Where is Fregate Private Island located?

Fregate Island lies is the most eastern inner granite island of the Seychelles and around 55kms from Mahé – the main island.  Access is via a 15-minute helicopter flight away, or one hour 30-minute speedboat ride.  One can also sail there, and some guests like to sail around the islands for a few days before landing on Fregate and spending another week relaxing in style.

Fregate is a 20-minute flight away from Mahé, a uniquely peaceful setting of verdant, tropical interiors and abundant nature fringed by seven dream beaches, each a brilliant sweep of powdery white sand sentinelled by giant, iconic granite boulders. The price of Frégate Island Private may mean you have to delve a little deeper into your piggy bank; however, from the moment your helicopter touches down you know that you were born to holiday here.

What sort of accommodation is available at Fregate Private Island?

• Each of the16 villas, be they single or twin villas have their own butler and operates on a full board rate basis. Each villa is a laid back yet luxurious hide away and has a private swimming pool and jacuzzi. Each room has high thatched ceilings air conditioners, king sized beds four poster, separate bathrooms with enclosed rain shower and bathtub and his and hers basins and ceiling fans. There is a lounge too and a raised dining area.   Each villa lounge includes a TV, DVD, CD-player, complimentary wireless internet access, coffee and tea making facilities and the minibar, equipped with your favourite drinks, a wine chiller filled with house wines, and a cocktail mixing kit.

The living room can be transformed into a second bedroom for up to three children. The villas are no less stunning than the beaches; the only argument you will have will be why you have to leave.

• The private Banyan Hill Estate lies to one side of the island on its own peninsula and can be completely closed off for exclusive use. It has 3 detached Villas, private butler and chef and private access to a beach near the marina. The Banyan residence covers 1100 sq. mtrs and has a large open core and living area with adjacent infinity swimming pool, study, TV lounge, sitting area and a fully equipped kitchen where your private chef prepares every meal personally for you. Each of the three villa rooms is immaculately furnished with antiques from all over the Indian Ocean, each benefiting from its own terrace, bathroom with a panoramic-view bathtub and a corner with coffee and tea making facilities.

A whole host of amenities are included at Fregate such as:

• Unique island dining experiences – guests can dine in the main restaurant, in the villa, on the beach near their villa, have sundowners at various viewpoints etc.
• All soft beverages, selection of house wines and local beers are included
• Guests are offered a 60-minute welcome massage at the Rock Spa per adult per stay (available between 10 am and 02 pm)
• A morning group Yoga session at the Rock Spa lasts 60 minutes and is a wonderful start to the day
• Each villa comes with its own personal Fregate Island buggy to take you between your villa and the main restaurant areas
• Laundry service is included FOC throughout your stay
• Wi-Fi is available in the villa and selected public areas such as the restaurant and marina but not on the beach
• For those wanting extra exercise there is an air-conditioned and fully equipped fitness center with stunning jungle view

There are 16 villas and one private Villa complex for a maximum of 45 guests. Seclusion is guaranteed. One thing to note is that there are lots of stairs everywhere and no villa is directly on a beach but rather just above one, hence stairs lead down to the beaches.  Being positioned above the beaches allows each room to catch the breeze which is welcome on hot afternoons.

Children under 12 years stay for free!

Main areas and restaurant

The main public and guest area is called Fregate House. Here you will find the reception, the restaurant – of course with its sea views, the library and an exquisitely decorated boutique and wine cellar.

The Pirate ‘s Bar or Anse Bambous Beach Bar is the centre of island life and a good place to indulge in a cocktail or two and meet other guests.  The plantation style restaurant with its casual elegance is a fine à la carte restaurant where you can dine while admiring the beautiful scenery of the clear blue ocean and the islands of Praslin and La Digue on the horizon. There are creole nights with wonderful cuisine and Creole music; chefs tasting menus and personally designed menus just for you, or lazy relaxed nights to savor beautifully created and fresh cuisine.  Dining is possible on the beach, perhaps a beach BBQ or picnics surrounded by delicate fairy terns. 

Guests can join the chef in the garden any have a cookery lessons there or pick their own salad for lunch.  Everything is grown organically.

What activities are available on Fregate Island?

Fregate is a marine reserve full of wildlife and nature, a nature lovers paradise. Fregate is as much about being a beach paradise as it is about wildlife – for a start there are 200,000 birds and 3500 tortoises on the island! The precious tortoises are cared for initially by the ecologists on the island and when their shells have hardened, they are then released on to island. Fourteen bird species are resident and breeding on the island.

• There are 7 beaches scattered equally around the island broken up by the iconic boulder rocks. One of the beaches can be made private just for you, by flipping the ‘Beach Occupied’ sign and you will not be disturbed. Anse Victorin which is protected by a coral reef; Anse Park; Anse; Grand Anse and Anse Victorin, voted the most beautiful beach in the world.
• Whilst there is a Kids club it is though hardly used because children are nearly always out and about with the guides and ecologists all day tagging and helping the ecologists or they are swimming or partaking in a whole host of water sports.
• Non-motorized water sports available include sailing, stand-up-paddling, sea kayaking, snorkelling, and fishing from the beaches); basketball court and a volleyball field down by the marina and hobie cats to sail.
• There are also guided nature walks and night walks through the impressive island jungle with the island ecologists, but you can walk on your own too, the island is yours. Walk to the old airstrip where giant tortoises live; see scarlet fodies and fairy terns; watch the fruit bats glide through the blue skies. There are over 11 km of trails crisscrossing the island, which you can walk, mountain bike or explore by golf buggy.
• One of the most interesting things to do is go behind the scenes as it where but like everything they are open to all – visit the gardens and the island plantation and hydroponics unit.
• For those who want more sports – play some volleyball, badminton and there is a tennis court too and use a mountain bike and go explore.
• The snorkelling is fantastic, and you are almost guaranteed to see hawksbill and green turtles especially during November through February when they come to lay their eggs. Up to 500 turtles come to lay their eggs each year.
• There is also a Padi dive centre so you can do your qualification dives here and then venture out with the scuba guides.
• Guests can also indulge in the Rock Spa and treatments can be done in your villa too. Beauty treatments are made from local ingredients all natural and grown on the island - coconut from the garden, avocados and herbs and spices etc.
• Take the helicopter to Praslin island for a round of golf - the 15-hole golf course was designed by Marc Antoine Farry and Rodney Wright.
• There are also opportunities to have an exclusive yacht charter for a day or two and also go big game fishing.

There is so much to see!

Does Fregate Private Island cater for families with young children?

Children are very welcome on the island and up to 3 extra beds can be placed in the attached private lounge in the villa or older children and sleep in the attached bedroom in the two roomed villas.

The Private Pool Twin Villa and maximum of 4 adults and 3 children can be accommodated.

The Banyan Hill Estate can accommodate 6 adults and 3 children (children 0-17 are free of charge)

The Castaway Trail (for kids and adults) leads through stunning parts of the jungle and even through Pirate ‘s ruins where giant tortoises and many other wonderful animals and plants thrive.

When is the best time to visit the Seychelles and Fregate Island?

With the Seychelles and Fregate island sitting at Four degrees south of the equator, the weather and islands enjoy a pleasant tropical climate year-round and, as they are situated outside the cyclone belt, there are no extremes of weather. The temperature seldom drops below 24 degrees or rises above 33-degree C. However, it must be said that globally changing climatic conditions make it difficult to predict exact weather patterns.

From October to March the islands are affected by the northwest trade winds. This is when the sea is generally calm with warm tropical water and from May to September, the weather is generally drier and cooler, with choppy seas, particularly on the south-eastern coast, which is when the southeast trade winds occur.  The wettest months are December and January. May to October are best for windsurfing and sailing.

How does Fregate Private Island protect and nurture the local environment?

• Guests can join 5 ecologists and assist in tagging and recording their conservation work with the turtles. One incredible devotion to conservation work has paid off. The endangered Seychelles magpie robin was the second most endangered bird in the world. there were only 12 individual birds left and all on Fregate Island. Conservationists and Fregate worked hard to create a safe environment for them and today there are 240 birds.  They have done so well that some birds have now seen sent to two other islands to start breeding colonies and hopefully recolonize these other islands.
• With a lot of help and care after some of the coral was bleached after the el Nino effect a few years ago, it is now returning to all its colour and glory and regrowing. 800 storm-derived coral fragments were transplanted onto eight artificial structures and 4 structures use the Mineral Accretion Technology (MAT), which causes dissolved minerals to crystallise on structures and grow into a white limestone and ultimately coral reefs.
• Fregate has sustainability high on the addenda, on the island they have solar water heating, electric golf carts, refillable amenities, and reusable glass bottles for water. They monitor all waste disposal and recycle as much as possible and use biodegradable products.
• In the garden that produces 80% of the food consumed on the island hydroponics also contribute to their growth and they use captured rainwater and with the 3 freshwater springs. Fresh water for the guests produce their own drinking water. This is freshly bottled every two days in glass bottles.
• The team constantly work on reducing their carbon footprint, reduce waste disposal and find more alternative solutions.
• Fregate is home to precious and fascinating flora including the critically endangered Wrights Gardenia and the indigenous giant Tenebrionid beetle so conservation projects are in place to protect them.
• Conservation projects include assisting turtle hatchlings and cultivating sea coral. They also host research teams and students from local and international organizations and universities, to collect scientific data from the island’s flora and fauna.
• A huge success has been their Aldabra tortoise project, from a population of 150 tortoises some 25 years ago, their current numbers are over 3500 today.