Relaxing on Cerf Island and a Catamaran Tour in Paradise

On Eden Island, we were collected by the hotel’s own boat and taken on a 10-minute crossing to Cerf Island and the Cerf Island Resort. The hotel is located directly on a fine white sandy beach, so our holiday got off to a relaxing start.

Cerf Island Hotel We spent our time on Cerf Island relaxing on the beach (the hotel offered a selection of books to borrow free of charge, many of them in German), kayaking to the neighbouring islands to go snorkelling, and hiking to the highest point on Cerf Island, which offers lovely views across the islands of St Anne Marine National Park and towards Mahé. After 4 days, we returned to Eden Island, where the catamaran ‘Belios’ was already waiting to be our home for the following week.

Catamaran ‘Belios’ During that week, we visited many beautiful beaches, stroked giant tortoises, snorkelled among colourful fish and enjoyed excellent food. On the first day, our journey took us to St Anne Marine National Park. A small dinghy took us from the catamaran to St Anne Island, where we could swim in the shallow water or simply relax on the beach.

We then returned to the catamaran, where a delicious dinner was waiting for us (as on every day, it included fresh fish). After sunset and a glass of local Takamaka rum and cola, the waves gently rocked us to sleep. The next day, we sailed for around 4 hours to Félicité Island. During the relatively calm crossing, we spotted both dolphins and flying fish.

There was a fantastic coral reef off Félicité Island, where we could admire colourful fish while snorkelling. Many of the fish were very curious and swam remarkably close to us. We then continued to Coco Island, another lovely place for snorkelling. On the way to La Digue, we saw a turtle swimming alongside our catamaran.

The next day, we hired bicycles on La Digue. This is the best way to get around the island. We first cycled to the north of the island, where we saw a very sweet little dog by the roadside. He enthusiastically ran alongside our bicycles for the next half-hour, waded through the water with us and clambered over rocks.

Our dog on La Digue Once he grew bored with us (putting our shoes back on after leaving the water was not interesting enough), he joined the next tourists climbing over the rocks. We therefore continued south without our dog, where we had to stop because a giant tortoise was lying in the middle of the road and was more than happy to let us feed it. We then continued towards the centre of the island, where, at an elevation of around 300 m, we enjoyed lovely views over its western side.

View of La Digue Afterwards, we cycled on to Anse Source d'Argent, which is beautifully framed by granite boulders. We relaxed on the beach and enjoyed a delicious fresh fruit juice before returning to the catamaran that evening.

After dinner, we continued to Curieuse Island, where we enjoyed a swim in the refreshing water the following morning before making the short journey to Cousin Island. We were taken ashore on Cousin Island in a small dinghy, which sped right up onto the sandy beach. The boatmen were clearly having great fun piloting the dinghy, and we enjoyed it just as much. As Cousin Island is a bird sanctuary, we could observe many different species of birds, which often even nested on the ground because there are no predators on the island. We also met George, a 150-year-old giant tortoise.

George, the 150-year-old giant tortoise Birds nesting on the ground on Cousin Island In the afternoon, we continued to Praslin, where we had the rest of the day at leisure and spent it on Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or). The next day, we travelled to Grand Soeur Island, which we considered the most beautiful island in the Seychelles. On one side of the small private island was a fantastic snorkelling spot, while on the other side, just a 2-minute walk away, there was a beautiful beach of soft white sand nestled between two granite boulders. To round off the day perfectly, we enjoyed a barbecue on the island with freshly grilled fish and meat.

Beach on Grand Soeur Island Beach on Grand Soeur Island Barbecue on Grand Soeur Island In the afternoon, we continued our catamaran journey and headed out to fish. We spent the night off Curieuse Island, which we visited the following day. More than 100 giant tortoises live on this former leper colony, and they were quite happy to be photographed and stroked. An idyllic walking trail also led across the island to the Doctor’s House, which provided an overview of the island’s history, and onwards to a sandy beach that was perfect for relaxing.

Giant tortoise on Curieuse Island Walking trail on Curieuse Island We spent the afternoon on the catamaran, sailing across the ocean in sunny weather until we reached Praslin once again, where we spent the night. The final day of our catamaran trip came far too quickly! We had one last opportunity to snorkel and swim off Anse Lazio before embarking on the approximately 4-hour journey towards Mahé. Sadly, our trip came to an end after breakfast the following morning, and we travelled to the airport. Although this was our first trip to the Seychelles, it will definitely not be our last!