An Unforgettable Holiday

Our holiday began with 7 nights at Bird Island Lodge. This is a small coral island and our personal favourite. The island is home to 28 free-roaming, friendly giant tortoises, which visitors can stroke and feed. At this time of year (July), 1 million sooty terns also nest here. Not only are the flora and fauna beautiful, but so are the deserted white sandy beaches.

Giant tortoise on Bird Island Bird Island Snorkelling is also highly recommended. We saw a variety of colourful fish, sea turtles and even rays.

Tortoise near Bird Island Almost every day, a tour is offered with Roby, the biologist, who has plenty to share about the seabirds and tortoises. Bird Island is ideal for anyone who loves nature and enjoys a slightly adventurous holiday.

From Bird Island, we flew back to Mahé and then continued on to Praslin. Our taxi was already waiting there and took us across the island to the jetty. After a 15-minute journey by catamaran ferry, we finally reached our destination, La Digue. We stayed at the Chateau Saint Cloud. Apart from the staff, who took a little getting used to, it is a very lovely, centrally located hotel with a wonderful garden. On our first day, we cycled to Grand Anse and continued from there on foot to Petite Anse. These beaches were very beautiful and rather wild.

17|Grand Anse Along the way, we passed several fruit stalls where we enjoyed some delicious juices. We spent the following morning at the famous Anse Source d'Argent. As we arrived at 8.45 am, we found a deserted, picture-perfect beach with white sand, granite rocks and crystal-clear water. From 10 am onwards, more and more day visitors began to arrive. We had lunch at Chez Jules, a restaurant right by the sea. Both the food and the location are superb!

Chez Jules" data-caption="Chez Jules" title="Chez Jules" data-srcset="/img/journals/268/80x160/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 80w, /img/journals/268/160x320/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 160w, /img/journals/268/240x480/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 240w, /img/journals/268/320x640/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 320w, /img/journals/268/400x800/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 400w, /img/journals/268/480x960/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 480w, /img/journals/268/512x1024/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 512w, /img/journals/268/600x1200/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 600w, /img/journals/268/640x1280/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 640w, /img/journals/268/960x1920/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 960w, /img/journals/268/1024x2048/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 1024w, /img/journals/268/1920x3840/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 1920w" data-src="/img/journals/268/600x1200/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg" data-srcset-webp="/img/journals/268/80x160/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 80w, /img/journals/268/160x320/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 160w, /img/journals/268/240x480/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 240w, /img/journals/268/320x640/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 320w, /img/journals/268/400x800/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 400w, /img/journals/268/480x960/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 480w, /img/journals/268/512x1024/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 512w, /img/journals/268/600x1200/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 600w, /img/journals/268/640x1280/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 640w, /img/journals/268/960x1920/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 960w, /img/journals/268/1024x2048/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 1024w, /img/journals/268/1920x3840/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.webp 1920w">Chez Jules" title="Chez Jules">Chez Jules" title="Chez Jules" sizes="(max-width: 120px) 120px,(max-width: 240px) 240px,(max-width: 360px) 360px,(max-width: 480px) 480px,(max-width: 600px) 600px,(max-width: 768px) 768px,(max-width: 864px) 864px,(max-width: 1536px) 1536px" srcset="/img/journals/268/120x160/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 120w, /img/journals/268/240x320/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 240w, /img/journals/268/360x480/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 360w, /img/journals/268/480x640/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 480w, /img/journals/268/600x800/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 600w, /img/journals/268/768x1024/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 768w, /img/journals/268/864x1152/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 864w, /img/journals/268/1536x2048/chez-jules-restaurant-la-digue-seyvillas-travel-journals-noemi.jpg 1536w">Chez Jules It rained the following morning, so we decided to begin by shopping for souvenirs at Passe Cocos near the harbour. Around midday, when the rain stopped, we set off on foot for Nid d’Aigle, the highest mountain on La Digue at 333 m. The climb took us around 1.5 hours. It is advisable to do this hike in the morning, as the climate is very hot and humid. When we reached the summit, we were a little disappointed because we were surrounded by clouds that obscured the view. We spent the afternoon at Anse Severe. This beach is popular with many visitors because it is safe for swimming.

We spent the final 4 days in the south of Mahé at the Valmer Resort. We particularly enjoyed our stay there, not least because of the friendly and helpful staff. The hotel offers a wonderful view over Baie Lazare.

46|Baie Lazare We hired a car for 3 days. This is particularly recommended in the south of the island, where there is little traffic. On one occasion, we drove our hire car to Jardin du Roi, which is not particularly easy to find. It is a fascinating spice garden with many native plants. The view from its elevated position is also exceptional. The wild beaches of Police Bay, Anse Takamaka and Anse Intendance were also easy to reach by car, and we liked them very much. The only drawback is that swimming there is very dangerous at this time of year. Another excursion took us to Anse Barbarons. From its northern end, we waded through the mangroves to the deserted Grand Anse. The mangroves, with their unusual plants, crabs and mudskippers, are truly fascinating.

Mangroves on Mahé We spent one afternoon swimming at Anse Soleil. The waves were very high, but there were no dangerous currents. We enjoyed our final day in our own bay, Baie Lazare. As our flight did not depart until 10 pm, the hotel generously allowed us to keep a room until we left. We flew home feeling a little wistful, but we are certain that this will not be our final stay in the Seychelles.

Conclusion

This was the first time we had booked through SeyVillas, and we were very pleased with the service. All the bookings went perfectly, and for each of our various transfers, someone from Creole Service was always fully informed about our arrival and onward journey.