Hold on to your calculators, this is going to be one of the lengthier breakdowns.
(not Nigerian-Visa-and-Yellow-Fever-Needed type lengthy, but lengthy nonetheless)
My mom and I are off to East Africa!
My mom has dreamed of going to the Seychelles her whole life and for Mother’s Day 2024 – she will have her wish…………and a little extra.
Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:
That is a WHOLE lot of items. I know.
The Flights
Let me begin with the most important thing – the flight to the Seychelles.
We booked our flight to Mahe, Seychelles alllll the way back in July of 2023. I know this is really far ahead, but, the price was too good to pass up.
The flights to and from the Seychelles are shared between American Airways and Qatar Airways. I had flown with AA many times, but this would be my first time flying with Qatar Airways. Have to say I’m pretty excited because I’ve only heard good things.
On the way there we go Toronto to Philly, Philly to Doha and then Doha to Mahe. We have a lengthy layover in Doha, Qatar – but more on that later. Coming home we will be going Mahe to Doha, Doha to Dallas and then Dallas back to Toronto. The flight from Doha to Dallas is like 16.5hrs long, direct. Lordy.
Cost per person to fly to and from the Seychelles, $1500.06. I think this is AMAZING for how far we are going.
The plan was to only go to the Seychelles, but of course, I had to go be extra.
Figured while we are on that side of the planet, might as well mosey on over to Mauritius. I booked that on January 6th of this year and the cost was $568.00 roundtrip, direct, per person. The flight is with Air Seychelles and it is only about two hours and a bit each way.
Total cost of all flights: $2068.06 per person
I know this looks like a big amount, but going to BOTH destinations for that? I really think we scored for the pricing.
The Stays
For this trip we will have three different stays.
The first stay is when we arrive in Mahe, Seychelles we will be staying at La Villa Therese from May 12th to May 15th. Total cost is $418.00, so $209.00 CAD per person.
We chose this stay because it is right by a famous beach on the island (Anse Royale), and duh, the price was right! Our room is the One-Bedroom Apartment.
The second stay is in Mauritius and it is called Blue Beryl Guest House. We will be staying there from May 15th to May 18th. Total cost is $527.00, so $263.50 CAD per person.
Now we chose this place, again, because the price is right, but also because it was beachfront. This was close to where our catamaran cruise is leaving from as well. Oh, and breakfast included. Clutch. Our room is the Apartment with Sea View.
The third and final stay is back on Mahe, and that place is called Horizon View. Will be staying there from May 18th to May 22nd. Total cost is $238.00, so $119.00 CAD per person.
We tried to go for whatever price for this place because we have a rental car, and want to just have a good spot to go explore from. The hotel is also close to a very nice beach (Anse a la mouche), so we can visit that. Our room is Apartment with Sea View.
Total cost of all stays: $591.50 CAD per person
Again, given that both of these islands aren’t exactly THRIFTY destinations, this isn’t too bad. I am excited to stay in various parts, gives me more things to see on an island.
Transportation (Car Rentals)
I rarely ever have car rentals on my trips, because I do not have a drivers license.
For this we have two car rentals, one in Mauritius and then one in Mahe on our final days there.
Both were booked on Expedia.
The cars are both automatic, and my mom will have to drive on the OTHER side of the road on both islands, which should provide comedy.
For the car rental in Mauritius the cost was $172.66, so $86.50 CAD per person from May 15th to May 18th.
For the car rental in Mahe the cost was $225.58, so $112.79 CAD per person from May 18th to May 20th.
I have no idea if either of these are a good price or not. But I will tell you, once I saw how much the damn taxis cost on both of these islands? IN EUROS? The car rental price seemed like the best idea.
Visas
Well, at least this wasn’t as pricy as my last jaunt into the African continent.
Entering Qatar, we don’t need anything as Canadians.
For entering Mauritius, we just had to fill out and print one form (from this site) per person giving information on when we are entering, leaving and where we are staying. But it was free.
Now for the Seychelles, we had to fill out FOUR forms and pay four times to enter. Why? Because there are two of us, and we had to enter and exit twice, since we are going to Mauritius from there.
The cost was 10 Euros per entry, so 40 Euros which ended up being $31.36 CAD total per person. The entry form is pretty lengthy – you do have to upload a photo of yourself, your passport, your flight information and the place(s) you will be staying. Have all that ready, it is all found on this site.
Just a quick note here, I was highly impressed by the Seychelles customs people. I had emailed and asked a question and someone got back to me THE NEXT DAY? Amazing. Don’t think you can email any government agency on the planet and hear back that fast. The application to enter was also approved for both my mom and I within 24hrs. Super.
Tours
For this trip, we have three different excursions booked.
The first one is actually during our layover in Doha, Qatar. We are excited to see the airport there, but not for as long as the layover is. Luckily, Discover Qatar actually offers transit tours. We opted for the ‘Transit Exclusive – Discover Doha‘ tour which is three hours. This takes you from the airport to a bunch of places in Doha and then brings you back to the airport for your next flight. These are done like nine times a day, so most people with a lengthy layover can do this. The cost was $42.98 CAD per person.
Alright, so the Seychelles have a bunch of islands but the primary three are Mahe, La Digue and Praslin. We had contemplated (before we booked Mauritius) on spending 2-3 days on each island. Then I saw the cost of the damn ferries between the islands. Absolutely-the-fuck-not. I am not that rich. But we still wanted to get to those islands and we found a day tour that goes from Mahe to both islands. This is the ‘Praslin & La Digue Island-Hopping Tour with Lunch‘. The tour starts super early in the morning and will last 11 hours in total. This includes transport to both islands, and back + a lunch on board. This way we could see it all in our limited time. The cost was pretty hefty at $410.94 CAD per person. However, like I said, after seeing the cost of the damn ferries between in islands in Euros, this seemed way more economical – although, shorter.
Finally, in Mauritius we have a nice catamaran tour. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I can’t resist some time on a boat. We booked the ‘Full-Day Catamaran Cruise to Ile aux Cerfs with BBQ Lunch‘. This tour is seven hours long and makes some stops for swimming and snorkeling. Of course, lunch on board included. The cost was very reasonable at $108.00 CAD per person. I am excited to cruise on those beautiful waters.
ESim
I never have this section in my breakdowns, but this one I will have to.
Typically, Rogers Roam Like home is what I use on my travels but for some reason, the Seychelles is not a part of their offerings. Qatar and Mauritius are though.
To avoid any stoppage in my constant posting while on vacation, I will have to use an esim for the Seychelles portion of my trip. I opted to go with Airalo for this trip, and they have a Seychelles package that is $49.00 USD for 10GB. Therefore $67.62 CAD total.
Spending Money
Whoooo knows?
$1000.00 Euros is like $1500.00 CAD – so that is what I am going with.
The good thing about going with my mom is that I am less likely to end up in a nightclub buying a bottle, or a strip club. Go me! Slightly less of a degenerate with my family trips. I truly have no idea if the $1500.00 CAD will be too much or too little, but I doubt the too little part. Mauritius looks like it can be done for smaller amounts of spending money, but I don’t think the Seychelles can. I think my food costs are going to run the bill up really fast.
The total budget for this trip is $5019.75 Canadian.
I’m pretty proud of this, because this is ALL THOSE THINGS I LISTED! That is a lot of stuff. And a crazy distance flight. I’m happy. Can’t wait to experience this with my mom, especially being there for Mother’s Day. Yay.
See you when I get back……
- Mirna
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