Dream Destination: Seychelles

From the harbour, we took the ferry towards Praslin, our first stop, where we spent 5 nights at the Berjaya Resort. Unfortunately, we did not enjoy it quite as much as we had hoped. The food was fairly average, and in the evenings, some of the buffet dishes were cold or had already run out. Sadly, they were not replenished either. Our recommendation would be not to book half board and simply eat out in the evenings instead. You may pay a few euros more, but you will have a much wider choice.

Takeaway food, Praslin We had a standard room, which was very small and rather dated. There was also nowhere to dry our wet clothes or towels, as we did not even have a window or balcony.

If you would like to see a beautiful beach while staying there, we would definitely recommend taking the public bus to Anse Lazio. A journey costs 5 rupees per person, which is just under €0.30. There are bus stops every few hundred metres. In places, you will find deserted beaches, crystal-clear water and a wonderful underwater world waiting to be explored just a few metres from the shore. If you are a strong walker – and I mean REALLY strong – you can also hike from there to Anse Georgette.

Our second stop was La Digue, where we spent 5 nights at the Zerof Guesthouse. It is a small, family-run guesthouse with 6 rooms and very friendly hosts. We had half board there as well, and the food was much better than at the previous hotel, which made us all the more pleased. Breakfast consists of toast and croissants with a selection of cold meats, fresh juices, coffee and tea. Bicycles can be hired directly from the guesthouse for around €7 per day, and they are essential on this small island. You can use them to reach every beach on the island, each more beautiful than the last.

Cycling tour on La Digue On our very first day, we headed straight to Anse Source D'Argent, which several websites describe as the most beautiful and most photographed beach in the world. We were not disappointed: the towering granite boulders really are breathtakingly beautiful. The beach is not suitable for swimming, as the water is only knee-deep in places. However, it is very good for snorkelling and watching the colourful fish darting around. Every day, we simply cycled around the island and settled down on whichever beaches were quietest.

We spent our final 3 nights on Mahé, the largest island in the Seychelles. The ferry crossing from La Digue to Praslin took around 15 minutes. From there, we continued to Mahé, a journey of approximately 60 minutes. When we arrived at the ferry terminal, our transfer bus was already waiting to take us to our hotel. We stayed at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort & Casino, again on a half-board basis.

We arrived on a Sunday and initially got quite a shock. Beau Vallon was completely packed with people and the exact opposite of what we had become accustomed to on Praslin and La Digue. We were told that all the locals were spending their weekend there, but it was not much better the following day either. We therefore decided to look for an alternative beach and were told about Port Launay Beach 57. We took the bus to Victoria and then another bus across Mahé for around 1 hour, but it was worth it. The beach was deserted, the water was crystal clear, and the mountain backdrop created a breathtaking scene. Snorkelling was great fun, and the variety of fish was genuinely amazing.

Bus journey on Mahé Port Launay, Mahé On our final day, we visited Victoria, the smallest capital city in the world. You do not need to set aside much time, though, as it really is very small. We had planned to spend 3 hours there, but had seen everything in just under 1 hour. The market is worth visiting, and you can stock up on all kinds of fruit, vegetables and spices there.

Booking through SeyVillas could not have been easier, and all the transfers and journeys went smoothly. In future, however, we will only stay in guesthouses and will not book half board. Some of the takeaways and restaurants in the Seychelles serve much better food than we had at the hotels.

We also felt that 13 days was unfortunately a little too short, as island hopping takes up quite a lot of time, which was a shame. We will give Mahé a miss next time, as we much preferred La Digue and Praslin.