Our Dream Destination: The Seychelles
Beaches as white as icing sugar, the sea shimmering in shades of turquoise and blue, mighty dark granite rocks, palms bent by the wind and, above it all, the sun shining wonderfully brightly. These were the images of the Seychelles we had in mind. Too picture-perfect to be true? Could it really be as beautiful as we imagined?
We finally wanted to make our dream of visiting the Seychelles come true and explore Praslin, La Digue and Mahé by island hopping.
Nature on Praslin
After a long flight, a 3-hour wait on Mahé for the ferry and the nearly 1-hour crossing aboard the Cat Cocos, we arrived on Praslin exhausted but happy. Our apartment, Cote D'Or Chalets, was just 3 minutes from the beach of the same name, supermarkets and restaurants, and featured a balcony and a large, modern self-catering kitchen for 2 people.
There was also a bus stop right outside the property, although on 2 occasions we waited a full hour for the bus. In the end, we took it with good humour and even got chatting to other tourists and local people. We visited the beautiful Anse Lazio, where we swam and snorkelled in the clear sea.
On another day, we walked through the impressive Vallée de Mai National Park. We had actually intended to visit the Fond Ferdinand nature reserve, but that bus simply refused to turn up. So instead, we explored the UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its enormous palms and famous Coco de Mer. The forest completely enveloped us. It had a wonderful atmosphere.
To get up close to the Aldabra giant tortoises, we booked a catamaran tour to Curieuse Island through Creole Travel.
Sure enough, we encountered the animals all over the island and were even able to feed them.
There was also plenty to see during the walk through the mangrove forest. The day trip was rounded off with stops for snorkelling and swimming at Île St. Pierre and the beautiful Anse Georgette, where the sand was as white and fine as flour.
Complete relaxation on La Digue
After 5 days, we moved on to the island of La Digue. We had chosen the cosy Pension Michel for our stay. Within a minute, our hire bicycles had arrived, and we used them to explore every corner of the island. It was a wonderful feeling of freedom and independence to cycle through such dreamlike scenery and simply stop at whichever beach took our fancy.
Naturally, we also visited L'Union Estate , a former coconut and vanilla plantation through which we reached the beach of all beaches, Anse Source d'Argent. By then, at the very latest, we realised that the Seychelles really are every bit as picture-perfect as they look in adverts.
However, the island’s wilder side was also fascinating to see. The surf at Grand Anse, Petite Anse and Anse Cocos was tremendous. The latter 2 beaches can only be reached on foot via jungle trails and over rocks, so they were almost deserted. The walk is genuinely quite strenuous in the tropical heat. After the adventurous scramble, we enjoyed a relaxing dip in the natural pool hidden among granite rocks at the far end of Anse Cocos.
Snorkelling in the clear water at the calmer Anse Severe was great fun. The water was teeming with large, colourful fish. At Anse Patates and Anse Banane, small eagle rays even came right up close to the shore. On the east coast, we enjoyed a truly delicious meal atChez Jules overlooking the deep-blue sea, while Gala Takeaway also serves good, inexpensive curries.
Culture and bustle on Mahé
After 6 days, we reluctantly left the small, tranquil island, but we were also full of anticipation for Mahé. For personal reasons, we moved from the Choice apartment we had booked to The Beach House on the lively, wide Beau Vallon. The Festival Kreol was taking place at the time. Colourful balloons and garlands hung all over the island, and at the weekend the Seychellois celebrated and had barbecues on the beaches. We took the blue Tata bus to Victoria, where we visited the colourful Hindu Temple - Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar, the Victoria Clocktower and the Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market, and wandered through the small capital.
Hindu Temple - Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar in Victoria, Mahé" data-caption="Hindu Temple - Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar in Victoria, Mahé" title="Hindu Temple - Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar in Victoria, Mahé" data-srcset="/img/journals/312/160x80/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 160w, /img/journals/312/320x160/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 320w, /img/journals/312/480x240/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 480w, /img/journals/312/640x320/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 640w, /img/journals/312/800x400/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 800w, /img/journals/312/960x480/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 960w, /img/journals/312/1024x512/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 1024w, /img/journals/312/1200x600/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 1200w, /img/journals/312/1280x640/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 1280w, /img/journals/312/1920x960/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 1920w, /img/journals/312/2048x1024/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 2048w" data-src="/img/journals/312/1200x600/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg" data-srcset-webp="/img/journals/312/160x80/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.webp 160w, /img/journals/312/320x160/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.webp 320w, /img/journals/312/480x240/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.webp 480w, /img/journals/312/640x320/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.webp 640w, /img/journals/312/800x400/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.webp 800w, /img/journals/312/960x480/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.webp 960w, /img/journals/312/1024x512/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.webp 1024w, /img/journals/312/1200x600/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.webp 1200w, /img/journals/312/1280x640/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.webp 1280w, /img/journals/312/1920x960/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.webp 1920w, /img/journals/312/2048x1024/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.webp 2048w">
Hindu Temple - Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar in Victoria, Mahé" title="Hindu Temple - Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar in Victoria, Mahé" 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/312/160x120/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 160w, /img/journals/312/320x240/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 320w, /img/journals/312/480x360/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 480w, /img/journals/312/640x480/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 640w, /img/journals/312/800x600/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 800w, /img/journals/312/1024x768/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 1024w, /img/journals/312/1152x864/temple-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea8.jpg 1152w">
Victoria Clocktower" title="Victoria Clocktower" 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/312/120x160/clock-tower-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea9x.jpg 120w, /img/journals/312/240x320/clock-tower-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea9x.jpg 240w, /img/journals/312/360x480/clock-tower-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea9x.jpg 360w, /img/journals/312/480x640/clock-tower-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea9x.jpg 480w, /img/journals/312/600x800/clock-tower-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea9x.jpg 600w, /img/journals/312/768x1024/clock-tower-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea9x.jpg 768w, /img/journals/312/864x1152/clock-tower-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea9x.jpg 864w, /img/journals/312/1536x2048/clock-tower-victoria-mahe-seyvillas-travel-journal-andrea9x.jpg 1536w">On the spur of the moment, we hired a car for 3 days so that we could be flexible and reach all the beautiful beaches in the south. One particular highlight was driving across the island through the densely forested national park along the winding and, in places, rather narrow Sans Souci Road, which has neither hard shoulders nor crash barriers. The road winds its way through gigantic trees and rampant climbing plants, with beautiful viewpoints appearing at regular intervals.
Sadly, our holiday in the Seychelles passed far too quickly. But we will certainly return. We loved the relaxed style of the holiday and the opportunities to swim, cycle and hike.
At first, we were unsure whether a larger hotel might have been a better choice after all. However, all 3 small guest houses served a perfectly adequate breakfast, especially with plenty of fresh fruit, were thoroughly cleaned every day and were lovingly decorated with flowers and creative towel arrangements. Most of the staff were so warm and helpful that we felt very welcome. We particularly fondly remember the infectious laugh of Marisa from Pension Michel. We also came to appreciate Cecile from The Beach House as a dedicated, understanding and easy-going host.
We booked all our transfers and ferry crossings in advance through SeyVillas. With support from the respective Creole Travel representatives, everything ran smoothly on all 3 islands.
The Seychelles truly are a dream destination.
