Our Seychelles: Mahé, Praslin and La Digue

Ready, steady, go!

Friday, 7 July 2017. Our journey begins with the enthusiastic cry of Angie, our little girl who has just turned 5. Our departure from Bologna is at a very civilised hour, with no need for an early start: the flight to Düsseldorf leaves at midday. In Germany, we wait for our connecting flight to Mahé, where we arrive the following morning, just after 8 am local time.

Just outside the airport, we find the bus to Victoria, the capital. At the bus station, we catch a connecting service to Beau Vallon, the island’s large beach where we have booked an apartment and where we will spend the first few days of our trip.

There are lots of charming geckos on the walls of the house, and our little girl soon becomes accustomed to them. Within a few days, the quick, light flight of hummingbirds and the heavy, ungainly flight of flying foxes also become familiar sights. These giant Seychelles bats can be seen by the dozen at sunset.

We spend 3 delightful days on the island of Mahé, sunbathing and taking long walks along the beach.

We usually get around on the local blue buses that travel all over the island. The hills surrounding Victoria are lush, while Morne Seychellois rises to 905 metres and can be seen from almost anywhere. Mahé has around 40,000 inhabitants, accounting for 90% of the entire population of the Seychelles, with 25,000 people living in the capital.

Victoria is a relatively small town for a capital. We visit the market, which is spread over two floors and sells souvenirs made from colourful fabrics, plenty of spices, tropical fruit and exceptionally fresh fish.

A bright red starfish greets Angie on her first snorkelling adventure, as she discovers the underwater world with her mask and snorkel. Clownfish, butterflyfish, angelfish, triggerfish and the amusing trumpetfish make Nemo and Dory more real than ever to her astonished eyes.

Praslin lies 45 km from Mahé, an hour’s journey aboard the comfortable Cat Cocos ferry, whose name hints at what makes the island famous around the world: the coco de mer. This unusually shaped fruit grows naturally only here and on the neighbouring island of Curieuse. To learn about its history and see plenty of specimens, we recommend visiting the Vallée de Mai, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Anse Lazio is a magnificent beach: a long stretch of pure white sand, lapis lazuli waters, palms and takamaka trees. While snorkelling, we see a group of 10 rays and several colourful fish. Our hammock sways between two sturdy palm trees and generously holds all three of us.

Our excursion to Curieuse Island is one of our most exciting experiences in the Seychelles. It is home to the giant Aldabra tortoises and lies just 1.5 km from Praslin. More than 300 of them roam freely here, approaching us inquisitively in the hope of finding a few fresh leaves to eat.

Cat Rose is the name of the ferry linking Praslin with La Digue: it takes just over 10 minutes to cover the 5 kilometres between them. La Digue is the least touristy of the three islands and our favourite. We explore it far and wide on our three bicycles. We cycle the 4 kilometres from La Passe to Grand Anse, a magnificent beach with high waves ridden by a few brave surfers. Following a rugged path, we reach the wonderful Petite Anse, where we enjoy an excellent tropical fruit juice.

Anse Source d'Argent is the most beautiful beach of our entire trip: a tropical paradise with pure white sand, wind-sculpted granite boulders and crystal-clear waters in every shade of blue. To reach it, we pass through L’Union Estate, going by several rows of vanilla plants and numerous coconut palms.

Finally, an extraordinarily star-filled southern sky bids us farewell on our last night in these wonderful islands. Au revoir, Seychelles!