Tour of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue

We arrived in Mahé to light drizzle (the rain stayed with us throughout our time on the island), and the transfer we had booked took us smoothly to our accommodation. The resort (Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay) is right on Beau Vallon, an extremely long beach that was almost always fairly deserted; it was only over the following days that we realised it was also one of the best-equipped beaches. Besides the sea, there is always something to do in Beau Vallon... until 22:00; after that, it is difficult to find anywhere still open (and we generally found the same situation on the other islands too).

As we had hired a car (it was my first time driving on the left... but all in all, it was easy), we explored practically the entire island. You can get around the small capital, Victoria, in 2 hours and see everything (there is not a great deal to visit, but after all, we had travelled all that way for the sea). We spent the other days exploring the north and south of the island. In our opinion, the most beautiful beach was Port Launay North Beach, along with the nearby islands of Conception and Therese: ‘picture-postcard’ places, wild beaches, crystal-clear water and brilliantly coloured fish.

After 4 days, we moved on to Praslin, again using transfers we had booked from home. We opted to make the crossing by catamaran and, confirming what we had already read in other travel journals, it was a rough journey; it was genuinely difficult to keep our stomachs under control (I did not manage it), despite taking a type of travel sickness chewing gum bought at the chemist’s.

We hired a car here too. The resort (Le Relax Beach Resort) was at Grand Anse, a fairly central location and a good starting point for visiting all the beaches, apart from a couple that can only be reached by boat. Praslin is a succession of places, each more beautiful than the last: Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or) is the liveliest, followed by Anse Boudin and then Anse Lazio, which is vast and stunning.

We also found time to climb—quite literally—up to Zimbabwe, the highest point on the island, which offers truly magnificent views, and to spend a morning at Vallée de Mai discovering the famous Coco de Mer.

On our final day, we went on a wonderful excursion that took us to St. Pierre for some snorkelling—and our first encounter with microplankton—then to Curieuse to meet the tortoises, and finally to Anse Georgette, a paradise of white sand and brilliant blue water. We also encountered dolphins out at sea. The catamaran from the excursion took us directly to La Digue, our final stop.

La Digue truly left us speechless: after Praslin, we thought nowhere could possibly be more beautiful, but we changed our minds immediately.

Instead of a car, we hired bicycles (not least because, apart from a couple of taxis, there are no other cars). We used the bicycles to visit everything we could, apart from the south of the island, which requires an overland excursion with an experienced guide. The most beautiful place is undoubtedly Anse Source d'Argent, but we also loved Anse Marron, Anse Cocos and Anse La Réunion, where we admired some truly breathtaking sunsets.

Anse Source d'Argent, La Digue

Anse La Reunion, La Digue

During an excursion to Felicité and Coco Island, we also had a couple of close encounters with sea turtles, as well as the ‘usual’ reef fish.

As this was our honeymoon, we had initially tried arranging everything through a travel agency, but in the end we chose to organise it ourselves, as we had done with our previous trips. SeyVillas allowed us to arrange a ‘tailor-made’ holiday suited to our needs: the right balance between travelling independently while still being ‘supported’, whenever necessary, by friendly and efficient local representatives.

The place that remained closest to our hearts was La Digue: it truly took us back in time, with unlit lanes, no sounds other than those of nature, getting around on foot or, at most, by bicycle, and a wonderfully slow and relaxing pace of life. In short, paradise.