Beautiful Beaches

Praslin

We arrived on Mahé early on Saturday morning, just in time for sunrise, and were then taken by bus and high-speed ferry to Praslin. Our first impression was overwhelming, especially because of the breathtaking beauty of the Seychelles. Black rocks rose out of the sea everywhere, and the palm trees reached right down to the water.

A trip to Anse Lazio beach on Praslin is particularly lovely and highly recommended. You can easily spend several hours here ;-)

We mostly ate at the only takeaway truck in Côte D’Or, located right in the ‘town centre’. It serves delicious, affordable local food. And do not be afraid of the dogs: they are all very friendly and incredibly affectionate. Most of them are happy to be stroked and will flop down in the sand in front of you for a good scratch. Perfect for animal lovers! Our guesthouse took care of many things for us. We were able to hire a car directly there, which was even delivered to our door, and arrange a trip to Curieuse Island. Our boatman, Ronny, with his boat ‘Swell’, was great fun and explained a lot along the way. We fed giant tortoises there and enjoyed a delicious barbecue with fresh fish on the beach.

The Vallée de Mai National Park is impressive, with nature still in its pristine state, although the humidity is extremely high. After a few days of relaxing on the beaches and snorkelling on the reef, it was already time to take the ferry onwards to La Digue.

La Digue

Once we arrived on La Digue, we quickly realised that hiring a bicycle and cycling along the coast is an absolute must, stopping along the way for a freshly pressed fruit juice. It does not get any fresher than that! Every now and then, a giant tortoise may wander past and happily let you scratch its neck. Four days are quite enough to explore the island, though. We did not find the famous Anse Source d'Argent beach particularly impressive, although it was low tide when we visited. It also gets rather crowded, which is not something you are used to on the other beaches in the Seychelles. Grand Anse and Petite Anse have very large waves. You can bathe there, but swimming is best avoided. We recommend the restaurant at Le Relax Beach House, which serves delicious food at a fair price with unbeatable views. IMG_8889 We then continued onwards to Mahé, the largest island in the Inner Seychelles. A hire car is essential on Mahé if you want to see and reach everything. The Clock Tower in central Victoria is worth a look. It stands on a roundabout and is very reminiscent of Big Ben in London. A tip: in Mahé’s pedestrian area, there is an Italian restaurant called ‘Little Italy’ that serves excellent food and delicious coffee! The man-made island of ‘Eden Island’ is particularly lovely. Here, you can shop in a modern shopping centre and enjoy a really delicious meal.

There are many long, spacious beaches in the south-west of Mahé where you can watch the sunset beautifully. On the way there, in the middle of the island, you will find the tea factory, which is very small but allows you to watch the production process. The tea is genuinely delicious and fresh. There is also the ‘King’s Garden’, with all kinds of different spices. We stayed at the Coral Strand hotel. The pool is very small for a hotel of this size. Loud music and laser lights were also played for several hours every evening, making it almost impossible to have a conversation on the balcony. It felt more like a party hotel than a relaxing holiday. The breakfast buffet was very extensive, and the breakfast room is right by the beach. Fortunately, guests can use the beautifully designed pool at the neighbouring Savoy Resort & Spa, where there is plenty of space as well as peace and quiet.

For snorkelling, you can drive straight to Sunset Beach, where there is already so much to see just a few metres out into the sea. Our guide, Nelle, showed us a great deal in the water, including sea cucumbers, starfish, sea urchins, octopuses, countless colourful fish and lots of coral. During a break on the beach, he picked fresh coconuts, and we had a go at opening them ourselves on the rocks, which was great fun.

Silhouette Island

As the perfect finale to our trip, we stayed on Silhouette Island at the beautifully designed Hilton Labriz Resort & Spa. The entire crew welcomed us at the harbour with waves, and we were treated to refreshing drinks and a massage to help us unwind.

We could hardly believe our eyes when we checked in! We had an approximately 90 m² garden villa all to ourselves, complete with a private terrace and an outdoor garden shower at the back. There is something here for everyone! Even German television channels ;-)

The massages at this hotel are an absolute must! They could not be better! Tours can be booked and easily organised through the resort, or you can lace up your walking shoes and set off independently. However, you should always let the hotel know if you are leaving the resort on your own. Anse Lascars - Silhouette beach is fairly easy to reach, but it is better to visit ‘Anse Mondon’ with a guide. Fallen palm trees regularly block the route, and you need to be sure-footed.

The food at this resort is simply incredible! There is an unbelievable amount of choice, and everything is absolutely delicious!! There is plenty for children too, including excursions and much more. At the resort itself, you can also borrow bicycles, tennis and table-tennis rackets and much more if you fancy being a little active. There is also a gym with ultra-modern, exceptionally well-maintained fitness equipment. For anyone looking for a little luxury, this hotel is highly recommended! And if you need to travel to the airport afterwards but do not want to spend the time before your flight there, you can pass the time at the ‘Hilton Northolme’ on Mahé.

Delicious Takamaka rum is available throughout the Seychelles. It costs exactly the same at the distillery as it does in the supermarket, and it is actually cheapest in duty-free at the airport. Only 0.7-litre bottles are available there, not the smaller ones.