Welcome to Paradise

Dear holidaymakers,

Last year, my husband and I were looking for a destination for our honeymoon in January. We wanted somewhere warm, enchanting, special and a little luxurious. That is how we settled on the Seychelles. Booking through SeyVillas was quick and straightforward: one weekend, we simply put together our ideal trip on the website, submitted our enquiry and received confirmation shortly afterwards. Unfortunately, the hotel we had initially chosen on ‘La Digue’ was no longer available for our travel dates, but SeyVillas proved to be a very capable travel partner. We were informed straight away and offered suitable alternative accommodation.

Now to our trip: after arriving at the airport on Mahé, we were met immediately by the local partner tour operator, ‘Creole’. A member of staff offered us a damp towel to freshen up, then took us and our luggage to a small bus. The superb organisation continued throughout our entire holiday. We always had someone to contact and felt very well looked after. From Mahé, we first continued by ferry to ‘La Digue’, our first stop. Our accommodation on ‘La Digue’ was the 3-star hotel Chateau Saint Cloud. It is centrally located in the island’s interior, making it an ideal base for us to explore every part of the island by bicycle. We were able to hire bicycles directly from the hotel, giving us the freedom to explore everything on our own. We had booked half board and were very pleased with it. Every morning, the ‘egg station’ served freshly prepared eggs or omelettes to order, which my husband and I both thoroughly enjoyed. In the evenings, dinner alternated between a buffet and a 4-course menu. We were absolutely delighted by the beaches on ‘La Digue’. If paradise on earth exists, we have seen it. I was particularly impressed by Anse Source d'Argent and its granite rock formations. Unfortunately, none of the photographs – and I really did take plenty – can capture this stunning landscape as it truly looks and feels. Nevertheless, I have included some photographs of this beach in this travel report,

Anse Source d'ArgentAnse Source d'ArgentAnse Source d'ArgentOn the north coast to give at least some impression of it. During our 5-day stay on ‘La Digue’, we visited twice because we liked it so much. One day, we cycled to the end of the road in the north and stopped at several beaches along the way. The sea really is turquoise blue everywhere, just as it appears on postcards, and you immediately want to jump in.

Grand Anse, La Digue On another day, we cycled to Grand Anse

Grand Anse, La Digue and ‘Petit Anse’

Petit Anse, MahéSilhouette Island in the south of the island. These beaches are sandy coves ‘framed’ by granite rocks. Here too, as everywhere, the beaches are white, soft and clean. Petit Anse is reached via a path through the forest and across the granite rocks. We had the beach virtually to ourselves, even though it is very large. My husband also took every opportunity to go snorkelling at each beach and was fascinated all over again after every outing. As well as many different colourful fish, he spotted trumpetfish, eagle rays and, on one occasion, even a moray eel.

Our second stop after ‘La Digue’ was the island of ‘Silhouette’, where we stayed at the 5-star hotel Hilton Labriz Resort & Spa. The hotel was excellent and we wanted for nothing. ‘Silhouette’ can be reached from Mahé aboard the hotel’s own boat. When we arrived on the island, we were driven around the hotel grounds in small groups by golf buggy, shown all the facilities and given a fresh coconut drink to refresh us. After doing so much exploring on ‘La Digue’, we took things a little more slowly on ‘Silhouette’.

The hotel grounds are beautifully designed and extend quite a long way along the beach. The rooms are all arranged as small bungalows and are very attractive. The food was also excellent, and we had once again booked half board. Naturally, the dining was a step up from the 3-star hotel on ‘La Digue’, as one would expect. The breakfast buffet left nothing to be desired. Of course, there was another ‘egg station’ as well as everything else you could wish for: various juices, fresh fruit, an enormous choice of cereals, pastries, savoury options similar to an English breakfast, pancakes and much more. In the evening, guests could choose between the buffet restaurant, with a different theme each night, and the à la carte restaurants. We tried all the restaurants during our stay. Personally, I found the atmosphere in the à la carte restaurants a little nicer, but the food was absolutely delicious everywhere.

The hotel facilities also included a spa, where we spent one day. We treated ourselves to massages and afterwards relaxed in the spa area, with its whirlpool, small pool, sauna and loungers, accompanied by a good book. As well as the hotel’s own beach, we visited 2 other beaches, one on either side of the hotel. Although the hotel seemed to be well booked, we had those beaches entirely to ourselves too.

Kempinski HotelSilhouette IslandSilhouette Island Unlike ‘La Digue’, where we had brilliant sunshine every day – resulting in the occasional touch of sunburn – it was mostly cloudy during our 4 days on Silhouette. Even so, it was around 30°C every day, and although we visited the Seychelles during the rainy season, from 2–17 January, we did not experience a single rainy day throughout our stay.

Our third and final stop was the 5-star hotel Kempinski Seychelles Resort Baie Lazare. We had also booked half board at this hotel. The food was every bit as good as at the Hilton and the choice was just as extensive – perhaps even slightly greater in some respects. At breakfast, for example, you could blend your own smoothies. Mineral water was also included with dinner, and throughout the day hotel staff regularly walked around the resort offering delicious fruit skewers, smoothies or brownies. The hotel also had a programme of activities. Different options were offered every day, including aqua aerobics, beach volleyball, Pilates, water polo and feeding the hotel’s giant tortoises. Although we had already had the chance to encounter and feed a wild giant tortoise on ‘La Digue’, we certainly did not want to miss it.

Feeling thoroughly rested and relaxed, with a lovely tan and so many wonderful photographs and experiences to treasure, we returned to cold, grey and dreary Germany – and would have preferred to turn around and go straight back…