Our Silver Wedding Anniversary Trip to the Seychelles

We spent our honeymoon as young newlyweds with very little money in a chalet in the Swiss mountains. For our silver wedding anniversary, we wanted to do something truly special, and after watching a travel programme on television, we settled on the Seychelles. Once the idea had taken shape, we soon found SeyVillas and were impressed by the modular approach. We could travel independently while still having the reassurance of an experienced travel agency managing everything and organising all the transfers for us. Brilliant. And to say it straight away – everything worked perfectly.

So, on 6 October 2018, we set off and flew with Emirates via Dubai to Mahé, then continued to Praslin on a Twin Otter.

DHC-6 Twin Otter Our first accommodation was at Les Villas D'Or. It was a beautiful property set in a tropical garden, and from the terrace of our bungalow we could even glimpse the sea. As we had booked half board, breakfast was delivered to our bungalow each morning, and we were driven to different restaurants for dinner. We got an overview of the island with Mario from Edelweiss Tours, who showed us around for an entire day. The wonderful Anse Georgette (please note that advance registration at the Lemuria Resort is required) and Fond Ferdinand, with its coco de mer palms, were the absolute highlights. On our final day on Praslin, we also visited Curieuse Island, where we were able to meet and stroke the giant tortoises.

Tortoise on Curieuse The walk from Turtle Point through the mangroves to the former leper colony was also truly unique. Afterwards, we were taken out to St Pierre Island, where we went snorkelling.

On 11 October 2018, we continued to La Digue. We had originally booked an earlier ferry, but as we had to move our Curieuse excursion to the transfer day because I had been unwell, Creole were flexible enough to rebook everything for a later time. Brilliant! On La Digue, we stayed at Casa de Leela.

Casa de Leela Here, too, we had a bungalow in tropical gardens. It was not quite as luxurious as our previous accommodation, but was perfectly adequate for self-catering. We would definitely choose self-catering again here, as we found everything we liked for breakfast at the supermarket, even Nutella, and the takeaways serve delicious food at reasonable prices. Our highlight on La Digue was the southern circuit with tour guide Robert Angus – an adventurous tour over rocks, through jungle and water, and through rocky caves, with a swimming stop and a delicious fruit platter to keep us going. The weather was changeable, but ideal for walking.

Touring the south Our own walk to Anse Cocos (which is easily manageable) and the sunset dinner at Belle Vue, with views across the island, were also wonderful. It is best to book the dinner in advance through your accommodation.

Sunset from Belle Vue On 15 October 2018, we continued to the main island of Mahé. We stayed at Hanneman Holiday Residence , a superbly equipped property with a friendly and helpful owner, Manfred. After all the wonderful beaches and natural beauty we had already experienced, we were initially sceptical about whether Mahé could compare. But we were soon proved wrong. On our day tour with Sandro from Vasco Tours, we saw so many incredible places that each one made us think, ‘Wow...’

Waves on Mahé And there was so much more – the old Plantation House , the Takamaka Rum Distillery , Eden Island and, at the end of the tour, Mission Lodge Lookout with its breathtaking views. It was a dream! We explored Victoria independently and took the bus there, although patience is required – we waited for more than half an hour. On our final day, we had a fantastic farewell experience: we went snorkelling at Sunset Beach (the bus goes there too!) and saw more fish than at any of the other snorkelling spots we had visited. Highly recommended, especially as the beach also has plenty of shady areas!

Sunset Beach Sadly, on 19 October 2018, we had to leave Mahé and the Seychelles again... but we did eat breadfruit, because they say that anyone who eats breadfruit in the Seychelles will return. So then, until next time...