There’s a velvet sea, a palm tree and you, dreaming of getting away...
A year ago, I gave my partner Laura a trip to the Seychelles for her birthday. It was her dream...the holiday you wait a lifetime for!
It took us a year to organise it and make it happen, what with annual leave, work, children and all sorts of other commitments. We did some research online, spoke to various travel agencies and decided to put our trust in SeyVillas, as it is one of the leading online operators specialising in this type of holiday...
Once we had arranged everything online, we flew with Emirates via Dubai to Mahé. When we arrived, we could hardly believe our eyes. The scenery was breathtaking even as we came in to land...the sort of picture-postcard sea that makes you think the brochure photos must have been edited in Photoshop. The organisation and transfers were always impeccable and punctual.
Mahé
For the first 3 days, we stayed on Mahé at the Villa Dorado guesthouse. We were welcomed by a very kind local lady. Our room looked directly onto the beach, and every morning we had breakfast practically at the water’s edge!
The next day, she put us in touch with a local driver. Once we had agreed on a price, he took us on a full-day tour of the entire island, stopping at the most beautiful beaches for as long as we wished. In the evenings, we dined at the hotel next to the guesthouse, where the food was genuinely excellent!
La Digue
On the third day, we travelled by transfer and ferry to La Digue, the second stop we had chosen for our holiday.
After an hour on the ferry, we arrived at the Le Domaine de L'Orangeraie resort, which we had chosen because it was advertised as the very best...and we can assure you that it truly was! We could hardly believe our eyes: an ultra-luxurious resort with a spa.
After an impeccable welcome, we were taken by electric buggy to our villa. Laura was speechless when she opened the door! It was an incredible room, with attention paid to every last detail: a huge terrace overlooking the sea, a four-poster bed and an outdoor stone bathroom with a hut-style roof! I (Valter) have travelled the world as a flight attendant for 28 years, and I can assure you that I had never seen anything like it!
Dinner was served buffet-style in the evenings, while in the mornings we had breakfast right by the sea, watching the fish come to collect the crumbs... We also tried the wonderful spa, where 2 therapists pampered us with a splendid 1-hour couples’ massage. The kindness and professionalism of the staff were truly priceless!
On the recommendation of an Italian woman who worked at the resort, we contacted a local ‘captain’ for a boat excursion and the chance to go snorkelling off the coast of Praslin.
As many people know, the Seychelles, like Zanzibar or Mauritius, has wonderful beaches where lush vegetation reaches right down to the shore, but to see the magnificent tropical fish, you need to go on an excursion.
We visited Félicité Island and the twin Sister Islands, where we had the unique experience of swimming with giant sea turtles...truly incredible! And then, in water 5–6 metres deep, we saw every tropical fish you could possibly imagine...angelfish, butterflyfish, triggerfish and even barracudas. It was a sight that will remain with us forever!
Of course, we could not miss out on shopping in the local shops, which Laura naturally returned to several times! One of the loveliest things was that during our days on Mahé we saw only sunrises, even setting an alarm so that we would not miss them! On La Digue, however, we could admire the sunsets, with the sun suddenly disappearing as it was swallowed by the sea in an explosion of magnificent colours.
The resort also had a wonderful swimming pool where we could enjoy delicious cocktails while sitting on stools fixed to the bottom of the pool! It was genuinely sad to leave on the seventh day.
Once again, the transfers and organisation provided by SeyVillas were perfect. We left feeling that we had truly left a piece of our hearts in the Seychelles. Wonderful places, beautiful accommodation, peace and tranquillity—and for a week, we completely forgot about our lives in Italy.
We would recommend this type of holiday to everyone, and above all the meticulous, flawless organisation provided by SeyVillas.
Best wishes to everyone
Laura and Valter
