Three Islands and So Many Wonderful Impressions

On Friday, 12 August, the two of us set off on an overnight non-stop Condor flight to the sunshine! After arriving early in the morning and receiving a brief welcome from the local travel agency at the airport, we were taken by shared taxi to the ferry, which brought us to our first island, Praslin. We had booked all our transfers in advance through SeyVillas, and every one of them was reliable, comfortable and ran smoothly.

On Praslin, we stayed at Villa Bananier – simple, friendly and practical Creole accommodation around four minutes’ walk from the beautiful Anse Volbert beach.

Even if it takes longer, exploring on foot is simply the best way to experience the world! And so we discovered the east coast from Anse Volbert via Anse Possession and Anse Takamaka all the way to Anse Lazio, walking along beaches and roads with breaks for swimming and snorkelling. We also headed south to Petite Anse, walking along Anse Volbert and through roads surrounded by jungle. Our first two days simply flew by.

On the third day, we hired a car and explored the entire island, driving on the left along roads that were narrow and steep in places. Naturally, we could not miss the Vallée de Mai and its coco de mer nuts.

After a friendly chat with the hotel porter, we were also allowed to walk to Anse Georgette: yet another gorgeous, picture-perfect beach! We enjoyed the sunset from Zimbabwe, a rewarding viewpoint in the north-east of the island. We spent our final day on Praslin relaxing on the beach after a snorkelling trip to St Pierre.

We then continued to La Digue on a ferry crossing of around 20 minutes. Here, we stayed at the La Diguoise guest house.

We reached the accommodation via a sandy, bumpy side road and were welcomed into a beautiful, well-kept garden with an open-air dining area. We felt very comfortable here and were able to relax properly. Our exceptionally hospitable host treated us to freshly squeezed juice and homemade jam in the mornings. In the evenings, we enjoyed delicious Creole food in the garden by moonlight.

Our time on La Digue was wonderful! Taking things at a leisurely pace by bicycle and on foot, we enjoyed our favourite beaches, Grand Anse and Petite Anse: waves, turquoise water, white sand, hardly anyone around and sunshine.

We cycled along the east coast and drank freshly squeezed mango juice and coconut milk at ‘Chez Jule’s’. In the afternoon, we snorkelled at Anse Sever among shoals of fish, sea turtles and rays.

Along the way, we also encountered a giant tortoise in the road. And, of course, no stay on La Digue would have been complete without a visit to the famous Anse Source d´Argent! Although it is quite busy in the afternoon, it becomes quieter towards the evening. It is certainly a beach that fully deserves its worldwide fame!

After four nights, we found it genuinely difficult to say goodbye to La Digue because it is such a peaceful, secluded island. But a third adventure awaited us: five days on Mahé. We stayed at Diver´s Loge, simple and clean accommodation. We had breakfast there each morning overlooking the sea, and the beach was just across the road.

We walked along the beautiful Beau Vallon. It is a popular beach offering several water sports, some of them motorised. As these were not really our thing, and it felt unusual to find ourselves on an almost crowded beach after seeing so many natural, deserted ones, we did not stay for very long. Nevertheless, the fantastic sunsets on this beach made us forget everything else!

We then spent two days exploring the island by car, admiring the diverse vegetation and yet more beautiful beaches! We also wandered through the capital, Victoria, among plenty of local people, market stalls, shops, cathedrals and sights.

A visit to the tea plantation, followed by the approximately 45-minute hike from there up Morne Blanc, was another must, as was a visit to Mission Lodge.

In the afternoon, we snorkelled among corals and many colourful fish at Port Launay. Unfortunately, it was low tide at Baie Ternay by the time we found our way there, but someone we knew told us that it offers excellent snorkelling. Next time, then…

Our final day came to an end beneath the palm trees on the beach. The taxi collected us in the evening, and after an overnight flight, we landed back in Frankfurt on the morning of 27 August.

We are still dreaming of palm trees, jungle, exotic flowers, coconuts, turquoise waves, colourful shoals of fish, white beaches, corals, friendly people and sunshine…