La Digue – a True Paradise on Earth!

We landed on Mahé and were looked after from start to finish. The organisation by Creole Travel Service was truly exceptional. We always knew where to go and what would happen next, someone carried our luggage, and from the moment we arrived, we could enjoy every minute feeling completely relaxed!

We spent the first 5 days on La Digue. The ferry transfer was quick and straightforward. Looking back, however, I now understand why people often choose to fly rather than take this 1.5-hour boat trip! On the lower deck of the Cat Cocos ferry, you can become horribly seasick very quickly. Tip: choose the open-air upper deck for an extra €5. When we arrived on La Digue, we were met straight away by Creole and the driver from La Digue Island Lodge, who took us to the hotel.

In my opinion, the grounds are an absolute dream. The charming beach chalets are nestled in a tropical garden with tall palm trees and flowering shrubs, and we even had a private garden in front of our terrace. Our Garden Chalet was very spacious and clean. The furnishings were nothing like those of a luxury hotel – I would describe them as typical of the country – and that was exactly what we wanted. After all, it is a lodge, not a hotel. The open-sided dining area was right on the beach and partly built on decking. And because we wanted to make the most of every day and were the only guests having breakfast at 6.30 am, we practically enjoyed a private breakfast on the beach each morning.

Beach at La Dige Island Lodge

On our very first day, we did the legendary southern circuit with a local guide from ‘SunnyTrailGuide’. You should definitely do this tour with Robert, as the trails are almost impossible to find on your own and the granite rocks and gorges often seem impassable. In some sections, we had to take off our rucksacks and crawl beneath rocky overhangs. It was such a wonderful experience and adventure for us! The beaches were as beautiful as those you only ever see on advertising posters – and the enormous granite rocks seem even bigger and more imposing when you are standing right in front of them! There is so much to see and discover that you hardly know where to look first.

Grand Anse, La Digue 10|Anse Marron, La Digue On the second day, we could not wait to explore the island by bicycle! There are basically only 2 roads, one going up and one going down. And we explored them thoroughly, cycling from one dream beach to the next! The weather was wonderful, and you can leave your bicycle anywhere without locking it! Who can do that back home? There are small, manageable supermarkets everywhere with reasonable prices (€1 for 1 litre of water), although you must remember that you are on an island where many things have to be imported. There are also several inexpensive takeaways where a genuinely delicious main meal costs around €4! And, of course, there are suitable beach bars too – 4 wooden planks covered with palm fronds! Here, you are glad not to have to enter an upmarket bar, but instead to receive fresh coconuts garnished by the locals. ORGANIC & vegan, right in the heart of nature!!! When scraping out the coconut, you even eat the dark crumbs because it is all NATURAL.

L’Union Estate Park is an experience in itself. There are beautiful gardens and lots of giant tortoises that we were allowed to feed. As we had already become experienced La Digue climbers, we dared to make our way from Grand Anse to Petite Anse and then on to Anse Cocos! At 10 am, we had the whole of Petite Anse – the complete, long, sweeping bay – entirely to ourselves! Our highlight here was having fish eat from our hands in the middle of the Indian Ocean! They love bananas and coconut! And all of this amid dreamlike scenery – fantastic! At the end of Anse Cocos, there is a small natural pool – the locals call it a private Jacuzzi – and once again, we had it completely to ourselves, with nobody else anywhere in sight! It is a lagoon with hundreds of fish that you can see even without a snorkel!

For the following day, we booked a snorkelling excursion with Jonathan. What else could there possibly be to discover here? He took us out to Coco Island and Felicité. What we saw there took our breath away. Jonathan could hear me laughing and crying out with joy underwater through my snorkel! It was like swimming in the middle of an aquarium, with more fish than you could count, in every shape and colour imaginable – and then some! Striped, spotted and chequered, in colours I had never seen before – combinations of green, turquoise, bright pink, blue, yellow, black and purple! My husband even spotted a small reef shark, but it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived – fortunately for me! And then, at the end, a wild sea turtle swam towards us in the middle of the Indian Ocean – we must have spent more than 5 minutes curiously observing one another!

Coco Island The Seychellois are wonderful people – friendly, helpful, not at all pushy and very religious! Even La Digue has a beautiful church and several lovely cemeteries! All the children wear school uniforms, and they are always smiling and cheerful! We fell in love with the beauty of the island and its way of life! There were several moments when I admired the island with tears in my eyes. I spent almost all of those days singing to myself and enjoying every moment with my husband to the full. One highlight followed another, and there was something new to discover around every corner. Incomparable, unforgettable, beautiful!

On day 5, we were genuinely a little sad to have to leave the island, but 3 truly beautiful and romantic days at Kempinski Baie Lazare awaited us! The ferry transfer via Praslin to Mahé – on the upper deck this time! – was very pleasant. A Creole driver took us to the hotel, where we received a warm welcome with refreshing drinks before being driven to our room in a buggy.

The room was incredible! The bed was enormous and exceptionally comfortable. The room was furnished to a very high standard. A bottle of sparkling wine and a heart-shaped cake had also been provided for our honeymoon. The first minibar refill and 1–2 bottles of Kempinski water each day were complimentary. The entire hotel was once again set amid a beautiful tropical garden, with palm trees unlike any we had ever seen before. There were also beautiful flowers and shrubs. It was exactly what we had hoped for.

The breakfast and dinner were exquisite! I do not think I have ever eaten so well in my life! Everything tasted wonderful! Breakfast and dinner were served buffet-style, with a different theme each day. The selection was so extensive that there was guaranteed to be something for everyone. I would estimate that the buffet was 10–15 metres long. The hotel’s private beach was spacious, and there were always sun loungers available. Beach towels and water from the beach bar at the front were also complimentary.

Exploring on foot was not quite so easy here, as the resort is somewhat secluded. When we asked where we could go for a walk, the staff simply drove us up the local ‘mountain’, where we could enjoy the truly magnificent views. There is also a small village nearby, once again with a beautiful church – the outing was certainly worthwhile! Snorkelling in the hotel’s bay was a little difficult, as it was often low tide, with plenty of seagrass and not much water. For a proper snorkelling adventure, you need to travel out to the snorkelling sites or smaller islands. Even so, we still saw some unusual fish here that we had never encountered before!

The best thing to do at the Kempinski Resort is to truly relax, take some time to unwind and enjoy the delicious food! We had the very last room at the far end of the entire resort, so once again we had a secluded private garden – ABSOLUTELY DREAMY!!! A true honeymoon atmosphere, complete with tropical birdsong!

Hillview Room at Kempinski Hillview Kempinski

We received everything we had wished for on our honeymoon, and so much more!!!

What could possibly come next? I think we have seen everything!