1 Week on La Digue, 1 Day on Praslin for Independent Travellers

Hello to everyone considering a holiday in the Seychelles!
We have tried to fill this travel report with practical information, tips and tricks to help you decide on your trip, plan it and, of course, enjoy your holiday once you are there!

To begin as all the travel reports here do: yes, it was heavenly, and yes, it is worth it!

First of all, even for those of you who have already visited many dream beaches around this wonderful planet and may have been to Hawaii, the Philippines, the Maldives, Australia, the Caribbean and so on – the ‘most famous’ beach of them all, Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue, truly is something special!

Anse Source d'Argent For anyone who also spends ages researching online in search of the perfect place to stay: the SeyVillas website has a brilliant feature that allows you to research the beaches and then find the accommodation closest to each one!
Our criteria were: an island where we could get around independently and experience ‘local village life’, the option to self-cater, accommodation as close to the sea as possible, or at least with sea views from the balcony or terrace, and near a beach suitable for snorkelling.
That was not at all easy to find… But thanks to SeyVillas, we eventually found what we were looking for and spent the entire holiday delighted that we had chosen the perfect hotel for us – the PATATRAN HOTEL on La Digue, situated right beside the wonderful Anse Patates in the north of the island!

Hotel Patatran The only downside was that there was a cyclone south of the Seychelles, and its outer edges caused quite strong winds and, above all, such heavy surf that swimming and snorkelling were out of the question for 5 days. So perhaps it would be better to book from the end of March onwards…

Anse Patates We were rewarded with calm seas for the final 2 days, however, so we can tell you that Anse Patates really is good for snorkelling. As everywhere in the Seychelles, the reef is sadly dead and there is hardly any coral, but the fish are colourful, and you can also spot rays and turtles while snorkelling. (For anyone who has already been to the Maldives or Hawaii: do not set your underwater expectations too high! For anyone who simply enjoys snorkelling in what feels like an aquarium, you are in for a treat.) We also went snorkelling around Grand Soeur, Coco and Felicité, and it was very similar!

A little more information about the hotel and meals: apparently, free Wi-Fi will be available from next week, as they are currently installing it in all the rooms! (At the moment, you have to buy iSurf packages: 100 SCR, or approximately €7, for 1 hour, but it works everywhere on the island.) We had booked a Superior room, as these are located directly above the road and the sea – highly recommended! The Standard rooms are also by the road, just a little farther away from the hotel. We had read reviews on Tripadvisor saying that some of the rooms higher up, including the Honeymoon rooms, require a rather strenuous climb up steps, so we wanted to stay lower down. I took a photo of the room plan for you, which may make choosing a room easier. SeyVillas will also pass on any room requests!

Hotelplan Patatran We had only booked breakfast, but lunch and dinner are also available at the hotel every day. (The dinner buffet costs approximately 300 SCR.) As we were always out and about on our bicycles and usually did not return until after sunset, we bought food from the takeaways in LA PASSE – a great option in terms of both price and food, at approximately 50 SCR per dish! There is a takeaway right in the centre of La Passe, but our favourite was ‘GALA’, on the left-hand side of the road towards Grand Anse! Be aware that there can sometimes be long waits and some dishes may sell out; it seems to be equally popular with locals and tourists. Pizzeria La Digue, in the courtyard of the Mills Complex (look for the sign on the main road), is also a good option!

Gala Take Away Overall, we loved life on La Digue and chose exactly the right island for us! There are only 2 larger, more expensive resorts, with plenty of private guesthouses making up most of the remaining accommodation. Guests also recommended the ZEROF Guesthouse to us, although it is not by the sea. As a result, the tourists are very relaxed and pleasant, including plenty of backpackers and couples with young children, which surprised us given the somewhat arduous journey via Mahé and Praslin. Life on La Digue moves at a very leisurely pace, and planning and advance reservations are not really their thing. Even at the hotel, anything we had booked beforehand never seemed to work out as planned. But they are brilliant at improvising, and everything always worked out in the end! People speak English well, so you can manage everywhere without knowing French.

Here are a few more tips:

• Hire a bicycle (100 SCR per day). Hiring one at the hotel is more convenient, but choose carefully and make sure the gears and brakes actually work properly, as they are often rusty from always being left outside. The best bicycles are the black-and-green mountain bikes, which are sometimes available at the harbour and from the hire shop on the road behind the police station. They are new and not rusty.
• Pack a head torch. It is essential when cycling after sunset.
• Do not leave anything in your bicycle basket! I had temporarily left my shopping there, and it was gone when we returned from Source d’Argent after sunset.
• Personal recommendation: bring padded cycling shorts ;-)
• Most shops and supermarkets close at 18:00! The exception is the small supermarket opposite the takeaway in the centre.
• Use a high-factor sunscreen. Baby sunscreen does not come off as easily when you sweat a lot. Insect repellent is also essential.
• There are many stray dogs at Anse Source d’Argent, so keep contact with the sand to a minimum if possible. I came home with ‘larva migrans’.
• Bring beach shoes and water shoes, as there are sharp rocks in the sand in places. Also bring a first-aid kit, including wound disinfectant.
• It is best to bring a lightweight plastic hammock. Almost every beach has palm trees and other trees that are ideal for hanging one up.
• Our favourite beach for sunsets: Anse Sévère.
• For an excursion to the east coast, either set off early or make sure you are reasonably fit: it is a sweaty bicycle ride over a small hill, followed by an approximately 10-minute walk from Grand Anse to Anse Petite down a steep path, and then another approximately 25-minute walk, which is very beautiful, to Anse Cocos. Unfortunately, we could not swim or snorkel anywhere, but several surfers at Grand Anse were very happy with the waves!
• Snorkelling tip: make sure you wear fins, as the currents can be very strong in places. You can borrow them from the Patatran.
• There is 15 minutes of free Wi-Fi at the jetty.

To see a little of Praslin as well, we took the 07:00 ferry to Praslin on the day of our departure and hired a car there (€45 per day, collected directly at the ferry jetty). We visited Vallée de Mai National Park, where there was a great guided tour at 09:00 included in the admission price, then Cote d'Or und Anse Volbert, which were much more laid-back and peaceful than we had imagined, and finally spent the whole afternoon at Anse Lazio – the most perfect beach for swimming! The sea was calm again!
We then drove back to the ferry, took the 17:30 service to Mahé and headed to the airport – a perfectly spent day!

We hope we have been able to give you a few insights and some useful tips for your perfect Seychelles holiday.

Hammock on the beach