The Seychelles – A Dream Holiday in a Natural Paradise

We did not want to spend November 2017 in cold Germany, so instead we flew to the Seychelles!

Even the Emirates flight was an experience, as – without knowing beforehand – we found ourselves on an A380! A fantastic flight, excellent service and an enormous aircraft.

Praslin

When we arrived in the Seychelles, we received a warm welcome and were taken to the ferry, where we boarded the catamaran to Praslin. Just under an hour later, we arrived on Praslin, where we were collected once again and driven to our hotel. Our hotel, the Berjaya Praslin Resort, is located on Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or), a long, white sandy beach on the east coast of Praslin. There are several hotels here and everything else you might need: several restaurants – including some very good seafood restaurants and pizzerias – small shops, a bureau de change, several small supermarkets and more. As we had not booked half board, we could decide afresh each evening where and what we wanted to eat. We became particularly fond of one seafood restaurant. We could sit right on the beach, bury our feet in the warm sand and enjoy red snapper, tuna, king prawns or Creole curry.

We spent several days on Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or) before setting off to explore the whole island. A trip to Vallée de Mai, a national park home to the world’s largest coconut palms, the coco de mer, was both beautiful and fascinating. Here we came across a baby hedgehog searching through the leaves for beetles without the slightest hint of shyness. At Vallée de Mai, you are free to walk through the park independently, without a group, and take your time looking at everything closely.

We visited several beautiful beaches, including Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette. It is impossible to decide which bay is the most beautiful, as they are all so picturesque. The huge granite rocks, clear blue water and fine, powdery sand are typical of the islands. Many of the bays remain undeveloped, and you encounter very few people.

On our hotel terrace, we fed the native little red birds. Word soon seemed to spread, as after only a few days they began visiting in large numbers and demanding their food. They were completely unafraid and would even eat from our hands. As we are both great animal lovers, this was an especially lovely experience for us.

Tame birds on Praslin A day trip took us to Curieuse, where we could not only marvel at the giant tortoises but also touch them and stroke their necks. Curieuse is only a few minutes by boat from Praslin. Boat trips can easily be booked locally. You are dropped off at a bay with the giant tortoises, where you have plenty of time to photograph and admire them. You then follow a path through the mangroves to another bay, where you are collected again.

Barbara and the giant tortoises Falco, Barbara and the giant tortoises Another day trip took us to La Digue, which is home not only to the world-famous Anse Source d'Argent, but also to a fantastic underwater world. We were incredibly lucky while snorkelling, as we saw not only an abundance of colourful reef fish, but also rays, cuttlefish and a sea turtle! We found the underwater world fascinating, and neither of us wanted to stop snorkelling. La Digue has a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere, and as we explored the small island by bicycle, we were treated to beautiful views of the Indian Ocean time and again.

La Digue

Mahé

Sadly, after 13 days we had to leave Praslin and take the ferry back to Mahé. Fortunately, we did not have to return home straight away, as we still had 3 wonderful days at Anse Takamaka, another dreamlike bay with few visitors, excellent snorkelling and a truly idyllic atmosphere.

Falco at Anse Takama Anse Takama, Mahé As the bay lies on the west coast of Mahé, we were able to admire the sunsets here, each one more beautiful than the last!

Sunset Sadly, even the loveliest holiday must eventually come to an end. But we will always carry many wonderful memories with us: flying foxes in the evening sky, rays gliding like elegant birds, little red birds eating from our hands and dream beaches straight from a postcard.

We were very pleased with the arrangements made by SeyVillas. All transfers were punctual and the drivers were friendly. Our local representative was highly knowledgeable and able to answer all our questions.