staff is most incompetent in dealing with the situation.
Inter Island flights also have to be treated with caution. Air Seychelles keeps changing the schedule according to load factor and the scheduled flight may not operate at all. Inner Island flights also are not air-conditioned making the aircraft to resemble a steam bath.
Schedule checks with the airline do not bear any fruits since communication is as incompetent.
My return flight even though it was booked and confirmed on an Air Seychelles aircraft was operated by an Italian/Irish charter airline.
The above is due to the limited aircraft the airline owns that are over scheduled.
Alternatives that operate more securely are Emirates, Qatar Airways and Kenya Airways. All other airlines to the islands operate a charter service only.
In regards to inner island travel one could divert to scheduled ferry services.

Even if there are busses I would still advice you to rent a car.
The busses were not respecting any schdule that I could see. You would have just to wait for one to stop whenever it sould come.
With a car is much more easier to move arround at your convenience. And it is also fun!
Renting a car will cost from 50 up to 80 Euros.
You can rent it from a renting company or speak directly to the receptionist at your gusthouse. By the way, some goesthouses have an agreement with people who rent cars and they could get it for you for a reduced price. Also, the price is lower if you rent a car for more days.

When I arrived in Mahe, the taxi driver wanted 30 Euros for a taxi ride to the Plantation Club Hotel
I didnt have any euros but gave him 20 British pound plus a tip.
Found out after arriving at the airport that the taxi drivers are not supposed to get foreign currency for a taxi ride and should have been about 150 rupees about 14 Pounds or $25.00
Ask one of the people from Masons Travel or Creole travel what the taxi fare should be
or see if they have a ride available in their passenger minivans for the same price
the taxi drivers also will offer to change your currency for you which is against the law
but were offering 14-15 rupees for a GBP instead of the 11.72 for the official rate , but without a receipt you cannot change it back if you dont spend it all .
ATM cards work almost everywhere
Ask if the bus goes to your hotel when you arrive at the airport as its only 3 rupees (depending on your luggage)

We decided to rent a car for a day with our new friends and share the costs, which was a great thing, because we had a lot of fun together !
And again we were lucky... The day we went to visit them on Sainte Anne Island, we couldn't find our way to the shuttle...we were totally lost, and entered a shop to ask our way. There was this guy there who kindly offered to drive us to the shuttle harbour. Another sign of the Seselwa's kindness !
We told him about renting a car and he appeared to be in the business. So he made us a price for a jeep...
Well, if you need a car on Mahé, ask Patrick

Tatas are old indian busses which take you almost everywhere around Mahé for 3 rupees only (5 rupees at 8 pm). It's a funny way to travel around, especially when the tata is full of talkative locals... it's delightful to hear them laugh and talk to each other in creole ! But the last busses leave around 8 pm, so you better check the schedules, because cabs are really expensive in the Seychelles !

The best way to get to Mahé, of course is with an airplane... As there is no connection from Brussels to the Seychelles, we took it in Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport. The flight lasts a bit more than 9 hours. You may find it a bit long, especially if you fly at night and can't find a good position to sleep... but you can always listen to creole music, and already taste the atmosphere of the Seychelles ;-) If you fly during the day, look outside the window, you can see the pyramids of Egypt if you are lucky : -) And the crew is really nice too, make you feel you already are in the island !
A flight to the Seychelles is usually very expensive, around 1000 euros...But if you look on the internet, you'll find less expensive solutions. We had an opportunity of flight and hotel included almost for the price of the plane ticket...

The ferry is a great way to island hop from island to island but it can be expensive with an adult one way costing 44 Euros.