Our Holiday in Paradise
Praslin
We initially spent 6 nights on Praslin. The flight from Mahé to Praslin in a small propeller plane was an experience in itself!
We stayed at Ocean Villa on Grand Anse. We had booked an apartment, but as the large villa was vacant, we were given it for the first three nights. Both places were very lovely and clean, and the kitchens were well equipped. There is a bus stop close by, as well as restaurants, takeaways and minimarkets.
Several people recommended that we visit Fond Ferdinand National Park rather than Vallée de Mai National Park. We can definitely recommend it. It was here that we saw the impressive coco de mer for the first time, as well as vanilla plants, cinnamon trees and much more. At the end of the guided tour, you are rewarded with a breathtaking view.
Another highlight was the Pasquière Track from Grand Anse to Anse Possession. We had actually intended to take the Salazie Track to Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or), but we must have missed the turning in the jungle. In the end, however, we were pleased, as Anse Possession is beautiful! The track itself is adventurous but perfectly manageable, even though the paths are completely overgrown in places and you are likely to pick up a scratch or two. It is worth it, though! We then continued along the coast to Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or) after all. This is another truly lovely beach, although it was quite busy.
Our next hike began at Mont Plaisir. We first walked to Anse Lazio, then continued to Anse Georgette before eventually returning to Mont Plaisir. Altogether, it was a really strenuous jungle hike of around 10 km. The route between Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette was particularly adventurous! For a while, we were completely off course until a local pointed us back in the right direction. But it is worth it! Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette are absolute dream beaches!
You can also enjoy some excellent snorkelling at Anse Lazio and see plenty of rays. If the entire hike sounds like too much, we would at least recommend the route from Mont Plaisir to Anse Georgette. This means you can avoid going through Constance Lémuria Resort, and the path is very well maintained. And if the sun sets on your way back... Simply magical!
We also visited Anse la Blague, Anse Kerlan, Petite Anse Kerlan, Zimbabwe and the Black Pearl Farm pearl farm. If the pearls are too expensive, you can ask for the ‘souvenir pearls’. They may have one or two imperfections, but they are available from just SCR 10. Anse Kerlan and Petite Anse Kerlan are also absolute must-sees!
At first, we did a great deal of exploring on foot and always took the bus back to our accommodation in the evening. This allowed us to discover many beautiful spots. The surrounding plant life is impressive! Even the bus journey through Vallée de Mai is an experience in itself. For the final two days, however, we hired a car so that we could be more flexible and give our feet a break from walking.
La Digue
We continued to La Digue by ferry, where we spent 5 nights at Granite Self Catering. It was so lovely there! The wooden cottage is beautiful, and the hosts, Sylvia and Aime, are incredibly warm and welcoming! Such a genuinely lovely family, and then there is the house itself... We would love to go straight back!
We were able to hire bicycles directly from Sylvia and Aime, which made it very easy to decide which days we wanted to use them and which days we did not.
You can enjoy a lovely cycle along the coast as far as Anse Fourmis, where the road suddenly comes to an end. The sea was very calm on this side, making it ideal for swimming, snorkelling and enjoying the sunset.
One day, we cycled to Grand Anse. From there, we continued on foot to Petite Anse and Anse Cocos. As we were there in September, the waves in these three bays were very high, and swimming was strongly discouraged. Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed our time there, as the vast, largely empty beaches and wild waves are simply impressive!
One of our biggest highlights was a full-day snorkelling boat trip. Sylvia arranged the excursion with ‘Belle Petra’ for us. We set off at 9.30 am. There were eight of us in total, as well as, of course, the ‘Belle Petra’ crew. Our first snorkelling stop was between the two Sister Islands. Bread was used to attract the fish, and they were huge and so numerous! Swimming through this colourful shoal of fish was simply incredible! And then she appeared: a sea turtle. Completely unfazed, she paddled around us and allowed us to stroke her. Such a beautiful animal!
At our second stop near Coco Island, we were joined by small reef sharks, another turtle and, of course, many different fish.
We also went snorkelling off Félicité and relaxed on the beach. A small barbecue was served to us there. After one final snorkelling stop on the far side of Félicité, we headed back. It was a very special day for us!
Finally, we also visited L'Union Estate .
Our main reason was that we wanted to visit Anse Source d'Argent. Personally, we did not really feel the park was worth it, especially as the admission fee was quite high at around €10.
We would recommend walking from the helipad directly along the beach to Anse Source d'Argent. It is very beautiful, but also very crowded, so it is best to visit early in the morning.
Mahé
From La Digue, we took the ferry back to Praslin and then continued on to Mahé. According to other holidaymakers, we had apparently picked a ‘calm’ day, but the roughly one-hour ferry crossing still left us feeling rather queasy. We collected our hire car directly at the harbour and set off for our accommodation, La Résidence, at Anse à la Mouche. We were given a lovely, spacious room on the first floor with sea views. We could tell from the facilities that it was our most affordable accommodation, but we were still very pleased! It was definitely good value for money!
After the manageable size of Praslin and La Digue, we initially found the comparatively large Mahé a little overwhelming – where should we begin?
We visited the Takamaka Rum Distillery and also joined the tour and tasting. It was really worthwhile, especially for us as rum lovers! With our rum supplies freshly replenished, we continued to Petite Police and Police Bay.
Police Bay is absolutely beautiful! A huge, deserted beach. The waves were very strong here too, but that is just how we like them. Afterwards, we continued to Anse Intendance, Anse Soleil and Petite Anse. Anse Intendance is an absolute must during any visit! Petite Anse is also well worth visiting. Access is via the Four Seasons Resort, and no advance registration is required.
On another day, we drove to Victoria. We visited the Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market and the Victoria Clocktower, although it did not take us long to see everything there. We then continued to Beau Vallon. After seeing it praised so highly everywhere, we were honestly a little disappointed when we arrived. Yes, it is an incredibly long and wide beach, and the calm sea is lovely for swimming. However, the many hotels, the nearby road and the large number of visitors meant that we did not feel entirely comfortable there. It is probably a matter of taste, but for us, there are definitely much more beautiful beaches in the Seychelles! Anyway, we continued along Sans Souci Road. Here, we came across the ‘SeyTe’ tea plantation. You can visit the small production facility and stock up on tea in the shop (although the tea is cheaper at the hypermarket in Victoria). We continued to Port Glaud, where we visited Sauzier Waterfall.
The beach is quite pleasant too, and at low tide we waded across to Islette Island. To finish the day, we also stopped by Cap Ternay. The sea here was extremely calm and bathwater warm. Apparently, there is also good snorkelling further out, but we did not want to swim that far. A passing police patrol also warned us that thieves often lurk around the nearby ruins and that we should be careful.
The following day, we headed in the other direction to Anse Baleine and Anse Royale. We also visited the Le Jardin Du Roi Spice Garden. The grounds are quite extensive, and you can even go on walks lasting an hour. We only looked at the many plants, though. At least we could then recognise some of them more easily outside the garden.
We also spent a day with Ian Pillay from ‘Ian’s Tour’. Ian is a native Seychellois, but lived in Germany for 25 years and therefore speaks excellent German. We explored the north of Mahé in his spacious car. Ian is extremely knowledgeable about everything and shared lots of fascinating background information and details about the Seychelles with us. The highlight of the tour was Sunset Beach, where we enjoyed some fantastic snorkelling, followed by the sunset.
And so a wonderful holiday came to an end. The memories of La Digue and Praslin in particular will stay with us for a very long time!
