Any opinions on FP or Seychelles for an upcoming honeymoon? We are really looking for upscale luxurious accomodations, beauty, things to do, and very importantly, great food.

We live in New York so while the trip to Seychelles requires a preliminary flight to Paris, FP would also require a first trip to LA.

At Seychelles, we would be staying at the new Banyan Tree and the Lemuria. We haven't researched FP as extensively, but the new Nui resort in Bora Bora looks great along with the Sheraton in Moorea.

I visited the Seychelles in September 2001. The Banyan tree was still being built. It is in a very beautiful isolated location, so you would need a car to get around. The Seychelles was paradise on earth, the food was great, mainly french with some african and asian influences. I found the people very friendly and we had a fantastic time. We didn't make it to Praslin but generally it is considered a more beautiful island than Mahe.

It is not terribly expensive, we ate out at the top seafood restaurant on the island and it was 30 pounds a head (about 50 dollars). The Banyan looked amazing and if you chose it. I doubt you'll be disappointed. Lemuria is also considered one of the top hotels on the islands.

I am going to Fp in 9 10 weeks, so I'll be able to give some comparison after that. I am assuming that FP will be at least as beautiful if not more so.

You can also fly to the Seychelles from London on British Airways and Air Seychelles. BA fly via Nairobi and I think Air Seychelles stops in Dubai but I'm not sure they may fly direct now. I don't know if this is easier than going via france but certainly its quite cheap for us to get to NYC from the UK now.

As for flying times, the down side is its about 12 hours from London/Paris to the Seychelles if you add that to the 7 hours it takes to get to Europe. Thats still quite a bit more than 6 hours to LA then 8.5 to FP. Upside is Paris is a very romantic city to stop over in on your honeymoon.

If you stop in Africa, it really is worth getting off the plane for a few days and doing a safari.

Altho FP is beautiful, I would suggest you try the Seychelles first for this very special occasion. If you want really great food you might be rather disappointed in FP as the food is ok overall and good at some restaurants, but generallly speaking cuisine is not one of its best attributes and is expensive. The better meals we had were ones at restaurants outside of the resorts. I don't mind food being costly as long as it's of high quality. I haven't been to the Seychelles as yet but it is one of the places I will visit as I've heard it is supposed to be quite amazingly beautiful and unique and offers some fantastic accomodations etc. It would be an extra long haul for me as I am from the West Coast but i'm sure well worth it. Maybe visit FP for some other special vacation, like an anniversary in the future.

Not quite on the topic, but I stayed at the Banyan Tree in Phuket (pool villa) quite recently. It was one of the most wonderful places I have ever stayed in. Banyan Tree is out-and-out luxury. No point in me even trying to describe the spa - 5-star +. The service was great, well trained staff without "attitude". All the little things were attended to and that's what makes a great hotel the best. I wouldn't go past the opportunity of staying in another Banyan Tree. Have you seen their book with photographs of all the resorts?

As long as you can make it to La Digue and perhaps Frigate, rather than just Mahe itself, you'll have just as good, if not better experience than going to just Bora Bora. If you're thinking of going on to the Tuamotus then it's a toss up. I'd say Seychelles has more charm and more international flavour than the ubiquitous honeymooners from the US on Bora Bora itself. Your dilemma was the same as mine. I was thinking of going back to Seychelles, but I've never been to FP so decided to go there instead (but am incorporating 5 islands whilst there).

I think the main difference between Bora Bora and the other destinations discussed above is the cost and travel time -- 8 hours from LA to Tahiti v. 25 to Seychelles or Maldives and 15 to Phuket.
If you have the time great, but Bora Bora sure is easier to get to.

which island is better for snorkling and water sports? the seychelles or bora bora