Bacardi Feeling – The Best Holiday of Our Lives

Our dream holiday began in Frankfurt, flying with Emirates on an A380. After a stopover in Dubai, we finally continued towards the Seychelles. On arriving via Mahé, the exhausting 16-hour journey was rewarded with an absolutely beautiful view from the plane. At Mahé Airport, we were met straight away by representatives from SeyVillas and Creole. We had never received such a warm welcome on any of our previous trips.

We then continued to Praslin in a small propeller plane. We would recommend this unique experience to everyone. It is particularly suitable for anyone who gets seasick easily, as it avoids the considerably longer ferry crossing to Praslin and also provides a wonderful overview of the islands. At Praslin Airport, we were warmly welcomed once again, shown straight to our transfer taxi and taken to our first hotel.

Flight by propeller plane

We spent a total of five days on Praslin at Le Domaine de La Reserve. We had chosen this hotel because of its location in the ‘Curieuse Marine National Park’ and the excellent snorkelling opportunities. It was our first time snorkelling. The hotel’s own very peaceful bay, Anse Petite Cour, is particularly well suited to beginners. We saw many different colourful fish, a moray eel and a small ray. The absolute highlight of this hotel, however, was the wonderful restaurant jetty, where the hotel treated us to a romantic dinner to celebrate our honeymoon.

We would definitely recommend half board at this hotel. Firstly, the buffet was delicious, and secondly, the hotel was in a somewhat secluded location, so ‘takeaways’ were not within easy reach. During our stay, we joined a half-day excursion to Curieuse and St Pierre. On Curieuse, we were able to stroke giant tortoises and see mangrove forests.

Curieuse with giant tortoises We then went snorkelling near the island of St Pierre, where we saw the greatest variety of colourful fish of our entire trip. Finally, we wanted the flexibility to explore the island at our own pace. A Creole representative at the hotel told us about the island’s most important and beautiful sights and arranged a hire car for us (around €50). Please note: they drive on the left here! This allowed us to visit the dream beach Anse Lazio, Mount ‘Zimbabwe’, the ‘Vallée de Mai’ UNESCO World Heritage Site with its unique ‘Coco de Mer’, and the bay of Anse Georgette.

To visit ‘Anse Georgette’, the Creole representative telephoned the gatehouse at Constance Lémuria Resort to register us, as we had to cross the hotel grounds to reach the beach. After crossing the resort’s golf course and completing a rather sweaty walk, we were rewarded with a beautiful, almost deserted bay and a very romantic sunset. On the sixth day of our trip, we were collected from the hotel punctually and taken to the jetty for the ‘Cat Rose’ ferry. After a crossing of around 15 minutes, we arrived on ‘La Digue’ without any stress.

On ‘La Digue’, we spent four nights at Le Relax Beach House. With only four rooms, it was the smallest but also the most personal hotel of our trip. The staff were very friendly and always eager to help. Breakfast and dinner were simple but delicious. The beach Anse La Réunion began right at the end of the hotel’s small garden. This gave us an unforgettable view over the sunset beach while having dinner on the terrace.

Anse La Reunion This hotel also treated us to a romantic dinner to celebrate our wedding. Everything on ‘La Digue’ was genuinely very relaxed. We were able to explore the island at a leisurely pace on foot and by bicycle. Among other things, we went on a wonderful hike from the bay of Grand Anse to Petite Anse and finally to Anse Cocos.

The highlight of this excursion was when a local showed us how to pick coconuts from a palm tree and open them with plenty of patience. We were therefore able to refresh ourselves not only in the natural pool at ‘Anse Cocos’, but also with fresh coconut water. We felt as though we had been stranded in paradise with Robinson Crusoe! During our stay, we were able to walk from the hotel to Anse Source d'Argent, the beach made famous by the Bacardi advert. However, it became very crowded as the day went on, so we spent the afternoon at the hotel beach and did not return until sunset.

We particularly enjoyed snorkelling in the bays of Anse Patates and Anse Severe. On the tenth day, we took the Cat Rose ferry back to ‘Praslin’ and then the Cat Cocos ferry to ‘Mahé’. Once again, all four transfers that day were organised flawlessly. However, the one-hour ferry crossing to ‘Mahé’ was only for those with strong stomachs, and the crew, armed with disposable gloves and cloths, had to clear away the remains of more than one passenger’s breakfast.

Anse Severe, La Digue

We spent four days on ‘Mahé’ at Kempinski Seychelles Resort. We would also recommend half board at this hotel, as it was in a very secluded location and ‘takeaways’ were not accessible on foot. We spent our final days mainly snorkelling and sunbathing in the hotel’s beautiful bay, Baie Lazare.

Baie Lazare Here, we once again saw many colourful fish, sea urchins, small squid and jellyfish. We explored the city of ‘Victoria’, including ‘Sir Selwyn-Clarke Market’ and the ‘Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar’ Hindu temple, as well as the beaches Beau Vallon and Anse Soleil and the breathtaking ‘Mission Lodge Lookout’, using a hire car (around €70).

The roads were considerably wider than on Praslin. However, the many winding mountain roads caused us problems with travel sickness. To round off our dream trip, Marc went on a diving excursion, which he booked through the hotel’s own diving school. A dream came true – Marc was able to swim with turtles.

As our return flight departed very late, we were able to enjoy the entire day at the hotel and on the beach. After dinner, we were allowed to freshen up once more in a hotel room. We were collected by the transfer bus at 20:30. Our Emirates flight back towards Dubai departed at 23:50. After a long 5.5-hour wait at Dubai Airport, we continued to Frankfurt.

On the second day of our trip, while I was standing beneath a tree, a caterpillar called a ‘senil plim’ fell onto my stomach. The tiny hairs of this otherwise rather pretty creature caused a severe, itchy rash with small pustules. Depending on your sensitivity, this rash can last for 3–14 days. According to local people, the caterpillar is a well-known problem in the Seychelles, and some hotels had warning notices about it. However, these caterpillars are apparently less common in coastal areas and tend to be found more often in hibiscus bushes, Indian almond trees and mango trees. As cortisone creams such as Feinstil Hydrocort did not provide me with any relief, I eventually had to take cortisone tablets. Unfortunately, neither the Federal Foreign Office nor the Dumont travel guide had provided any advance warning about this caterpillar!

Our sincere compliments to SeyVillas and its partner company Creole for the superb organisation of the trip. We felt very comfortable and well looked after at all times. Our favourite hotel was ‘Le Domaine de la Reserve’. Our conclusion can only be: ‘A dream holiday in paradise – we would return in a heartbeat!!!’

Jenny & Marc.