Short Break: 4 Days on Mahé

From 6–10 July 2017, we spent part of our honeymoon at the AVANI Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa on Mahé. We had booked an Ocean View room in advance.
We were hoping to receive the complimentary upgrade to a Beachfront room, subject to availability, as part of the honeymoon special. Unfortunately, some of these benefits were only provided when we asked.

Restaurant at 185|AVANI Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa The hotel itself was beautifully designed. The furnishings were new but had a colonial feel.

The pool is very large and, with a depth of 1.30–2.50 m, is ideal for swimming.

185|AVANI Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa The beach by the hotel, however, is not particularly suitable for swimming. One section intended for bathing has natural-looking breakwaters that provide sufficient protection from the surf.

We had only booked breakfast. If you then decide to eat other meals at the hotel, you will need to dig deep into your pockets. Food trucks and small pizza and burger places are recommended.
If you want to eat outside the hotel, hiring a car is essential. Some of the roads are quite adventurous.

On our first full day on the island, we enjoyed the idyllic hotel surroundings, explored the neighbouring beaches on foot and hired a car, which we used first to explore the south-west coast.

Along the way, we reached the bay at Port Launay North Beach – a truly idyllic bay with a perfect beach and plenty of space for swimming and bathing.

Port Launay A local approached us here and asked whether we would like to book a trip in his boat. We agreed, hoping to find turtles. For the princely sum of €100, he took us to the small neighbouring island of Therese. We had agreed on a little over an hour.

And there we found it – paradise.
Therese Unfortunately, there were no turtles, but we were treated to plenty of wonderful views of the beach and underwater world. To our surprise, our driver stayed longer than expected, so we did not return until around two hours later.

We then drove through the mountains to Victoria, a city that does not have all that much to offer tourists. The beaches along the north-west coast are also beautiful, but the hotels built along the coast make them difficult to access.

We spent the following day at the hotel again.
On the day of our departure, we once again had a hire car at our disposal.
Before leaving, we visited the beach at Baie Lazare. This is where you will find the palm trees stretching far out over the beach, just like those on postcards.

46|Baie Lazare Port Launay As we did not have much time left, we visited the beach at Port Launay once more. While crossing the mountains in the centre of the island, we realised that you need to allow plenty of time for the journey.

We then collected our belongings from the hotel, where, by prior arrangement, we were allowed to use the shower in the spa area even though we had already checked out.
We then headed back to the airport in the north-east of the island. Returning the car was refreshingly straightforward.
The airport is definitely worth seeing in daylight. The sight of enormous, state-of-the-art aircraft at the tiny airport – essentially just a simple, covered security checkpoint without any doors – is remarkable.

Everyone should visit Mahé at least once. For even more seclusion and idyllic surroundings, Praslin or La Digue are probably better choices. However, if you only want to spend a few days in the Seychelles, Mahé is an excellent option.