Arriving in Paradise

When I landed on Mahé on the morning of 22 December, it was indeed a little rainy, but warm. The airport formalities took around half an hour. The Creole Travel Service team were already waiting for me at the exit, as they were handling my booked transfers in the Seychelles. A driver showed me which bus to board and where I could quickly withdraw some cash. So far, everything was going brilliantly.

The bus journey to the jetty in Victoria took around half an hour. At the jetty, I went over to the Creole team, who gave me my ferry ticket and looked after my luggage straight away. Everyone was incredibly helpful whenever I was unsure where to go. I still had some time before the ferry, so I had breakfast at a nearby restaurant. I had scrambled eggs and coffee for around SR 140, which is roughly €10. It is worth knowing that you will almost always be served instant coffee in the Seychelles.

The ferry crossing to Praslin took around an hour, and by then the clouds were beginning to clear and the sun was shining. That is what I call a good start to a holiday. Once I arrived on Praslin, I went back to the Creole team, who directed me to the bus for the onward journey to my apartment. They also gave me the details for my return journey to Mahé and a note explaining that a member of the Creole team would visit me that evening to check that everything was all right. I was not particularly pleased about that, as I was absolutely exhausted. Nevertheless, everything was superbly organised.

It was already wonderfully warm, and I liked the island straight away. The journey took around 10 minutes. My apartment was at Aquario Villa. It is located above Anse Volbert, directly beside the road. When I arrived, a lady welcomed me at the small reception. Another lady brought me a freshly squeezed fruit cocktail – wonderful, another lovely experience. My apartment was enormous. I had a bedroom with a bathroom, as well as a living and dining area with its own fridge, which I would have had to share with another room. Fortunately, however, no one else was there. There was also a lovely terrace with sun loungers and seating areas, as well as a clothes airer – perfect!

My room looked as though it might have been a honeymoon suite. The towels had been folded into swans and covered with flowers. Hmm, perhaps they did not know that I was travelling alone? Never mind, it looked wonderful! The first thing I did was grab my swimming trunks and walk down to the beach. It took less than a minute, and I had a gorgeous beach almost entirely to myself.

The upper stretch of Anse Volbert – incredible The swans in my ‘Honeymoon Suite’ My terrace at Acquario Guesthouse Room at Acquario Guesthouse I was greeted at the water’s edge by two small stingrays that had partly buried themselves in the sand. Wow. I went straight into the water and was delighted. It was so wonderfully warm, with such breathtaking scenery. Incredible. This had to be paradise. I spent the rest of the afternoon right there. I relaxed for a while on a sun lounger directly on the beach and enjoyed this incomparable view beneath the palm trees.

View of Anse Volbert A little later, I found Café des Art a little further south. I treated myself to a coffee there, which cost SR 75. That was €5, but at least it was good coffee. I also found an inexpensive alternative to the rather pricey buffets, which cost SR 500. Next to a supermarket at the lower end of the beach was a takeaway offering a few tasty meals for SR 75. That was more than enough for me. I also bought a beer from the supermarket for around €3 (SR 32). So the evening was less expensive than planned. Once again, I had made all the right choices. I also bought a bottle of water, which I kept refilling throughout the entire trip. The tap water there is very good quality and safe to drink. I did not experience any nausea or similar symptoms either.

I then spent a peaceful evening relaxing on my terrace. However, at precisely 19:00, Sabrina from Creole Travel Service arrived as promised to ask whether everything was to my satisfaction and whether I might be interested in any excursions. I was not, so she soon left again. By then, I was truly exhausted and went to bed. Two things are worth mentioning here. Firstly, there are hardly any mosquitoes or similarly annoying insects. On the other hand, quite a lot of cars still drive past in the evening, and dogs are also fond of barking. If you can sleep comfortably with earplugs, it is worth using them, particularly as the air-conditioning fan can also be slightly disruptive.

The next morning, a fairly substantial breakfast was served in the on-site restaurant. It consisted of plenty of fruit, juice, yoghurt, toast with jam and cheese, as well as the usual instant coffee or tea. It was perfectly adequate. Afterwards, I wanted to do a little snorkelling. There is a diving school called Whitetip right on the beach. For €10 plus an island tax of SR 200, they will take you to the island of St Pierre. The staff are thoroughly professional and extremely helpful. They immediately remembered my name, along with those of all the other guests. As has often been reported, the snorkelling was not particularly worthwhile. Almost all the coral was dead. There were still plenty of fish to see, however, as well as rays and, with a little luck, a few reef sharks. At that price, though, I could hardly go wrong. Seeing a shark certainly made up for it. Anyone hoping to dive here will be disappointed, however.

I spent the afternoon back on the beach. A visit to the famous Anse Lazio was planned for the following day, so I set off northwards with my snorkelling gear. It is also worth mentioning that there are no pavements in the Seychelles. The roads simply end at the edges, often with a drop immediately beyond them. Anyone setting out on foot should therefore take care and certainly avoid wearing flip-flops.

Along my route of around 6–7 km, I also passed Anse Possession. This was also located in a bay, but the beach was not particularly inviting. Around 4 km further on, you come to the beautiful grounds of the Raffles Resort. From here, there is also a footpath leading onwards to Anse Lazio. From this point, the scenery was simply gorgeous. The resort had a first-class beach, where I stopped for a while to rest. When I saw that some of the guests were snorkelling there, I decided to try it too. What can I say? Around 10 m out from the beach was the best reef on the entire island. It was a healthy reef with a magnificent variety of fish species. Amazing. The beach is at Anse Boudin and was one of the most beautiful I had seen.

Anse Boudin at the Raffles Resort After that experience, I no longer felt particularly inclined to continue on to Anse Lazio. How could it possibly get any better? And it turned out just as I had expected. At that time of year, Anse Lazio was anything but calm, with fairly heavy waves.

Anse Lazio, Praslin So after just two minutes, I turned around and headed back to my dream beach. That evening, I once again had food from the takeaway, where I had already told them the previous evening that I would be back. The area around Anse Volbert really is a dream, lined with holiday homes, restaurants and hotels. It is also a lovely place to spend the evening listening to the sound of the sea.

The next morning, it was already time to head back to Mahé. As agreed, my very comfortable taxi arrived punctually to take me to the jetty. I found it quite difficult to say goodbye to the island of Praslin. Here, all still seemed right with the world.

Just under an hour later, at around half past eight, I arrived back on Mahé, where Richard was already waiting to hand over the hire car I had booked in advance. This process also went perfectly. He reminded me once again to drive on the left. Fortunately, it was 25 December and the roads were completely empty. I could not have chosen a better introduction to driving on the left. My first destination was the nearby Beau Vallon, the best-known beach on Mahé. However, as forecast, the waves were a little higher here too. There was not much else to see, so after a quick stop for fuel, I drove back to Victoria and continued from there to my next apartment near Anse Royale. I had put in 200 rupees’ worth of fuel, which was easily enough to explore the entire island. Hire cars are returned with an empty tank as well.

Me on Beau Vallon beach Mahé is even hillier than Praslin. There is an incredible amount of nature, with very little human intervention. It was wonderful. Driving, however, really is an art. You definitely need to keep your eyes on the road at all times, as there are sheer drops right beside it here too. That is a mistake you would only make once. The roads are also very winding and hilly. After about an hour, I reached my destination – the Charlotte Villa in Bougainville. Fortunately, a sign by the road pointed me in the right direction. The apartment building is situated a little higher up, so once again I had a direct view of the water from my new room.

View from Charlotte Villa Charlotte gave me a very warm welcome and showed me around. It was a very large house with four or five guest rooms. Guests could also prepare something to eat in the house’s kitchen. Free Wi-Fi was available too. Otherwise, internet access on the island can be rather difficult. It is very slow and very expensive. At other guesthouses, you can easily pay €5 an hour. But I was perfectly happy to go without being online for a few days.

After arriving, I first drove across to Anse Soleil on the west coast. This beach was also supposed to be excellent for snorkelling, but the waves were quite high here too. The café right by the water, which I had expected a little more from, was really just a small eatery. Incidentally, cafés of the sort we are used to simply do not exist here. After a truly dreadful coffee, I continued north along the west coast to see a little more of this part of the island.

A little further north, I eventually turned right again and, after some wild bends and steep climbs, found myself back in Victoria. The road signs were really poor. Then again, perhaps it was just as well that I had not taken another turning. Some of the roads are quite adventurous. So I had another look around Victoria, but because of the public holiday, there was nothing to see. All the shops were closed, and there is not really that much to see in Victoria anyway. The only interesting place was the market, which I visited again two days later.

I then made my way back home. Near Anse Royale, there is a restaurant called Le Dolphin. A little further south, by Anse Baleine, there is Surfers. Both are laid out in a similar way and serve buffet-style meals for around 500 SR. However, both were closed for Christmas. Luckily, Charlotte invited me and another guest to dinner. We had red snapper. It was almost as though it were fate, as I had been determined to try this fish. It was absolutely delicious. It was served with breadfruit and some salad. Wonderful.

The next day, after breakfast, I once again walked to Anse Royale. The water here on the east coast was also very shallow, with plenty of fish swimming among the seagrass. This was also one of the most beautiful beaches at this time of year.

Anse Royale / Anse Balaine If you do not want to drive, you can also take the bus here. It is a real adventure. The buses look as though they were taken out of service in the 1950s, and the drivers’ style of driving adds to the experience. If you enjoy rollercoasters, you will certainly get your money’s worth. A journey costs just 5 SR, which is only about 35 cents. Bus number 5 takes you to Victoria. The buses run until early evening and are also very punctual. This meant that I only needed the car again for my journey back to the airport.

All in all, I can say that choosing the Seychelles was an excellent decision. Apart from one afternoon, and contrary to all expectations, the weather was glorious, with just a few clouds here and there that actually brought welcome relief. On my next trip here, I definitely need to visit La Digue as well. Everything simply came together and worked out perfectly. All I had to do was leave the hire car in the car park at the airport and wait for my flight. I was able to exchange my remaining rupees for dirhams at the counter there, as I stayed in Dubai for another three days on my way home.