New Year at the Most Beautiful Beaches

Praslin

After a pleasant overnight flight with Austrian Airlines, I landed on time on Mahé. As another aircraft had landed shortly beforehand, the immigration formalities took around 40 minutes, by which time my suitcase was already waiting beside the baggage carousel. I received a warm welcome from Creole Transfer Services in the arrivals hall (Creole Transfer Services organised all the transfers extremely professionally). I then flew straight on to Praslin. Check-in and passing through security at the domestic terminal took just ten minutes in total.

On the flight to Praslin, you already pass over several dream beaches and reefs, which made me even more excited about the days ahead.

Approaching Praslin by air The transfer from Praslin Airport to my accommodation, Villas des Alizes , took just under 5 minutes. Villas des Alizes is situated directly on a long, white sandy beach. The rooms are very tastefully furnished, and the entire property is beautifully maintained. My room was on the ground floor, so the beach was only a few steps from my terrace. This was also where I enjoyed my first magnificent sunsets. The breakfast I had booked was served on the terrace as well.

On the second day, I joined an excursion to Curieuse Island and St. Pierre Island. Curieuse Island has beautiful beaches, while its main attraction is the giant tortoises, which allow visitors to stroke them. After a BBQ, we continued to St. Pierre Island for some snorkelling.

Giant tortoise on Curieuse Island During my stay on Praslin, I also made sure to visit the Vallée de Mai. As well as the famous Coco de Mer, you can see several other species of palm and the black parrot here.

La Digue

As I wanted to spend New Year on La Digue, I took the ferry from Praslin to La Digue on the fourth day (the crossing took around 20 minutes). On La Digue, my accommodation, Fleur de Lys , was only a few hundred metres from the jetty. Fleur de Lys offers beautifully furnished bungalows with a kitchen, living room, bedroom and generously sized bathroom. I had also booked breakfast here, and it was served directly on the terrace of my bungalow.

For me, La Digue was the most beautiful island. There are hardly any cars on the island, but plenty of bicycles and pedestrians. The island is also very easy to explore on foot. I walked from my accommodation to Anse Source d'Argent (probably the most photographed beach in the world) in around 25 minutes and watched the final sunset of 2017 there – unfortunately, it was a little cloudy.

On 1 January 2018, I hiked to the highest point on the island – Nid d'Aigle (Eagle’s Nest). The hike up takes around 1.5 hours and initially follows a road to the Snack Bellevue restaurant, before continuing along narrow paths to the summit. There are exotic plants to discover all along the route.

From the top, I continued towards Grand Anse – a truly dreamlike beach where the currents should not be underestimated. Even in knee-deep water, you can feel the tremendous pull. It is an ideal spot for relaxing in the sun, however, and there is also a small restaurant serving reliably chilled drinks. I then followed a narrow path as far as Petit Anse, another picture-postcard beach that I would thoroughly recommend.

Grand Anse, La Digue Petit Anse, Mahé

Mahé

From La Digue, I first took the ferry to Praslin and then continued by plane to Mahé. Everything was perfectly organised, so the entire journey from being collected on La Digue to reaching my accommodation on Mahé, Ocean View Guest House , took less than three hours.

Ocean View Guest House has just five rooms. My room was on the first floor, giving me a lovely view of Beau Vallon bay from my balcony (and a magnificent sunset!). Near the accommodation is a small beach, Anse Marie-Laure, which is almost deserted.

There was a bus stop right on the main road, providing convenient public bus connections to Victoria (route 21; 7 SCR each way). It took me just over two hours to explore Victoria. It is a compact city and very easy to find your way around.

Beau Vallon Beach As this was my final day in the Seychelles, I spent the afternoon at Beau Vallon (around 25 minutes from Ocean View Guesthouse). Beau Vallon was the most touristy place I visited during my holiday in the Seychelles. Despite the relatively large number of people, the beach was not overcrowded, and I found a lovely spot where I could relax in the sun.

Clock Tower, Victoria My holiday in the Seychelles was short but intense. I will certainly return to the Seychelles soon, as there are still many beautiful beaches waiting to be explored. The Seychelles are simply breathtaking!