Ready for a once in a lifetime tropical experience?  Head to North Island, a private island resort in the Seychelles.  The North Island Resort combines natural beauty with sheer luxury.

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Wayne Milgate, General Manager, welcomes us with this philosophy, “We developed North Island in recognition of its potential as a Noah’s Ark; a sanctuary where natural habitats could be rehabilitated and given a place to regenerate.  Our offering is the same for you, to provide you the very best in privacy, location, accommodation and experience.” 

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Prince William & Duchess Kate came here for their honeymoon, to find privacy and barefoot luxury at this tropical Eden.  Celebrities and others have found their tropical Eden staying in one of the 11 luxury hand-crafted villas.  Each villa has a backyard that opens up to a pristine, powder-white sandy beach.  There’s a personal attendant who works magic and does everything without guests knowing how it happened.  Douglas was our Villa Attendant, and took incredible care of us throughout our stay.  From memorable meals to intuitively knowing your next need, desire, there’s really nothing you need to do but to relax!

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Aneta, our Experience Host, ensured that our stay was memorable and arranged for unique experiences including a hike to the top of North Island, sundowners on a private beach – West Beach, a bare foot spa ritual surprise to welcome us.  She checked in to make sure our every wish comes true!  There are some moments that spontaneously happened as well, like seeing one of the island’s giant tortoises grazing through our garden, and a Creole gourmet diner set up in our private villa with lit candles surrounding us.

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The island’s main area includes beautifully designed lounge and dining areas, library, and swimming pool built into the granite rock.  Guests can explore the island on foot, by bicycle, by golf cart, and discover the western side of the island where you can stroll the Grande Anse Beach to the Sunset Bar and watch the sun set.  Or there is the private honeymoon beach where you feel like you have the world to yourself.

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There are many activities to enjoy during your stay – hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, bicycling, diving, fly fishing, or working out in the air conditioned gym where you can look out to the spectacular views of the Indian Ocean.  One of our favorite memories was scuba diving with Jean-Paul, our fantastic dive master, as he showed us marine life in one of the world’s longest coral reef systems.  Another standout was our sunrise hike with Aneta to the top of the island’s granite rock mountain where we had an almost 360 panoramic view.

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Or you can get pampered at the island’s spa, and then relax in your private villa and beach.  You can find many private places throughout the island where you can meditate, find solitude, or share a romantic moment.

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Like the flora and fauna species that are rehabilitated here, we left North Island rejuvenated and revived!  No surprise guests have said, “…North Island is unrivalled, full of surprises of the best kind, smiling-inducing magic at its best.”

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How to Get Around?

Masons:  Mason’s provided us with transportation services and offered us guided island tours.  Their company has been offering visitors with unique holiday experiences for 35 years, and provides excellent 24/7 service tailored to share the best of the Seychelles.  If you need assistance planning your trip, Mason’s can help with flights, transfers, activities, hotels, car rentals, etc.

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Zil Air:  Ready to island hop?  Book with Zil Air – they provide premium luxury helicopter services in the Seychelles.  We arrived to the VIP first class lounge with free wi-fi, received cold towels, refreshments, and then we were escorted to the helicopter for a comfortable air-conditioned flight with an experienced and friendly Captain who flew us to our luxury island resort on North Island.  We saw unforgettable panoramas and arrived to our island within 20 minutes.  Zil Air flies throughout the Seychelles Archipelago, with access to 21 licensed helipads and 7 landing strips.

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How to Get to the Seychelles?

Air SeychellesWe had a fantastic experience flying Air Seychelles and received Creole welcomes and excellent service.  ‘Fly the Creole Spirit’ with Air Seychelles, the national airlines of the Republic of Seychelles since 1978.  Air Seychelles flies to Mauritius, Johannesburg, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, and will be introducing new routes soon.  They now are a Four Star airline rated by Skytrax.

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After a short 5 hour flight on Air Seychelles from Johannesburg to Mahé, we found paradise in the Indian Ocean, the ultimate tropical escape, just off the east coast of Africa.

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By Patricia Stone, travel writer and consultant

Acknowledgments:  we would like to thank Air Seychelles, Zil Air, North Island, and Mason’s Travel for hosting us throughout our trip.

All opinions are our own.

Resources:

 

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