Seychelles - Mauritius, Reunion and Seychelles - page 684

the year, then savage with incredible surf and mean rip currents at other periods. Most
beaches are not supervised.
The Seychelles is a very safe destination, but never leave your valuables unattended on
the beach or in your car.

TELEPHONE
The telephone system is efficient and reliable. Telephone cards are available from Cable
& Wireless ( Click here ) and Airtel ( 4610615; Huteau Lane, Victoria; 8.30am-4pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-
noon Sat) offices and from most retail outlets. Local calls within and between the main is-
lands cost around Rs 2 per minute. For an idea of international rates, calls to North Amer-
ica, Australia and the UK with Cable & Wireless cost roughly Rs 3 per minute.
Many foreign mobile services have coverage in the Seychelles, but roaming fees are high.
If you have a GSM phone and it has been 'unlocked', you can use a local SIM card (Rs
50) purchased from either Cable & Wireless or Airtel. Top-up cards are widely available.
There is mobile reception on Mahé, Praslin, La Digue and Silhouette.
When phoning the Seychelles from abroad, you'll need to dial the international code for
the Seychelles (

248), followed by the seven-digit local number. There are no area

codes.

TIME
The Seychelles is GMT plus four hours. When it's noon in Victoria, it's 8am in London,
3am in New York and 6pm in Sydney.

TOURIST INFORMATION
The very well-organised Seychelles Tourism Bureau (STB; www.seychelles.tra vel) is the only tourist
information body in the Seychelles. The head office is in Victoria. It has two offices on
Praslin and one office on La Digue.

TRAVELLERS WITH DISABILITIES
Most luxury hotels conform to international standards for disabled access, and it's usually
possible to hire an assistant if you want to take an excursion. Apart from that, special fa-
cilities for travellers with disabilities are few and far between in the Seychelles, and no
beach is equipped with wheelchair access.

VISAS
Nationals of most Western countries don't need a visa to enter the Seychelles, just a valid
passport.
Initial entry is granted for a maximum of three months and proof of a planned and paid-
for departure is required, although not always asked for. Immigration officers will also re-