A Dream Above and Below the Water

Our first hotel in the Seychelles was the Coral Strand on Beau Vallon, Mahé. We arrived very early in the morning, and the hotel provided us with a light breakfast and beach towels while we waited for our room to be ready. The hotel’s breakfast buffet was very extensive and offered something for every taste, from fresh fruit, pancakes and an egg station to a full English breakfast and curries.

The white sandy beach is probably the longest and most touristy one we visited in the Seychelles – yet it still felt comparatively uncrowded when you think of other holiday destinations. There are plenty of restaurants in different price ranges along the beachfront, as well as takeaway stalls. A market is also held on the beach every Wednesday evening, where you can sample all sorts of local delicacies, such as tuna curry, freshly grilled red snapper and banana nougat, and shop for souvenirs. Tip: vanilla essence is a local product and is a wonderful way to enhance curries, for example.

Beau Vallon, Mahé Takeaway at Beau Vallon, Mahé There is plenty to do on Mahé, and you could easily spend 2 weeks here. One of our personal highlights was a hike from Beau Vallon to Anse Major. With sturdy footwear, the walk was easy to manage, and the scenery and views along the trail were simply breathtaking. The beaches really do look just like they do in the promotional photos. You can take a water taxi back, which offers a completely different perspective of the coastline.

Hiking trail to Anse Major, Mahé Anse Major, Mahé – just like a postcard We took the public bus to Victoria and Anse Royal. Tip: it costs 5 rupees per person per journey, you pay the driver, and only small notes or coins are accepted. The buses run relatively punctually, and all parts of the island are easy to reach, so we decided not to hire a car. Travelling by bus is a bit of an adventure, as depending on the driver, it can sometimes feel like a rollercoaster, and things can get rather cosy when the bus is full. It is an experience you should have at least once, though.

Victoria Bus Terminal, Mahé Anse Royal, Mahé – just like on the postcards We also went on a diving excursion in the beautiful Baie Ternay Marine National Park, where we were lucky enough to see a school of eagle rays, stingrays, stonefish, a sleeping shark and octopuses.

On La Digue, we stayed at Le Relax Beach House. It is a small hotel with just 4 rooms, very friendly staff and perfect service! We had booked half board here, and the kitchen surpassed itself every day.

Almost everything on La Digue can be reached quickly and easily by bicycle. Tip: be sure to test the brakes and perhaps bring bicycle lights. The roads are well surfaced, not as steep as on the 2 larger islands, and there is hardly any motorised traffic. We also came across giant tortoises by the roadside several times during our cycle rides.

Cycle tour on La Digue The beaches on La Digue are breathtaking too. Although we never had one entirely to ourselves, places such as Anse Patates and Anse Source d‘Argent – which is perfect for romantic sunsets – have lots of little ‘private sections’ thanks to the natural rock formations. Another tip: check the tides. At low tide, the beaches in the east are more appealing – Grand Anse, Petite Anse and Anse Cocos. Pack insect repellent, as this is where we discovered sandflies. At high tide, the beaches in the west are better, and you can also enjoy snorkelling around the reefs.

Sunset at Anse Source d’Argent, La Digue Anse Coco, La Digue We booked the Jonathan – Coco & Felicité snorkelling excursion through SeyVillas. Although it had to be postponed by a day once we were there, Jonathan included a trip around La Digue as a bonus and personally came to our hotel to apologise for the inconvenience. In addition to lots of colourful fish, we also encountered an inquisitive hawksbill turtle and a small reef shark on this excursion.

The third island we visited was Praslin, where we stayed at Coco de Mer & Black Parrot Suites. The hotel is somewhat secluded from other settlements. For guests like us who had only booked breakfast, the beach bar offers an extensive and comparatively inexpensive choice of dishes for dinner.

The hotel grounds are very spacious and have been designed with great care, with little secluded corners everywhere and both familiar and unusual fruits growing throughout the grounds. We particularly loved the hammocks strung between the palm trees. The hotel offers a range of complimentary services, including a shuttle to the beautiful Anse Lazio and a nature trail where all the plant species are explained. Along the way, you can see both the Coco de Mer and, with a little luck, black parrots.

View from Room 431, Coco de Mer Hotel, Praslin Viewpoint along the nature trail, Coco de Mer Hotel, Praslin We also booked an excursion to Curieuse, the tortoise island, where the animals live both in the wild and at a breeding centre. During the subsequent snorkelling stop at St Pierre, we were also treated to the sight of lionfish.

We spent our final night back on Mahé, or more precisely, on Eden Island. Eden Island and the Eden Bleu Hotel are very luxurious and, overall, feel more like Dubai. As our return flight had been brought forward, we unfortunately could not enjoy the breakfast buffet, but the hotel prepared a huge breakfast pack for us instead.

We had booked a complete transfer package through SeyVillas. The local support provided by Creole was very well organised, and the shuttle pick-ups were always punctual, reliable and very comfortable. Although our upper-deck ferry bookings were not recorded when we collected our tickets – tip: check the category on the tickets you receive – this was quickly corrected on the spot without any fuss. We can thoroughly recommend the upper deck: you are certain to see flying fish during the crossing and, with a little luck, dolphins as well.