Our Second Trip with SeyVillas

As soon as we returned from our honeymoon, which we had spent on Mahé, La Digue and Praslin, we knew that we wanted to visit the Seychelles again – once more with SeyVillas! This time, instead of La Digue, we added the small island of Cerf to our itinerary.

We arrived on Mahé early in the morning on the direct Condor flight from Frankfurt and collected our hire car at the airport. We then drove to our first accommodation, the small Lazare Picault at Baie Lazare. The location is wonderfully peaceful. The beach is fantastic, and it is easy to find a little spot all to yourself. A supermarket and a bakery (Ian’s Bakery) are within walking distance, and there is a bus stop right outside.

The bus provides easy access to Victoria, as well as to Anse Takamaka and Anse Royale . However, the hire car was essential for visiting Anse Soleil – one of the most beautiful beaches on Mahé, in our opinion. We spent our days on Mahé being very active. We visited lots of beaches, hiked the Copolia Lodge Trail , and went to the Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market in Victoria and the night market at Beau Vallon. Every evening, we would wind down on our wonderful terrace with a glass of wine and spectacular views across Baie Lazare. Looking back, we could easily have allowed more time for Mahé, even though we had visited the island before – there is simply so much to see!

Impressions of Mahé For the second stage of our trip, we had chosen L'Habitation on Cerf Island – once again, accommodation with a fantastic balcony!

The view from our balcony at L´Habitacion For us, the island itself did not have all that much to offer. The accommodation options are very close together, and because the island is so small, the jungle trail is understandably quite short and, compared with those on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, completely unspectacular. You cannot walk very far along the beach either, even at low tide. If you are a runner, you will soon start having withdrawal symptoms. However, if you want some exercise and adventure, you can paddle a kayak around the island and to the neighbouring islands of Moyenne, Round Island and Long Island.

On one of our trips, we landed on the beach at Round Island, the little private island with the JA Enchanted Island Resort, to take a breather in the shade. Simply idyllic…

At the lowest point of the tide, Round Island and Long Island are connected by a sandbank. The water is then over 30°C – it REALLY is like being in a bath.

On one of the days, we encountered a small lemon shark in the shallow water off Round Island. On another day, we visited Moyenne Island, also by kayak. The kayaking trips were very strenuous, and we would recommend that everyone take not only water and sun cream, but also water shoes and a sarong to provide extra sun protection for their shoulders. You are out for quite a long time and sometimes have to get out at the sandbank and pull the kayak for a short distance.

If we had thought of that the first time, we would have spared ourselves a lot of pain and a day recovering in the shade. Fortunately, our accommodation had a lovely garden where we could simply relax on a sun lounger with a book, giving our sunburnt skin and sore feet a break. The snorkelling around Cerf was quite pleasant, but there was not really any more to see than around the rocks at Anse Soleil or Anse Takamaka on Mahé, or at Anse Patates on La Digue. So, a stay on Cerf is not worthwhile for the snorkelling alone.

We spent the final days of our trip being more active again on Praslin. On our first day there, we drove around the entire island in our hire car. Driving on Praslin is, of course, much more relaxed than on Mahé, and you can get everywhere very quickly. A hire car is particularly worthwhile if you want to visit Anse Lazio, as otherwise you still have a fairly long, sweaty walk from the bus stop.

Anse Lazio Our favourite beach was Anse Boudin, our ‘little Anse Lazio’. Anyone who finds Anse Lazio too crowded may well share our fondness for Anse Boudin. The waves here are nowhere near as powerful, but visually Anse Boudin can certainly hold its own. We also really liked the area around Anse Boudin, as everything was wonderfully peaceful.

Anse Boudin If we were to visit Praslin again, we would probably choose a self-catering apartment here. Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or) is already very busy, and you are constantly approached about boat trips and so on. There is no decent takeaway either. Unfortunately, the Tasty Bites food truck is the only option here. It is more expensive than the takeaways at Grand Anse or Baie St. Anne and has a smaller selection. However, there are some lovely and very good restaurants along the tourist strip, although they naturally come at a price. We particularly liked Les Lauriers. Of course, we also visited the much-praised Café de Arts, although only for a few cocktails. They were nothing special, but the design and setting really are unique!

Cafe des Arts Praslin has plenty of picture-perfect beaches, but for us it could not quite match Mahé as an overall package. What absolutely fascinated me about Praslin, even more than on Mahé, was the vegetation along the roadside. I often felt as though I were driving through an enchanted forest!

Anse St. Saveur Although we have a few other destinations planned for the near future, we are certain that this was not our last trip to the Seychelles.