Island Paradise in the Indian Ocean

When choosing a last-minute holiday destination, it can often be difficult to settle on one place. But when the occasion is a milestone birthday in early January and you want to spend around 10 days relaxing as much as possible, the choice becomes much easier: Where is pleasantly warm at this time of year? Where is the time difference not too drastic? Where are there few large hotel complexes? What comes to mind when you picture a tropical paradise?

A year earlier, friends had booked a three-week holiday in the Seychelles with SeyVillas and told us about it with great enthusiasm. Their impressions were precisely why, after a little research, we decided to book our trip with SeyVillas too. The planning went smoothly, particularly because we always had the opportunity to contribute our own ideas. Ultimately, our 10-day trip took us to La Digue for 5 nights and the main island of Mahé for 4 nights. The great thing about this package was that SeyVillas also took care of all the transfers and ferry connections. Nothing stood in the way of a carefree holiday!

The Seychelles are surprisingly diverse. All the islands have one thing in common: they are remarkably mountainous, as their cores consist of purple and orange granite. This creates fantastic contrasts of colour wherever you go. Along the coast in particular, countless coves bring together the azure sea, lush green vegetation, fine white sand and pink granite boulders, creating a breathtaking backdrop.

Anse Gaulettes, La Digue . And when the sun sets, the scenery becomes even more spectacular. In many places, hills and mountains rise steeply from the shore, offering exhilarating views from above across the surrounding islands. The Seychelles also have another small advantage: although the tropical forests are home to unique plants – the Coco de Mer, for example – and birds,

Paradise snapper apart from a few harmless mosquitoes, there are no creatures that might spoil a walk. You can explore the islands to your heart’s content, snorkel in the sea, walk across the tidal flats at low tide in search of starfish, or simply laze on the beach. To our surprise, the two islands turned out to be very different. One special feature of relatively small La Digue is that there is no private car traffic. Locals and visitors alike hop on bicycles and cycle all over the island. We immediately understood what people mean by slowing down. Our spacious bungalow was our base. From there, we cycled across and around the island. All along the roads, there are little stalls where you can get something to eat and drink – more on that later – as well as the occasional giant tortoise

Giant tortoise and, around every bend, a new bay waiting to be discovered. The famous Bacardi beach, however, can only be reached on foot. We would recommend walking to any neighbouring beach that cannot be reached by bicycle anyway: it is always worthwhile, as you may well find yourself somewhere that you barely have to share with anyone else.

Anse Grosse Roche, La Digue On the main island, we had a large apartment with a perfect view of Anse à la Mouche View from La Residence Instead of bicycles, we hired a small car, which was very practical on the unspoilt west coast. This meant we could stop whenever we spotted something promising along the way. The same was true of the many small restaurants and stalls serving culinary delights. Seychellois cuisine is a colourful blend of French, Indian and African influences. Fish and seafood come fresh from the sea, and the food is always prepared beautifully. To accompany it, there are all kinds of fruit juices or a coconut fresh from the tree. In the Seychelles, you can enjoy exotic food amid dreamlike surroundings!

We would happily have stayed longer and could easily have imagined spending a few more weeks travelling from island to island.

Unfortunately, we did not have enough time on this occasion, so there is nothing for it but to book another trip with SeyVillas one day and return to this island paradise in the Indian Ocean.