The Seychelles island with its own microclimate – for guaranteed year-round sunshine

“Welcome to England,” my friend sighed as we walked out of Mahé airport into a rainstorm. After 18 hours of flying, our dream arrival into sun-soaked paradise was not proving to be a reality. “Just wait until Alphonse; it’ll be better,” our host promised. I smiled apprehensively, thinking, “I’ve heard that before.” But she was right. After a brief stop in Mahé, we boarded a prop plane and within minutes we were flying up and out of the rain clouds and into glorious blue skies.

We were flying in the direction of Alphonse, a private island resort in the outer islands of the Seychelles, one hour by plane and 250 miles southwest from Mahé. Thanks to its remote position in the Indian Ocean, Alphonse has its own microclimate, meaning that guests can enjoy wall-to-wall sunshine all year round.

“The outer islands have quite a different climate to the inner islands,” says Elle Brighton, the conservation and sustainability manager at Blue Safari Seychelles, the company that owns and manages Alphonse. “The inner islands such as Mahé are mountainous – and mountains create weather. You get the sea breeze, which is very humid and has lots of moisture, and where it meets the mountains, it gets pushed up, so that’s why it typically rains a lot. Whereas out here, the islands are flat, so the weather goes straight over. The rainfall here averages around 50 per cent of that of the inner islands.”

Conscious tourism

Alphonse is home to a high-end resort accommodating around 100 guests, as well as a nature reserve. The island and its two neighbours, Bijoutier and St François – both uninhabited nature reserves – all have a rich ecology, making them havens of biodiversity and a prime spot for horticulture. I discovered this during a tour of Alphonse’s giant farm.

The farm enables the kitchen to rely almost completely on homegrown produce. It produces more than 25 tons of fruit, vegetables and herbs each year, from bananas to figs, melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, cabbages, beetroot and more. There’s also a microgreens tunnel and beehives for producing honey.

At present, the farm supplies around 80 per cent of all produce to the kitchen, where chefs create menus based on what’s available, meaning that everything is fresh and made daily, even down to the ice cream. The kitchen team catches its own fish, outside of the nearby reef. The only regular imports, which arrive every two to three months on a barge from the inner islands, are meat and alcohol.

Alphonse’s sunny temperament also means that it’s ideal for solar farming, and the island is home to the largest solar farm in the Seychelles – more than 2,000 solar panels power generators supplying almost 100 per cent solar energy to the resort.

Accommodation comes in the form of Beach Bungalows, Retreats or Villas; an inviting communal lodge is home to an atmospheric restaurant, beach bar and lounge; and guests can also enjoy a spa, pools, tennis courts and an activity and watersports centre, where daily complimentary group activities and private excursions can be booked.

Close encounters

One of the key draws of Alphonse is its biodiversity. The surrounding waters are filled with rare fish, including giant trevally up to 6ft long, and sailfish, the fastest fish in the world. During snorkelling trips we spotted abundant marine life including sea turtles, rays, silvertip sharks, mantis shrimp, napoleon rasp, wahoo tuna and grouper – Spud the resident potato grouper is a local celebrity.

On land, conservation initiatives, led by Brighton, are encouraging further biodiversity. Turtles nest on the island’s beaches every year and recently a colony of wedge-tailed shearwater has set up a breeding spot in the nature reserve.

The island’s best-known residents are its tortoises – the population of which now exceeds 100. Babies are nursed in a purpose-built nursery (don’t miss feeding time) before being released to roam freely across the island. Some tortoises such as George, who at 100 years old is the oldest resident on Alphonse, are friendly and even allow guests to pose for a photo, while others like Evan may hiss at cyclists as they pedal past.

Guests are encouraged to interact with nature through activities such as weekly beach clean-ups. Our group collected more than five kilos of plastic and fishing waste that had washed up on the shores.

When to visit

While Alphonse is blessed with a year-round sunny climate, like any tropical destination there is the occasional rainstorm, although it is short-lived. “When you get the rain that comes through here, it typically lasts for a couple of minutes and then it’s gone,” says Elle. “In Mahé, there are some rain showers that sit so it rains constantly. It’s definitely sunnier here, and the sunlight here is a lot more consistent.”

During our one-week stay in April, we experienced just one grey morning, which cut short an early morning kayaking trip. But by lunchtime, we were back to catching rays by the pool. Meanwhile, a friend who’d left the island earlier that day sent us photos of dark rainclouds back in Mahé, which hovered all day and night.

The shoulder season months of October/November and March/April typically offer the best weather on Alphonse, with the summer season still beautifully sunny but windier. December to February is technically the rainy season, but Brighton insists that far from being a deterrent, this period is one of the most popular times to visit Alphonse. “People normally say not to go to the Seychelles at Christmas time because it rains, but here it’s not like that at all. Christmas is actually our busiest time of year. In Mahé it could be raining every day, but here it’s beautiful.”

If you’re looking for a last-minute festive break with guaranteed sunshine, Alphonse has plenty to offer – no umbrella needed.

Rachel Ingram was a guest of Alphonse Island, which offers Beach Bungalows from £5,289pp, per week, from May to September; and from £6,970 from October to April, on a full-board basis with return inter-island flights from Mahé. For more information visit bluesafari.com and seychelles.com.