Black Tomato TA + Denis private Island

loro929

Hi everyone!

My FI and I are starting to narrow down choices for our HM.

We will be getting married in August 2015, however we are going to take our HM in December 2015, so we have LOTS of time to plan (i.e. no rush, I just always like to try to be ahead of the game).

I came across the travel agents Black Tomato, and they seem to organize some really great HM packages, with specialized before HM and when you return from your HM treats. Has anyone used their services before and could provide insight on whether or not it is worth it (especially because I am assuming we will be paying a premium to use these surfaces)?

On a completely unrelated note, one of the places we are seriously considering is Denis Private Island in the Seychelles. Has anyone had any personal experience with them? Pros/Cons? How long would be a good time to stay there, how is the food? Basically any and all information

Thanks in advance, I know we are way wayyy in advance, but I thought that doing all of the research now,  when we don't have too much on our plates will make booking it later breezy, and also allow us to start eyeing out the best prices we can find in general!

 

Jells2dot0

I've stayed on Denis!!! It was a great experience. The food was amazing. They had buffet breakfast and lunch and some buffet dinners, but a lot of it was made to order. Included in the package was a beach dinner one night as well as an island dance night. Drinks were not included when we were there and they were expensive- $15-$20/drink. The quality of the food was just outstanding and there were tons of options. They grow mostly everything on the island, so it's fresh. It's certainly a VERY long haul to get there, so depending on where you are coming from, you may want to not cheat yourself on the number of nights. We stayed 4 nights, and probably could have stayed more, but I think after a week, you'd be bored. There is not much to do once you are on the island. You cannot get between Denis and other islands via boat. You will probably need a night on Mahe before and after the stay, as well. We stayed at Le Meridien. The rooms on Denis are spacious and private. We stayed close to the runway (which is all of one grass strip) and while it was a little walk to the reception area, it was quiet and we had a nice private day bed area right on the edge of the beach.

That being said, if you really want to experience the Seychelles that you see in the pictures, Denis is NOT the place to stay. It's a coral island, not granite island like the others. What you see in the pictures are the large granite boulders along the beaches. So, I do recommend time on another island prior to heading out to Denis.

I would not hesitate to stay on Denis again, but I'm definitely going to stay on Praslin or another prviate island in addition to Denis to get the full Seychelles experience.

As for TAs, I have never heard of Black Tomato and I travel A LOT to exotic tropical destinations. There are TAs out there that do not charge fees and I do recommend working with one who specializes in travel to this part of the world. I put together my trip myself because I used a lot of hotel points and airline miles (we also stayed in Mauritius during that trip) and it was a nightmare getting everything to work. Plus, it took us two full days to get there. It's just all around an expensive venture to head out there. Even with mostly everything covered with points and miles, we still spent over $10k.

loro929

@Jells2dot0 thank you ++ for the great and detailled information and all of the great tips!! 

It will be both of our first times travelling to these parts of the world, so we are very excited to being planning, but also, obviously, want to be as informed as possible.

In what season did you travel there? As I mentioned earlier, we were thinking December but as we will not HM directly after our wedding, we are a bit flexible with choosing the time period.

We were thinking to go for around 14 days, considering that 4 of them may be dedicated to travel. So, we can maybe look at doing 5 days in Denis and 5 days on another island for the full experience. I am "bi-continental" so I have the luxury to decide if it is easy to fly out of an airport from the states or a European airport (which in the end I think would be more cost-effective with regards to airfare, also perhaps a bit more time economic :P). 

.. okay on to the second part, sorry for the rambling !

In regards to Black Tomato, I found some advertisements regarding their services in a magazine, I would post the link here but I don't know if it is against the TOS, but I guess I can say that if you google them, they should be one of the first results. From what I see, they specialize in luxury "experience" vacations, which was one of the things that caught my eye. As I mentioned in the OP, I am not sure if there are extra fees or anything associated, since I still just doing some preliminary, however they do offer pre- and post-HM amenities and, perhaps I am a sucker for great photography, the website is beautiful. So, I was just curious if anyone actually had used their services, and if so, what was their experience.

Besides that, I agree with you @Jells2dot0 and with these types of travels (that imply these amounts of money) that I will need to find a TA that knows well the area in order to ensure a smooth and relaxing HM, because that is what an HM is meant for after all

Jells2dot0

We were there in early September, which is the beginning of their dry season. It wasn't very dry, though! Just bad luck on our part.

If you can fly from Europe, I DEFINITELY recommend doing that. You will be able to find much better deals, as the Seychelles are mainly a European vacation destination. Not many people from the US go there, so they don't offer specials that often. Plus, you can probably avoid the perils of the exchange rate!

 

I did Google Black Tomato and it makes sense why I've never heard of them! It doesn't make sense for me to use an agency in the UK. However, for you, it might! I would see if any of the girls on here from the UK can give you feedback.

loro929

Thanks for sharing the great advice! I will probably be around here more and more frequently in the upcoming months asking for lots more of yours and everyone elses collective wisdom!