Bird Island, Seychelles

It started with a charter flight . A six seater plane and we were the only passengers! We flew on a Friday and left on the Monday (or you can stay for a week or a series of weeks). The flight was simply stunning; blue seas, underwater reefs until we spotted the tiny strip of land that is Bird Island. An exciting landing and the bags went by tractor and trailer to our very comfortable chalet and outside lounge and kitchen. Welcome to Bird Island a 100ks from the inner islands of the Seychelles .||We went for the birds and found paradise. In October there are colonies of Lesser Noddies, Brown Noddies, and Sooty Terns nesting . In late November the Brown Noddies were starting to breed again and picking out nesting spots all around our accomodation . The exquist Fairy terns and White Tailed Tropic birds nest in smaller numbers while the Frigate birds patrol the sky.||Giant tortoises amble around and turtles haul up on the becahes. The island's isolation means there is a chance of rare migranting birds resting and reorienting. I saw a fall of Curlew sandpipers Whimbrel and Grey plovers. Anything can turn up?||Compared to the Granite Islands and the crowded beaches of the Seychells Inner islands, Bird Island is an adventure. You can swim, snorkle, and enjoy the beach in peace, watch sunsets and walk to you own favourite spots. ||Breakfast, a packed lunch,and evening meals are available and there is a good bar . Or you can use your lounge to self-cater using provisions from the Island shop.||Go if you are adventurous, love wildlife, your own beach, space and sun. Don't go if you are fussy or a scardy cat.

Absolutely incredible place, and without a doubt my favourite place I’ve ever visited. We stayed for 7 nights (6-13 Oct) and the whole experience was amazing. It was only us and one other couple on the island for part of our stay, so truly felt like a private island experience. The rooms and food options in the shop are basic, but we knew this and these things are clear on the website. Rooms are open plan and you are living side by side with nature. Dinners were provided at 19:00 each night and really well prepared. The wildlife is second to none, with thousands of birds. Snorkelling on the eastern coast was the best we found anywhere in the Seychelles with turtles, rays and reef sharks frequenting the shallow waters. The sky in a clear moonless night was also something to behold - absolutely no light pollution. The Aldabra tortoises were our absolute favourites, and the main reason we visited to begin with. Esmerelda is obviously the star people hear about, but we also found Zeeta and Sam to be really affectionate tortoises (we’ll be coming back just for them especially!). I want to give a special shout-out to the gentleman who serves dinner to guests (I believe his name was Derryl, though I may have misheard). He genuinely cares for the islands guests, he gave us and another couple a tour of the island on our second day, and delivered fresh coconuts to our room for sunset. Even the other managing staff were great too - I only know Lucas by name, but the other gentlemen were also really pleasant, stopping their walks to chat with us and other guests about the local wildlife. All round, an incredible experience and we will without doubt be coming back. Thank you to all involved with arranging our stay and making us so welcomed!

Bird Island is a truly special location. I stayed for four days enjoying their tropical paradise. It's a place for people who truly love nature and wildlife and want to preserve the natural environment. I swam in the warm waters, watched birds flying overhead and fed papayas to the many tortoises. Everyday I hiked in search of new sea turtle nests (I found 4 new nests during my stay). The owners and employees truly have a passion for keeping this island as natural as possible and will offer much information about the local flora and fauna.

I love every bit of this island! It's a great privilege to be so close to nature and its creatures. The staff are very friendly and have great knowledge about everything that is related to Bird island. The food is amazing, and Esmeralda is an extremely friendly giant tortoise, the heaviest one and second oldest one of the world ❤️

we were provided the opportunity and privilege to experience this unique untouched Island. definitely a must see for all nature lovers!|offering a little of everything...lodge with open kitchen and lounge (camping safari Vibes), long walks through nature and of course the birds all around, the magnificent untouched beaches offering fishing, snorkeling swimming or just to kick back and sunbath! we thoroughly enjoyed our stay!||Big thank you to Alex, his Family and the entire team on the island who really add an extra touch of magic!:)

If you're looking to get away from busy resorts and motorised water sports, Bird island is the place. We returned for a magical week over Christmas 2024, our third family trip to Bird Island. Just seeing all the birds flying around us as we stepped off the plane on arrival was wonderful. |Since our last visit the concept has changed slightly to self catering units, which worked really well for us.|The staff and family on Bird Island went out of their way to make sure we were happy, supplying us with fresh bananas, coconuts and papayas in addition to the well stocked shop which catered for our breakfast and lunch needs. In the evenings we enjoyed a few drinks at the bar and Anne-Maries' dinner. |I did take some provisions that I didn't see on the shop list : ground coffee, |our brand of tea, and a few snacks|The holiday was everything we hoped for, sea, sand and sunshine and we had fun getting re-acquainted with the birds, tortoises, turtles (and nesting turtles!) and all the creatures of the sea. Daryll gave us a lesson on coconuts, from how they grow to how to open them, as well as an inside guide to the giant tortoises. |We will be back!

I returned to Bird Island thirty-two years after my first visit. Yes, it has changed in many ways but it is still a magical place. If you want to get away from it all and just relax in a beautiful, unspoilt environment, then this is the ideal location for you. And you must like birds too!||The chalet I stayed in was very spacious - a nice verandah with deckchairs and beautiful bedroom/lounge with a comfortable bed. A big shower - with a hot shower (solar powered - which is an improvement on my last visit!) and a separate toilet. No unnecessary power-hungry additions. There is no air-con - just a beautifully designed chalet which helps it to stay cool. There is no television - but why anyone would want to sit and watch movies when there is so much beauty to see I don't know. ||There is also a separate open air kitchen/dining/seating area for your personal use where you can cook/eat your breakfast and lunch while enjoying watching the birds. It is well equipped with a fridge, gas cooker and plenty of crockery, cutlery and utensils. It also has a water cooler filled with UV treated rainwater - so there is plenty of water always readily available.||Evening meals are taken in the restaurant - and if you let the lodge know in advance of any dietary needs they can accommodate your needs. As a vegetarian I was well catered for. They do their best to minimise any waste - which is why it is best to tell them in advance of your arrival. It is not as though they can just pop down to the local supermarket to buy extra ingredients! ||There is a store where you can buy food for breakfast/lunch and toiletries - but basics such as oil, tea, sugar, liquid soap, washing up liquid and even fruit are supplied free.||The beaches are amazing - long, white, soft sandy beaches. With so few people on the island you can find yourself a stretch all to yourself. The sea is turquoise and the waves mesmerising. And then there are the birds. The sooty tern colony is a sight to behold. There are common and lesser noddies all over the island (there were far fewer when I visited last time) - and they will be nesting right next to your chalet -and will be chattering away all night. There are amazing frigate birds hanging like menacing squadrons in the sky. Red footed boobies arriving back from the sea in the evening and trying to avoid the frigates. Since I last visited blue pigeons and sunbirds have been introduced and myna birds have arrived (the last of these is a little concerning). There are beautiful fairy terns and white tailed tropic birds - and as they have no predators you have very close views of these and their chicks. There are ruddy turnstones on the lawn outside the chalets, plovers on the shoreline, crab plovers at North Point, whimbrels on the airstrip, crested terns on the beach..... And if you're lucky you might spot a passing migrant too.||Then there are the tortoises. The three I saw in 1992, including Esmerelda the heaviest tortoise in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, are still there as well as many more roaming the island freely. ||If you love birds, natural beauty and a simple life this is the place for you. The rest of the world ceases to exist!||If you want swimming pools, dancing, a selection of restaurants, cocktail bars and organised activities then maybe not the ideal holiday.||Snorkeling gear is available, Kayaks are available, and you can go on a guided nature walk ( I did - and it was two hours of interesting information) - all included in the price.||I think the cost is excellent considering the beauty of the location and I just hope I don't leave it another thirty two years before I return.

I read the (few) negative comments on Bird Island. I agree with them: the owners should find the way to stop the birds songs at 9pm,the Ocean sound at 10 pm, the equatorial sun strength at 10am! Apart from the jokes: Bird is amazing,the nature is almost unique and to enjoy this Paradise you must adapt a little bit. The lodge is not a luxury hotel but you knew it already before taking off. The owners are few words people but you don t come there for chatting.We ll be back!! PS just a pray to the owners: to prevent genetic problems (due to blood relationship) in your tortoises population you should introduce at least one or two new females.I hope to find them next time.