5 Days on the World’s Most Beautiful Beaches
My partner and I only had a few days’ holiday, but we decided to book a trip to the Seychelles anyway. By flying overnight with Air Seychelles, we were able to make the most of the five days we had available.
As we had so little time, we chose to stay on Mahé itself, 15 minutes from the international airport, in the Beau Vallon area in the north of the island. We discovered that it is quite a touristy area, with a beautiful, very long beach lined with several hotels, restaurants, bars and other venues, as well as a lovely market with souvenir and street-food stalls where you can eat for €5.
We had opted for bed and breakfast, which was ideal for us because we ate somewhere different every day, trying local cuisine as well as Indian, Italian and international food.
We hired a car to explore Mahé. As we like a lie-in, we collected it at midday and, since the hire period was 24 hours, we could return it the following day. We used the first half-day to tour the beaches in the south-west, which we had heard wonderful things about: Grand Anse, Anse Boileau and Anse Polite are true paradises, and we stopped for a swim and to sunbathe. In fact, all the beaches are beautiful, whether large or small, and they are all very different from one another.
The sun sets quite early in the Seychelles, so on the way back we took a night-time tour of Victoria, the capital. We returned the following morning to explore it and photograph the main sights, including the Hindu temple.
We then took the mountain road that crosses from one side of the island to the other, connecting Victoria in the east with Anse d'Islette. We were amazed to discover that the mountains rise to heights of up to 900 metres. The road is beautiful, winding through tropical forest and past the distinctive granite rocks that have become a symbol of the Seychelles. Along the way, there are also several historic sites, such as Mission Lodge, where a mission once stood, and visitor attractions such as the Tea Factory, where tea is produced.
Some of Mahé’s beaches have the rounded rocks that are so characteristic of these islands, but to admire the most spectacular ones, you need to visit La Digue. You can take a day trip with one of the many local tour operators. We wanted to travel independently and have our own adventure. We booked a taxi for the following morning to take us to the port in Victoria, where ferries leave almost every hour for Praslin and then continue to La Digue. The excursion is quite expensive: the ferry alone costs around €100 per person.
Once you arrive on La Digue, hiring a bicycle is recommended. Even so, it is an experience worth the entire trip to the Seychelles. The reason is its beaches. We have been fortunate enough to see many beaches in our lives, from the Caribbean to the Maldives and from Mauritius to Thailand, but never had we come across views as incredible as those offered by the beaches of Grand Anse and Petite Anse, reached after a beautiful but tiring cycle ride.
The other beaches are beautiful too, especially Anse Source d'Argent, which is said to be one of the most beautiful in the world. So much so that you have to pay an admission fee to visit it. We had come this far…
