Our Seychelles Holiday – Three Worlds

The world’s most beautiful beaches, giant tortoises and coconuts – these are the things people associate with the Seychelles. This small island nation south-west of India and east of Madagascar is in excellent company in the Indian Ocean, alongside other dream destinations such as Mauritius, La Réunion and the Maldives. When we spoke to the manager of Creole Travel Services, she told us that it is the Seychelles’ stunning beaches in particular that make the islands unique and set them apart from other destinations.

Our holiday began when we landed at the airport on Mahé, the main island. At the easy-to-navigate airport, someone was already waiting for us with a SeyVillas sign and took us to the Creole desk, which works with SeyVillas. After a short minibus journey to the jetty on Eden Island, the holiday feeling truly began with the crossing to Cerf Island in a small motorboat. In the bright sunshine, we could see the palm trees from afar, along with the jetty leading to the wonderful sandy beach. Cerf is not far from Mahé, yet it feels like another world.

Beach on Cerf with views of Mahé There are around 10 hotels and guest houses on the island, but they are all very small; the largest ‘hotel’ has 12 rooms. As far as we could tell, there are two restaurants. There are no roads, cars, kiosks or supermarkets to be found on the island, which measures approximately 1 km by 1.5 km. What it does offer, however, is peace and plenty of space. There was an enormous amount of room at the hotel, for example, with more sun loungers and chairs than there could ever be guests. That means there is no chance of a towel-reserving battle breaking out. We were given the best room, which was more like a suite with a large balcony, and everything had been decorated with hibiscus flowers for our arrival. While strolling along the beach, we hardly saw another person. That was certainly our experience at Villa de Cerf. During our stay, we were the only guests occupying the four rooms and had everything entirely to ourselves.

View of the pool from our room The in-house chef prepared excellent dishes. The fish and chicken were very good, and the pasta, which was sometimes included on the daily menu, was also delicious. We also went snorkelling and paddled around the island by kayak. Be warned: keep the return journey in mind so that you do not end up sunburnt – we speak from experience. We were able to borrow the kayak from the hotel free of charge. The service was wonderful and very personal, and we will long remember the incredible view from our balcony over the beach, palm trees and sea, with the cloud-covered peaks of the main island, Mahé, in the distance. World 1 – intimate, idyllic tranquillity.

After four wonderful days, we changed accommodation and travelled to Mahé, with Creole once again arranging the transfer without any problems. At the Italian hotel Le Repaire Boutique Hotel.

Le Repair Boutique Hotel we once again had a wonderful, modern and spacious room. On the balcony, we could not decide whether to sit on the sofa, the chairs or the stools. There are two small pools, a beautifully designed, idyllic garden and plenty of sun loungers on the beach. The breakfast buffet is modest in size but very tasty, and we can also highly recommend the pizzas in the restaurant. We had pizza relatively often during our holiday, and this was the best. There are only a few cars and minibuses on La Digue, mainly used to transport tourists. Unfortunately, we did not see any of the ox carts we had heard about before our trip. Unlike Cerf, however, there is a small road with several restaurants and kiosks, and one or two shops that could even be described as supermarkets. On Cerf Island, we had relied entirely on the Villa de Cerf and a few snacks we had brought with us, whereas here we could alternate between different restaurants and buy lunch from the kiosks. Drinks at the kiosks are, of course, also cheaper than at the hotel. However, the local Seybrew beer is surprisingly difficult to find on La Digue. You can watch everyday Seychellois life here throughout the day. Hire bicycles are available everywhere, including at the hotels.

Our particular highlight on La Digue was visiting L'Union Estate & Anse Source d'Argent. There are wonderful coconut and vanilla plantations, an old plantation house, a colonial cemetery and magnificent views. We enjoyed the lovely view from the beach bar while drinking from a coconut. There is also a large colony of giant tortoises.

Giant tortoises at L'Union Estate Park We thoroughly enjoyed seeing these wonderful animals and feeding them leaves. We then continued to the famous Anse Source d'Argent beach.

Anse Source d'Argent While there were very few people on our hotel’s private beach, this beach, where the Bacardi Feeling advert was filmed, was crowded with visitors. With its distinctive rocks, the beach truly is breathtakingly beautiful. We settled into a hammock and bought a drink from a small juice stall right on the beach. World 2 – dreamlike impressions.

We left La Digue and made our way to the main island of Mahé. At Beau Vallon beach we stayed at Coral Strand. After staying at a four-room hotel and then a 20-room hotel, we found ourselves in yet another world at this 160-room hotel. Once again, Creole collected us.

Unfortunately, we were unlucky with our room this time. It had a strong musty smell, and the ‘mountain view’ looked directly onto a wall. Our Creole representative, with whom we had an introductory meeting on our first day, immediately raised the issue with the hotel management. That same day, we were given another room with a partial view of the sea and pool, although there was still a slight damp smell. We had already been in contact with a Creole representative on La Digue, and on Cerf Island we had been given a contact number. Mahé was noticeably busier, with many tourists on the beach – very different from the other islands. Right next to the hotel, there is a seafront promenade and several market stalls offering excursions, drinks, food and souvenirs. The fresh fish and chicken skewers were delicious.

Market stall at Beau Vallon We took a local bus on a day trip to the capital, Victoria. We visited the small Hindu temple, the market and, of course, ‘Little Ben’.

After the initial shock of seeing our room, we settled in very well. Our afternoons by the pool and on the beach were wonderful. The food was good, whether at the hotel – the Indian Mahek Restaurant is particularly delicious – or at other restaurants. The breakfast buffet was very generous and good, and the staff were very friendly. World 3 – entertainment and plenty of choice.

Looking back, the service and transfers were excellent. We were always very well looked after, and the team even advocated on our behalf so that we could move to another room.

The temperature was always around 30°C during our stay. It rained almost every day, sometimes for five minutes and sometimes for several hours. We did, in fact, have a few days with a great deal of rain. We spent those hours cosily reading on the balcony, and it was still very warm. One thing that particularly struck us was how clean the beaches were and the general commitment to protecting the environment. We saw many signs reading ‘Leave nothing but your footprints’, and the clean beaches show that people take this message seriously. Supermarkets and kiosks do not provide plastic bags either. Everything also feels very peaceful. We look back on a wonderful holiday filled with a variety of experiences. We were able to relax completely and saw many new things.