They’re almost all stunning, really – the beaches…

First of all: it was a dream holiday! We liked it even more than the Maldives or the Caribbean, and we will definitely return to the Seychelles, perhaps even next year, although we would visit a different island. Everything went wonderfully smoothly with SeyVillas, and the offer was unbeatable. I also requested a quote from the travel agency we regularly use, and it was around €500.00 more expensive (approximately €4,500.00 rather than less than €4,000.00).

Even the approach to the airport on Mahé gives you an idea of what to expect. If you sit on the right, you can see the main island; if you sit on the left, you can see St Anne Marine National Park with its handful of small islands, including Cerf Island, while Praslin and others are visible in the distance. The airport is pleasant and small, so you quickly feel at ease, and everything is very relaxed. At immigration, however, they wanted to see our return flight confirmation, which prompted a frantic search on my part. It is probably best to avoid silly remarks such as ‘It’s so beautiful here, why would I need a return flight?’ ;-)

Cerf

The transfer to the hotel on Cerf Island was straightforward and would have taken just 30–40 minutes if the hotel had not forgotten about us and we had not had to wait an hour on Eden Island for the boat. But SeyVillas was not responsible for that.
The Cerf Island Resort is only about 4 km from the harbour in Victoria and can be reached from there by boat in 5 minutes; Eden Island, an artificial peninsula between Mahé and Cerf Island, is also 5 minutes away. The hotel was built around 2002 and extended in approximately 2010, when additional villas were constructed and the main building was expanded. It consists of 24 villas, individually distributed across the densely wooded hillside, all in very peaceful locations. Guests staying in a villa higher up therefore have quite a walk ahead of them. However, you can ask for a golf buggy to take you at any time.

The hotel is in a very peaceful location, and there is not a single road or car anywhere on the island, apart from the golf buggies at the Cerf Island Resort. The other hotels and houses can only be reached from the sea or along the beach. A few times a day, you can see and hear aircraft taking off and landing, but it is not disruptive. You can reach the Sainte Anne Marine National Park using the pedal boats and kayaks available free of charge at the hotel, although it does require some effort, and I recommend going when the sea is calm. Fortunately, it is usually quite gentle anyway. At low tide, however, you cannot travel between the three islands because sandbanks block the way, but they are lovely places to walk and enjoy the sand!
Moyenne Island

The Sainte Anne Marine National Park is well worth visiting, particularly Moyenne Island. Admission costs €10.00 per person. You can either brave the pedal boat or kayak, although you then have to leave it unattended on the beach, or use the hotel boat. A return journey for two people costs SCR 500.00 (approximately €32.00). Once on the island, you can follow a circular walking trail. It is manageable in beach shoes if you take a little care and takes around 40 minutes, including stops to enjoy the views. You can also have lunch there. A tip: the national park officially opens at 10:00, but you can easily arrive at 09:00, as we did. There are not yet masses of tourists around, and ‘Yellow’, a very good-natured dog, will give you a private tour around the island. No joke. Once a day, the dog accompanies the first tourists around the island and then does not go again.

Cerf Island Food and drink: depending on how many guests are staying at the hotel, there is either a choice of evening meals, which you select at breakfast, or a buffet. Breakfast is also served either as a buffet or à la carte. I found breakfast a little sparse: there is only white or brown toast, always the same two types of cold meat, two jams, which I did not find particularly impressive, a few cereals, coffee, milk, tea and fresh fruit. You can also order a range of dishes, such as pancakes with various fillings.
At lunchtime, the restaurant offers various burgers, sandwiches and sometimes pizza. I would steer clear of the ice cream; to put it kindly, it was not good.
In the evening, as already mentioned, there was either a buffet or a set menu that you had chosen that morning. The soups and fish dishes were very good, while I found the pork dishes less successful. The desserts are very different from what we are used to.

At the Cerf Island Resort, that is exactly what you get: 2 pools. That is all. No sport, no gym and no evening entertainment. This is probably the case everywhere in the Seychelles. Peace and quiet are the overriding principle, almost an ideology. One thing you can do wonderfully well, however, is snorkelling. We saw beautiful starfish and even stingrays just a few metres out from the hotel beach. Snorkelling equipment, life jackets and so on can be borrowed free of charge.

Cerf Island The condition of the rooms, which are called villas, and of the hotel in general is good, although not outstanding. Everything is decorated in typically dark tones and is a little worn in places. Unfortunately, the lighting is rather poor, and in the evening it feels a little like being in a crypt. There is a small television, naturally with no German channels, while the other channels have poor reception. The open-plan bathroom is very pleasant and unusual for the Seychelles, being more reminiscent of the Maldives. There is a whirlpool bath, and it is in good condition.

Cerf Island has a hiking trail running from south-west to north-east, straight through the jungle from one coast to the other. A simple map is available at the hotel, and the trail is also mentioned in many online hotel reviews. I strongly recommend not attempting this trail in beach shoes; wear sturdy footwear instead. It is not a gentle walking path but a proper hiking trail, even though it takes only 20 minutes each way and the Alps are several thousand kilometres away.

Mahé

We visited Mahé twice: once to explore Victoria for half a day, and once when we hired a car for almost a full day. The hotel boat provides a free shuttle service: departures from Cerf at 08:30 and 13:30; departures from Mahé at 14:30, 15:30 and 17:00.
Victoria is pleasant. ‘Pleasant’ is a polite way of putting it. It is more like a large village, and the main things to see are the market, a few churches, the Hindu temple, the botanical gardens and so on. You can easily see everything in a day without a car; Tripadvisor is probably the best place to consult. Anyone hoping to go shopping will be disappointed, as you can forget about that. There is no Peek & Cloppenburg, H&M or C&A anywhere in sight. There are no boutiques either, although there are several cheap Chinese shops.

Temple in Victoria, Mahé On another day, we hired a car on Mahé. It was my first time driving on the left, but it was not a problem. You need to concentrate a little more when turning and at roundabouts, but that is all. We drove almost all the way around the island, although we skipped the north because we did not have enough time. It is a lovely drive, and there are some beautiful beaches! Provided you do not linger too long, you can easily do it in 6–7 hours and still catch the last crossing back to Cerf. We stopped at most of the beaches and can particularly recommend Baie Lazare. It is a long beach with hardly anyone around and the finest, powder-soft sand imaginable! The descriptions and photographs on the SeyVillas website are excellent, so you can make a shortlist in advance, mark the beaches on Google Maps and then visit them one by one. That worked well for us.

Baie Lazare on Mahé Local SIM card: highly recommended. I bought a data SIM, which also allowed me to make calls using Skype or VoIP. There are 2 providers: Cable & Wireless and Airtel. I went to the C&W shop on Francis Rachel Street, 5 minutes from the harbour, and bought a prepaid data SIM. Do not forget your passport. It cost SCR 200.00, and I immediately added plenty of credit. You do this at a Cable Kiosk; there is one in the shop, for example, and the staff are happy to help. You will also see these Cable Kiosks at the airport and around town. At the airport, there is a clearly visible kiosk for both C&W and Airtel by the exit, where you can also buy SIM cards. My tip: sort it out as soon as you arrive; the driver can wait for 5 minutes.