A Dream Family Holiday
We were looking for a holiday destination with plenty of highlights both above and below the water, and decided on the Seychelles.
As we like to organise our holidays independently, the SeyVillas website appealed to us. A good mix of guesthouses and hotels made it easy to find our accommodation and decide for ourselves where to stay and for how long.
Having SeyVillas arrange all our transfers made our holiday relaxing from the very beginning, as everything worked perfectly.
Praslin
We stayed for 10 days at the Cote D'Or Chalets: spacious bungalows in an excellent location. Several small supermarkets, a takeaway and fruit stalls within walking distance made self-catering easy.
The Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or)/ Anse Gouvernement right on our doorstep and, of course, Anse Lazio were among the most beautiful beaches on the island for us. Anse Lazio is also an excellent snorkelling spot.
Our excursion to Curieuse, including the walk through the mangroves to Anse Jose, was one of the highlights.
Further boat trips to Félicité and the Sister Islands for snorkelling are also worthwhile, as the reefs there are still intact.
We explored Praslin’s winding, narrow roads by bus and hire car. A particular highlight was our visit to Fond Ferdinand.
There, we encountered an indescribable variety of plants and, of course, the Coco de Mer palm. A guided tour with plenty of information about the endemic flora is included in the admission price. The wonderful viewpoint is included too.
Fond Ferdinand" title="Fond Ferdinand" sizes="(max-width: 160px) 160px,(max-width: 320px) 320px,(max-width: 480px) 480px,(max-width: 640px) 640px,(max-width: 800px) 800px,(max-width: 1024px) 1024px,(max-width: 1152px) 1152px" srcset="/img/journals/310/160x120/fond-ferdinand-praslin-travel-journal-seyvillas-judith7.jpg 160w, /img/journals/310/320x240/fond-ferdinand-praslin-travel-journal-seyvillas-judith7.jpg 320w, /img/journals/310/480x360/fond-ferdinand-praslin-travel-journal-seyvillas-judith7.jpg 480w, /img/journals/310/640x480/fond-ferdinand-praslin-travel-journal-seyvillas-judith7.jpg 640w, /img/journals/310/800x600/fond-ferdinand-praslin-travel-journal-seyvillas-judith7.jpg 800w, /img/journals/310/1024x768/fond-ferdinand-praslin-travel-journal-seyvillas-judith7.jpg 1024w, /img/journals/310/1152x864/fond-ferdinand-praslin-travel-journal-seyvillas-judith7.jpg 1152w">La Digue
We stayed there for 4 days at Pension Michel: a lovingly run guesthouse with small, clean rooms and a wonderful breakfast. Bicycles in very good condition can be hired directly from the guesthouse.
We had great fun exploring as much of the island as possible by bicycle. Unfortunately, there are now many cars in La Passe, but once you leave the village, the roads are quiet. The beaches are stunning; our favourite was Grand Anse, where we had the enormous waves all to ourselves.
Dinner at the Belle Vue ‘Eagle’s Nest’ restaurant is an attraction in itself. The views and the food are fantastic. Many thanks to the Creole Tours representatives, through whom you can make a reservation at the restaurant locally.
The absolute highlight was the hike around the southern tip of La Digue with Robert Agnes. The tour is a real adventure: besides seeing many beautiful, secluded beaches, we hiked through the rainforest, scrambled over granite rocks and crawled through caves. For the final few metres, we walked along Anse Source d'Argent through chest-deep water with our rucksacks balanced on our heads.
Mahé
We spent our final week at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Hotel. The location is unrivalled. The superior rooms in the garden are quiet and clean. Our sons enjoyed the amenities of a large hotel complex, including diving, fitness facilities and tennis.
We were very pleasantly surprised by Beau Vallon. Despite its various tourist facilities, it is one of the most beautiful beaches on the island. In the evenings, together with the islanders, we enjoyed the Creole way of life at the market stalls, with delicious food, cocktails and music.
An excursion to Victoria, including a visit to the Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market, is a must.
Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market" data-caption="Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market" title="Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market" data-srcset="/img/journals/310/160x80/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 160w, /img/journals/310/320x160/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 320w, /img/journals/310/480x240/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 480w, /img/journals/310/640x320/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 640w, /img/journals/310/800x400/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 800w, /img/journals/310/960x480/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 960w, /img/journals/310/1024x512/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 1024w, /img/journals/310/1200x600/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 1200w, /img/journals/310/1280x640/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 1280w, /img/journals/310/1920x960/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 1920w, /img/journals/310/2048x1024/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 2048w, /img/journals/310/3840x1920/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 3840w" data-src="/img/journals/310/1200x600/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg" data-srcset-webp="/img/journals/310/160x80/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 160w, /img/journals/310/320x160/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 320w, /img/journals/310/480x240/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 480w, /img/journals/310/640x320/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 640w, /img/journals/310/800x400/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 800w, /img/journals/310/960x480/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 960w, /img/journals/310/1024x512/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 1024w, /img/journals/310/1200x600/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 1200w, /img/journals/310/1280x640/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 1280w, /img/journals/310/1920x960/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 1920w, /img/journals/310/2048x1024/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 2048w, /img/journals/310/3840x1920/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.webp 3840w">
Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market" title="Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market" sizes="(max-width: 160px) 160px,(max-width: 320px) 320px,(max-width: 480px) 480px,(max-width: 640px) 640px,(max-width: 800px) 800px,(max-width: 1024px) 1024px,(max-width: 1152px) 1152px" srcset="/img/journals/310/160x120/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 160w, /img/journals/310/320x240/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 320w, /img/journals/310/480x360/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 480w, /img/journals/310/640x480/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 640w, /img/journals/310/800x600/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 800w, /img/journals/310/1024x768/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 1024w, /img/journals/310/1152x864/sir-selwyn-clarke-market-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-judith.jpg 1152w">We explored the island by hire car. By then, we had become accustomed to driving on the left, so we enjoyed Sans Souci Road, with its rainforests and magnificent views of Mahé’s coastline.
Another particular highlight was Baie Ternay. However, the final stretch of road is quite an adventure! The reward is a bay that we had almost entirely to ourselves.
For us, the snorkelling areas in the Port Launay/ Baie Ternay Marine National Park, with their many species of healthy coral and fish, were the most beautiful sight we encountered in the Seychelles.
Conclusion: For us, the Seychelles were the perfect destination for a family holiday with adult children. Our young adults were particularly enthusiastic about the guided tour of the Fond Ferdinand Reserve, the hike on La Digue and the diving on Mahé. We all enjoyed the Creole way of life and the friendliness of the local people. The food from the takeaways was delicious, especially the grilled fish, and reasonably priced too. Thanks to the excellent organisation by SeyVillas, it was an unforgettable and thoroughly enjoyable holiday. We hope to return soon!
