Dream Holiday in the Seychelles

We, Thomas (29) and Lara (27), both love travelling, so we spend plenty of time thinking about lovely holiday destinations in advance. As we are both keen divers and also enjoy relaxing on beautiful beaches while on holiday, we chose the stunning Seychelles.

We decided to travel in October, allowing us to escape the grey autumn weather and spend a few days in paradise. Besides the obvious weather-related reasons, October also seemed ideal because the winds are said to change direction around this time, supposedly providing the best underwater visibility for divers. While researching online, we soon came across SeyVillas, which initially impressed us with its excellent, concise information about the Seychelles and later with its superb organisation and customer service. Once a few practical questions had been clarified and our holiday package put together, nothing stood in the way of our dream holiday.

We flew from Budapest (where we currently live) via Dubai to the Seychelles, arriving on Mahé, and then took the ferry to La Digue, where our journey began. The small island is easy to explore on foot or by bicycle. We stayed at Etoile Labrine, a small, family-run guest house with very clean bungalows, spacious bathrooms and private gardens. The owner asked how we were getting on both at the beginning and throughout our stay, shared insider tips and also helped with practical matters such as hiring bicycles. From then on, we cycled to all the dream beaches and coves, including the famous Anse Source d'Argent (admission SCR 100 per person) in the south-west of the island, Grand Anse, Petite Anse and Anse Cocos in the south-east, as well as Anse Severe and Anse Patates in the north. The latter beaches are better suited to snorkelling, where, besides discovering the diverse and colourful marine life, you may also encounter turtles and rays. However, you should always take care, as the currents can sometimes be strong.

On La Digue, however, you do not encounter tortoises only in the water, but also along the paths on land – simply spectacular!

As we had booked the guest house with breakfast included, we kept ourselves going with small snacks during the day. In the evenings, we ate at recommended restaurants, which were usually attached to hotels or guest houses, or at takeaways, which were less expensive. The variety of Creole cuisine is somewhat limited, but the fresh fish dishes should certainly impress seafood lovers. There is also a comparatively wide selection of international cuisine. Given the island’s size, it is hardly surprising that some of the people you meet on the ferry, at the beach or in your guest house later turn up at the same restaurant, enjoying a cold Seybrew, the local beer.

For the second part of our trip, we travelled to the island of Praslin. The beaches of Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette were exceptional.

Unlike the other beaches, these two easily matched the beauty of those on La Digue. We stayed at the Acquario Villa guest house, which is very close to the Whitetip Divers diving centre. As soon as we arrived, we were welcomed by the very friendly owner, Nora, who gave us a concise overview of everything we needed to know and showed us around the well-maintained accommodation, which we shared with a lovely German couple. We had booked breakfast here too, which was not particularly cheap but was certainly convenient. Unfortunately, the guest house on Praslin does not offer Wi-Fi yet.

During the first few days, we took advantage of the diving offered by the aforementioned Whitetip Divers. The diving centre is run by a lovely married couple who have built up a highly professional team over the past 11 years. They have well-maintained equipment and visit some fantastic dive sites. We came away with many wonderful memories and photographs, having seen turtles, octopuses, baby sharks, nurse sharks, a large stingray and an enormous bumphead parrotfish, among other marine life.

There are also plenty of excursions for visitors to Praslin who are less keen on diving, including snorkelling safaris and visits to the nature reserve, home to the famous Coco de Mer, all of which can be booked either in advance or locally. In the evenings, you can also enjoy a good meal in the nearby ‘village’, which is really more of a stretch of road with a few pleasant restaurants, takeaways and fruit sellers, before bringing the day to a relaxing close. Speaking of winding down: just as we had learnt our first few words of Creole and settled into the island’s typically relaxed way of life, our 10 days were already over and it was time to travel home.

Conclusion: The Seychelles are ideal for hedonists who want to escape the stresses of everyday life and have the necessary budget. The Seychellois are extremely friendly and have not yet grown weary of tourism, which has thankfully remained limited. They welcome visitors warmly and are usually fluent in at least three languages, so communication is never a problem.
In the end, we preferred La Digue slightly, as some of its beaches were almost unbelievably beautiful, while getting around by bicycle was entertaining and straightforward – and easier than on Praslin.

Tips: You should always carry enough cash, which can be exchanged at the airport or, ideally, at the harbour, as credit cards are not accepted everywhere.
On Praslin, you can travel around the entire island for SCR 5 – although the bus departure times are somewhat flexible and may differ from the timetables.
You can buy SIM cards locally, for example at the airport. With a suitable mobile data package, you will no longer have to rely on the rather limited Wi-Fi network.