Cerf Island, La Digue & Praslin – A Travel Journal

Day 1
Cerf Island is a very beautiful little island. Our hotel, L'Habitation, was very tastefully furnished, and we had a wonderful view of the sea and the main island of Mahé from our balcony.

Day 2
From Cerf Island, we took the complimentary boat transfer to Mahé. We visited the market and then simply hopped on a bus for 50 rupees (35 cents) to explore the island.

Day 3
As we enjoy snorkelling, we walked along the beach towards Cerf Island Resort in the morning. The snorkelling there is good, and we even saw a turtle. Around midday, we headed south and found a wonderful beach. However, it was only accessible at low tide. The weather was fantastic!

Day 4
We had actually planned to explore the south of Mahé by bus, but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. So we simply spent the day reading a book.

Day 5
On our final day on Cerf Island, we could either travel to Mahé or visit Moyenne Island. We decided on Moyenne Island. The boatman from our hotel offered an affordable excursion. On the way there, we fed fish in Sainte Anne Marine National Park and went snorkelling at the reef.

There are lots of giant tortoises on Moyenne Island.

While snorkelling off Moyenne Island, we also saw several very large rays. It was very impressive.

Day 6
In the morning, we travelled by boat to Mahé and then took the ferry via Praslin to La Digue. Our guesthouse was Moonlight Beach Villa. I would definitely try to book a room with a sea view. We had expected a little more from the service, as we always had to wait quite a long time for breakfast. However, we were on holiday and had plenty of time. There was construction work taking place on the beach in front of the hotel at the time, but it did not bother us too much, as we were usually out exploring the island anyway. Unfortunately, that was not possible on our first day, as it rained from 14:00 for the rest of the day.

Day 7
The day was fantastic. We had wonderful weather and went on a full-day snorkelling excursion to Sister Island, Coco Island and Félicité. Right at the start, we spotted two dolphins in the distance. I had never seen so many colourful fish before. The Caribbean certainly cannot compete, at least in that respect. Some people even saw a small shark off Coco Island. Off Félicité, we were able to swim with a turtle. The underwater camera was worth its weight in gold.

Day 8
That morning, we walked north from La Passe towards Anse Sévère. With so few people around, we really could choose our own palm tree to lie beneath. In the afternoon, we went on a deep-sea fishing excursion. We had never been fishing before, but really wanted to try it. We did not catch a swordfish, but we did catch a large dorado. The nice thing is that you can take the fish back to the hotel and have the hotel restaurant prepare it for you. Well, we really would have liked to eat our fish. Unfortunately, the waiter mixed us up with someone else and served our fish to another couple first. That was quite disappointing! Still, we were given a similar fish instead. We can laugh about it now. :­)

Day 9
That day, we hired bicycles. They all cost 100 rupees per day. We cycled to Grand Anse and then hiked onwards to Petite Anse and Anse Cocos. Do not forget your walking shoes! The beaches were all beautiful (swimming was prohibited!), although everything would probably have looked even lovelier in the sunshine. On the way back, we stopped at the first stall we came across and had a freshly pressed juice, which was both good and inexpensive.

Day 10
In the morning, after swapping my broken bicycle, we cycled to Anse Patates. We also saw a large tortoise beside the road! We had the beach almost to ourselves, even though it was very beautiful. As this was our last day on La Digue, we headed to Anse Source d’Argent at midday. There was a tortoise enclosure and a vanilla plantation. The beach really is a highlight. The rock formations are very impressive and beautiful. The snorkelling is also good here, although it is almost too shallow at low tide. As the beach is very well known, there are lots of people there, but you can still find enough space for yourself.

Day 11
That day, we travelled by boat to the final island of our holiday. Our hotel, Acajou Beach Resort, was very nice. We had a self-catering apartment, and the kitchen was extremely well equipped. Unfortunately, the room was quite close to the road, but that was the only negative point. The beach at Côte d’Or was breathtaking. The sea shimmered in various shades of turquoise and green. Source d’Argent, La Digue

There was a swimming pool, but we really did not need it. After picking up a few groceries, we spent the rest of the sunny afternoon on the beach. There were lots of small rays in the sea. We even saw a small shark once, although unfortunately we did not have the camera with us at the time.

Day 12
Unfortunately, the day began with rain. We grabbed an umbrella and travelled to Vallée de Mai. The €20 admission fee was not exactly cheap, but seeing the coco de mer was very impressive. Afterwards, we also visited the pearl farm museum. However, most of the information was presented in a video, and unfortunately the pearls were unaffordable. :­)

Day 13
We took the bus to Anse Lazio. We had to walk for the final 20 minutes. As it was damp, sturdy footwear would have been useful here as well. The beach was truly beautiful, and we were also able to go snorkelling. Unfortunately, it began to rain around midday, so we made our way back.

Day 14
We simply wanted to spend the final full day of our holiday on the beach. The weather was mixed, with sunshine one moment and rain the next. We had considered taking another excursion to Curieuse and St Pierre, but in the end we were a little short of time and wanted to save something for our next holiday in the Seychelles.

Day 15
As we were not collected from the hotel until midday, we were able to enjoy another 3 hours on the beach in glorious sunshine. It was a wonderful end to the holiday.

The natural scenery in the Seychelles is very beautiful. Everything is green, which is quite different from many other islands. Of course, that means it is bound to rain occasionally. Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. The islands were wonderful, we saw lots of fish while snorkelling, and the tortoises and turtles were very impressive. We had a total of 15 days for 3 islands. I would not visit many more islands within that timeframe, so that you can truly see everything while still having time to relax. We will certainly return one day!