Pure Relaxation – A Holiday for the Soul

By chance, I came across the SeyVillas website and was delighted by how easy and straightforward it was to plan and book my dream holiday. Even transfers by domestic flight can be arranged. Whenever I had questions, I received friendly, knowledgeable advice and suggestions by email or over the phone – after all, when you are going away for three weeks, you want everything to go smoothly. So, a big thank you to the SeyVillas team!

My dream holiday began on the plane. When you hear that the flight takes around 12 hours, you think, ‘Oh, that’s such a long time’ – but no, flying with Emirates was a dream. There was plenty of space, good legroom and the latest films, so the time simply flew by. Upon arriving in Mahé in the Seychelles, I was met and warmly welcomed by a member of the Creole team, who took me to my next mode of transport – in my case, a small domestic plane to Praslin. Sitting by the window and flying over the ocean with its little islands was simply fascinating. Once again, the service and transfer to my accommodation were perfect. In fact, every transfer during this trip was pleasant and went smoothly.

When I arrived at the Berjaya Praslin Beach resort, I unfortunately had to wait for my room, but that was no problem for me because the beach was only 30 m away, just as described in the booking documents … A DREAM … the fine white sand of Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or).

Anse Vobert, my beach on Praslin I spent every evening here. With my snorkelling gear, I swam out to the little island and even spotted a moray eel once, as well as plenty of fish, of course. Afterwards, I enjoyed a relaxing beer in my favourite spot by the tree root. It gets dark at around 7 pm.

Favourite spot with a small island (right), Praslin Along the road leading to the beach, you can buy everything you need, exchange money, enjoy good ice cream or pick up something from a takeaway. There are also several restaurants. I stayed in a small, lovely standard room with a view of the mountains. The entire resort was very well maintained and had a small pool.

Excursions:

Curieuse Island – the tortoise island with the old hospital for people with leprosy – is a must. Tortoises of all sizes roam freely.

Free-roaming tortoises / Curieuse Island St Pierre – a small island that is ideal for snorkelling, although I have to say that much of the coral is badly damaged everywhere, which is a shame. Anse Georgette and Anse Lazio are dream beaches!

Praslin’s most famous beaches Anse Lazio, Praslin In the heat, Vallée de Mai offers a pleasantly cool, jungle-like atmosphere, so I would highly recommend it. The Pearl Gallery – a shell farm and pearl gallery – was also wonderful. I visited it on my way back to Mahé, shortly before my flight, as it is only about 7 minutes from the airport.

Praslin’s most famous beaches I was sad to leave this island, as every beach here was a dream beach. I continued by ferry to La Digue, the island where you can easily reach everything by bicycle. My accommodation was a lovely bungalow at Pension Fidele. I hired a bicycle here for around €7 per day. Unfortunately, it is not quite possible to cycle all the way around the island, but you can complete the circuit on foot using some lesser-known paths.

Excursions:

The island also has beautiful beaches with impressive rocks, such as Grand Anse with its enormous waves. L’Union Estate is a large site with plenty to discover, including plantations, tortoises in enclosures that visitors are allowed to enter, and the most famous beaches.

Grand Anse Grand Anse I visited this lovely estate on three different days and fed the tortoises mangoes that I had gathered from the roadside on my way there. La Digue has a viewpoint at an elevation of 333 m. I was the first person there early in the morning – the views were beautiful and I had the place entirely to myself. It is a strenuous climb, but well worth the effort.

Mission Lodge Mahé This small island also has plenty of shops where you can buy provisions for self-catering.

My next and final stop was the main island of Mahé, where it is advisable to hire a car for around €40 per day. Be careful: they drive on the left, and the driving style is somehow typically African … but at least everyone stays on the left. My lovely accommodation, Ocean View Guest House, had wonderful sea views and had recently been beautifully renovated. It was around 300 m from both the beach and a takeaway.

Excursions:

At Beau Vallon, there is a market every Wednesday from around 4 pm, with plenty of food and drink – even palm wine – and you can watch a magnificent sunset. Mission Lodge is a viewpoint with an interesting history, while the Tea Factory offers tours of its facilities.

Tea Factory Mahé The capital, Victoria, with its beautiful Clock Tower and many attractions, is well worth a visit, as is Jardin du Roi, a lovely spice garden. The dream beaches dotted all around the island, lined with palm trees or framed by rocks, are all worth seeing.

Mahé’s dream beaches In short, wherever you stop the car, you will find wonderful, impressive scenery and no mass tourism. Even the banknotes look beautiful. This holiday was pure relaxation. I will return in two years and will once again plan and book my trip with the help of SeyVillas!

So, see you soon!

Best wishes from Birgit