Dream Sailing Trip Through the Seychelles

Day 1: Mahé → Sainte Anne Marine Park

The approach to the Seychelles was spectacular. To fill the time between landing at 7 am and boarding at 3 pm, we booked breakfast and pool access at the Eden Bleu Hotel on the man-made Eden Island. The marina where our journey was due to begin is right there. We boarded our catamaran, ‘Bacchus’, along with four other German-speaking guests. So only three of the six cabins were occupied! After an entertaining introduction, the adventure could begin. We spent the evening in Sainte Anne Marine Park, around half an hour off the coast of Mahé. We enjoyed our first dinner, which, like all the meals throughout the week, was lovingly presented and delicious.

Boarding at Eden Island Day 2: St. Anne → Praslin

Breakfast consisted of toast, all sorts of spreads, cheese, ham, eggs, milk, coffee and fruit juice. Afterwards, we sailed to Praslin, the second-largest island in the Seychelles. Our destination was Anse Lazio. Once there, we took the dinghy to the beach, where we went on a short but gruelling walk with a 10% gradient. At the top of the hill, we briefly enjoyed the view of the sea before returning to the beach for a splash in the water with the others.

Road to Anse Lazio Day 3: Praslin → Coco Island → La Digue

Today’s plan was to visit the Vallée de Mai, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a brief discussion, however, we unanimously decided on the much lesser-known Fond Ferdinand Nature Reserve, which only opened in 2013. Like the Vallée de Mai, Fond Ferdinand is home to the coco de mer. Why we preferred Fond Ferdinand:

• Fewer tourists
• A much lower admission fee, including a guide
• A fantastic viewpoint

We cannot make a direct comparison, but we can recommend what we saw here 100%. The roughly one-hour hike through the jungle to the viewpoint involved quite a few steps, but they are perfectly manageable provided you are in good physical health.

In the heart of Fond Ferdinand Descent from the Fond Ferdinand viewpoint When the weather cleared after a brief but heavy rain shower, we visited Coco Island. It is a dream of a little island and provided one of our loveliest memories: we borrowed the kayak and paddled to the beach, where we could climb and crawl between, over and through crevices in the rocks. We enjoyed having some time to ourselves. Towards evening, we sailed for an hour to the harbour on La Digue, where we spent the night.

Coco Island all to ourselves Day 4: La Digue → Curieuse

Today was all about exploring La Digue. We hired bicycles and cycled to L’Union Estate, a nature reserve which you have to pass through to reach the famous Anse Source d'Argent. Cycling through the park was lovely. We were also amazed by the 40-metre-high monolith in the middle of L’Union Estate.

In the heart of L'Union Estate Before long, we set off for Nid d’Aigle. Climbing this ‘mountain’ (height: 333 m) was on our wish list. After about an hour of strenuous walking, we reached a small bar in Belle Vue. We grabbed an ice-cold cola and were overwhelmed by the breathtaking view across the entire island and beyond. Feeling refreshed, we embarked on the adventurous hike through the jungle to the summit. We did not encounter another person on either the ascent or the descent. Once we reached our destination, we were rewarded with another 360-degree view.

View from Nid d‘Aigle Our final stop of the day was Grand Anse. The beach looked like something from a picture book! However, swimming is usually prohibited here because of dangerous undercurrents.

Grand Anse Day 5: Curieuse → St. Pierre → Praslin

In the morning, we went on a short kayaking trip around St. Pierre (one complete circuit takes approximately seven minutes). Afterwards, we crossed over to Curieuse, where we visited a giant tortoise breeding centre. The animals were clearly thriving here: they could roam freely, and there were very few tourists across the large grounds. The fully grown tortoises were between 45 and 95 years old. In the prime of life, some might say, considering that they live to an average age of 150. We then set off on a short hike of around an hour across the island to the beach on the opposite side, where our skipper picked us up again.

Day 6: Praslin → Cousin → Mahé

We woke up early in the morning anchored in the most beautiful bay we had seen so far, Anse Georgette. It is located in the north-east of Praslin. Afterwards, we headed to Cousin. The island is an important sanctuary for rare endemic animals and plants. The rules for visiting the island are strict: excursion boats may approach no closer than 20 metres from the beach, and visitors are collected for the remaining distance in dinghies belonging to the island’s operators, BirdLife International. Furthermore, only one guided tour is offered each day, and visitors are not permitted to cross the island independently. At midday, we hoisted the sails and set off for Mahé, or more precisely, Port Launay North Beach.

Day 7: Mahé

We looked for a different spot to have breakfast. We found three small beaches next to one another in the north-east of Mahé. We had them entirely to ourselves for several hours! It looked absolutely idyllic here! We spent the late afternoon and evening off Beau Vallon, the most ‘touristy’ place in the Seychelles. There, we enjoyed our final evening in the Seychelles. This was definitely ‘see you again’, rather than goodbye!

Secluded beach on Mahé