I have been advising clients on their choice of fishing destination for nearly 30 years. If flats fishing and/or diving is your passion, I question if the new Beach or Super-villas on Alphonse Island, along with the world class flats and blue water fishing and the diving and snorkelling, is the strongest combination of accommodation and sport I have ever offered. The Super-villas are very spacious and truly private for a party or family yet enjoy all the facilities and expert staff of the Alphonse Island Resort.
Tucked away from the rest of the island’s accommodation and the hubub of the island nerve centre, in different parts of the island, are two 600 square metre Beach or ‘Super’ Villas which seamlessly blend traditional Creole style such as thatched roofs using local materials with polished screed floors and open wooden beams reflecting a fresh island style.
Set overlooking perfect beaches lapped by the Indian Ocean, bonefish flats and protected coral reefs, both villas are surrounded by tropical scenery. Four spacious double bedrooms per villa, all with luxurious island-style en-suite bathrooms and outside shower areas. Large, light-filled open-plan living, and dining areas include a fully equipped kitchen and lead to a sun deck and private plunge pool. A private chef can be arranged upon request to create tailor-made menus for in-villa dining and both villas include their own golf buggy.
Each Beach Villa sleeps up to eight adults and four children. They are set up up as one twin, one double and two ocean-view doubles but this can be adjusted. They all have spacious bathrooms with indoor and outdoor showers. There is a large siting and dining area which looks out over the big plunge pool and thereafter the private access to the beach.
These private villas ensure complete, spacious privacy while having the use of and access to all the facilities of the island including the tennis court, main swimming pool, main bar and dining area, beach bar, spa, the Dive and and Fishing Centres as well as all the qualified staff.
Alphonse Island is located 7 degrees south of the Equator. It is one of three islands that make up the Alphonse group, along with St François and Bijoutier. The waters around these islands are protected from commercial fishing, the result is one of the most spectacular fishing destinations on the planet. The majority of the fishing takes place on St François where you have famous locations such as Cosmic Lagoon and One Palm Island. If you want to notch up your bonefish tally or just focus on collecting as many species as possible the atolls have something for all. If you want to venture off the flats you will find a world-class bluewater fishery on your doorstep. Guests can target sailfish, tuna and other species on the fly. For those who are after a more sedate pace you can self guide on the Alphonse Atoll.
Alphonse caters extremely well for non-fishing guests, see previous blog Alphonse comes of age. As well as the tennis court and swimming pool there is the dive centre and water sports area. Alphonse has 15 dive sites and you could argue they offer some of the best diving in the Seychelles or even the world. There are also a number of other water activities guests can partake in, not to mention other facilities such as a spa that will leave you feeling pampered. The fisherman’s massage is particularly good after a hard day on the flats exercising muscles that are normally not used.
Alphonse Island is a 5* PADI accredited dive resort with full range of PADI dive courses available on site and has an abundance of dive sites to suit all levels with visibility easily reaching 50m and unrivalled diversity of marine life. It is the sole destination in the Seychelles to fully experience the sheer abundance and massive size of fish in comparison to the Inner Islands. This is due to its isolation and lack of fishing pressure. Here you can relish the significance of being the only divers in the ocean surrounding the entire Alphonse Group with few other boats around. The pristine scuba diving sites around Alphonse and its neighbouring islands are famous for their warm water and excellent visibility as well as their beautiful corals and diverse range of fish comprising of reef, pelagic and shark species.
They run a full setup service with top-notch and regularly serviced equipment, perfect for both the leisure guest that just wants to do a few dives throughout the week, as well as more serious divers who want to spend most of their time in the water. All the equipment will be set up, ready for you to go diving, and will be taken care of for you after the dive. This means that you can dive whilst maximising time for relaxation!
The Alphonse Dive Centre ensures that all our scuba diving gear and equipment is well maintained and kept in top condition to ensure fun and safe diving trips. All scuba diving gear and equipment is provided by the Dive Centre and includes wetsuits (3mm short and full suits), masks, fins (assorted sizes), weights, aluminium cylinders, regulators, BCD’s, dive computers and torches. The Dive Centre has partnered with Paralenz to provide guests with the perfect camera for scuba diving. These specialist cameras can be rented on a daily basis or as part of a scuba diving package. To ensure that guests reach their desired diving destination quickly and comfortably, Alphonse has two purpose-built dive boats. The two twin-engine, 225hp vessels are covered to protect from the sun and also holds towels, drinks and snacks for in between or after dive(s). The number of divers on a trip are kept to a minimum and the dive group ratio will be a maximum of 1 guide:5 divers. Skippers are fully licensed and endorsed for driving dive boats as well as being divers themselves, meaning they know the scuba dive sites and their attractions well.
Sightings during scuba diving excursions range from pelagic fish and big predators to reef species and macro-life. Divers will get to view countless green and hawksbill turtles during the dives as they make their way along the coral reefs. There are also up to 15 different species of moray eels to be spotted in the cracks and crevices of the reef. The dive sites are teeming with large groups of schooling fish like barracuda, bigeye trevally, batfish, emperor and fusilier as well as blue-lined, humpback and bohar snapper which often encircle divers – it can be quite an experience! Divers who enjoy the thrill of viewing predators can feast their eyes on large dogtooth tuna, napoleon wrasse, giant sweetlips, potato cod and a variety of grouper. Most sites hold stunning drop-offs which increase the chances of spotting pelagic species out in the blue. Be sure to also keep an eye out for the different sharks found in these waters including hammerhead, bull, silvertip, tawny nurse, whitetip reef and grey reef sharks.
Macro-enthusiasts is assured of a real treat as they can spot a host of creatures like leaf scorpionfish, longnose hawkfish, pipefish, tasseled and devil scorpionfish, Seychelles anemonefish and porcelain crab. There is also an array of nudibranch, flatworm, coral whip goby and shrimp species such as peacock anemone shrimp, cleaner shrimp, peacock shrimp and tiger mantis shrimp.
These villas really take the combination of luxury and world class fishing and diving to a new level.
Comments 1
Fantastic place. Looking forward to going back!