Our Tropical Island-Hopping Adventure
For the following report, I would first like to share the key details of our holiday.
As a couple, we booked an island-hopping holiday through SeyVillas (with support in the Seychelles provided by Creole Travel Services): from 12/09 to 17/09/2015 on La Digue (Oceane Self Catering), from 17/09 to 22/09/2015 on Praslin (Villa Anse La Blague*) and from 22/09 to 26/09/2015 on Mahé (Villa Koket).
La Digue
On the first day, we landed on Mahé with Condor (a very pleasant flight with a good selection of entertainment) and were transferred to La Digue without any problems (through Creole Travel Services). Unfortunately, one of our suitcases went missing as soon as we arrived on Mahé (it could no longer be found at the airport), so we began the first day of our holiday with a very uneasy feeling.
When we arrived on La Digue, we were taken straight to our apartment, which was only a few minutes from the harbour and the ‘town’ centre. We received a very warm welcome, and the issue with our suitcase was handled very calmly. Our host, together with Creole Travel Services (who also visited us on the first day), immediately took care of it. The next day, the suitcase was returned (another holidaymaker had taken it by mistake), and our host personally brought it to us. We would therefore like to take this opportunity to say another heartfelt thank you!
Our apartment was well maintained, clean and very cosy. We also had a small outdoor kitchen and a large sofa in the outdoor area. As we had booked breakfast, our host asked us each day what time we would like to eat and prepared a delicious breakfast: toast, eggs with or without bacon, jam, butter, fruit juice, tea and plenty of fruit, including passion fruit, papaya, oranges, star fruit, melon and much more. The apartment was cleaned every day, and we were given fresh towels. Our host and his entire family also told us a great deal about La Digue, its culture and the ongoing construction work on the property (which was not disruptive). We also hired bicycles from our host for three days (SCR 200 per day for two bicycles), which were perfectly adequate overall. We could get everywhere on them.
La Digue is a very small island and can be explored almost entirely by bicycle (hiring one is an absolute must) in one or two days. We had a look around the small ‘town’ and also discovered the delicious food available from the local takeaway, Gala. There was a lovely beach not far from our apartment (Anse Severe), but we also really liked the beaches farther south (Anse Source d'Argent), as well as Grand Anse, Petite Anse and Anse Cocos.
Personally, we did not find the beaches in the north-east quite as beautiful, but they were still worth visiting by bicycle. The tropical scenery is beautiful everywhere, and the people are very accommodating. We always had the impression that visitors were genuinely welcome on the island, and we quickly got talking to local people whenever we wanted to. We booked a sunset dinner excursion through Creole Travel Services, which we would highly recommend. It took place at a restaurant on a hill on La Digue (SCR 1,400 for two people, including dinner, two drinks and transfers). The price was around €100, and the view alone made it worthwhile for us. The food was also very tasty (Creole cuisine with fresh fish).
We enjoyed a Creole buffet with live music at Zerof (€60), where we also had our first iced tea in the Seychelles, which tasted absolutely delicious. We booked another excursion through Creole Travel Services and took the Oplezir catamaran in glorious weather, including a stop at Sister Island. The barbecue on board was very tasty, and the surroundings were wonderful. However, the waves were rather strong, making snorkelling almost impossible. Once on Praslin, we found out that the local Creole Travel Services representative would not have sold this excursion at that time of year.
It is worth asking again about this, as all Creole Travel Services staff work on commission and are therefore naturally keen to sell excursions. At €200 for two people, it was our most expensive excursion overall and therefore not entirely ideal. On the plus side, the catamaran took us directly to Praslin. Our review of Praslin and the second accommodation can be found on the relevant review page.
Praslin
On 17/09/2015, after our catamaran excursion from La Digue, we continued on the same vessel to the harbour on Praslin. From there, we were taken directly by taxi (through Creole Travel Services) to Hotel Anse La Blague. Our hostess gave us a very warm welcome and greeted us with a homemade fruit cocktail and a cool, refreshing towel. As the hotel is in a secluded location and buses do not run there very often, or require a change, our hostess arranged a hire car for us through Loto within 30 minutes of our arrival (€135 for three days). Driving took some getting used to at first (driving on the left, narrow roads and some very steep drops), but we still thoroughly enjoyed it. We were able to explore the entire island using just one-third of a tank of fuel, as well as visit several places more than once. During our stay, our hostess told us a great deal about Praslin, its people, places to visit and the forthcoming sale of part of Villa Anse La Blague. Every day, she also asked how we were and what we had done that day. By the end, it felt as though we were visiting our aunt on Praslin — in the best possible sense. Breakfast was also delicious, and unlike at our first accommodation, it included homemade fruit juices. On our penultimate day, we also booked dinner through her (SCR 300 per person), which was very tasty and reasonably priced. A Creole Travel Services representative visited us on the day we arrived and also told us a great deal about the island.
The apartment was tidy and functionally furnished. Unlike our first apartment on La Digue, there were no kitchen facilities here. Given the hotel’s location, this would be one possible area for improvement. The mattresses were also very firm and therefore not quite ideal. However, the view from the apartment and its adjoining sea-view balcony was beautiful. We also found the spacious shower for two rather amusing. The apartment was cleaned every day, and we were given fresh towels whenever needed. Beach towels were also provided free of charge.
Although Praslin is a large island alongside La Digue, it is still very manageable compared with Mahé. On our first day, we set off on an adventurous drive to the supermarket in the hire car, at night and on the left-hand side of the road, but ultimately found that we really enjoyed driving. In our view, having a car on Praslin is advisable, as it allowed us to reach all our destinations quickly and become accustomed to driving on the left and navigating the narrow roads in relatively moderate traffic. Our first excursion took us to ‘Vallée de Mai’. In glorious sunshine, we walked all the hiking trails and then drove to Anse Lazio — a dream beach! Nearby, there is also a road leading to Zimbabwe, where the radio station is located at the summit and you can enjoy a wonderful view. We would have preferred an off-road vehicle for the drive up there, although we managed without one.
We also explored Anse Volbert and Anse Gouvernement. Café des Arts is located at Anse Volbert, and we stopped there for a visit. Café des Arts has been lovingly designed and is very well maintained. Unlike on La Digue, inexpensive fruit was also available from roadside stalls here. For example, we bought a whole papaya for SCR 35. We also often ate at the Breeze takeaway in Grand Anse. On our penultimate day, we went via the Lemuria Resort — our hostess registered us in advance — to Anse Georgette, and from there followed the hiking trail up Mont Plaisir. We did not continue all the way to Anse Lazio, as we had already been there twice. From the top of the mountain, there is a lovely view across the island and the beautifully maintained Lemuria Resort. On our final day, we visited Anse La Blague and followed the path towards Anse La Farine. However, we could only go as far as the path remained reasonably well maintained. The final section was overgrown, and unfortunately we had not brought a machete with us…
Mahé
On 22/09/2015, we travelled from Praslin to Mahé aboard the ‘Cat Cocos’ ferry. The crossing was not very pleasant, as many passengers were sick, which was understandable given the stormy weather. The vessel was rocking considerably, and even several hours after the journey we still could not face eating anything. Once we arrived on Mahé, the transfer to our accommodation, Villa Koket at Anse Nord d'Est, was quick and seamless, arranged through Creole Travel Services. We received a brief welcome on arrival, as the lady unfortunately had to leave again quickly, and were given two coconuts to drink. Unfortunately, there was no proper welcome from the host or Creole Travel Services, as there had been at our other accommodation. As a result, we initially had no information about the local area, nor were we able to get the hire car we still wanted at that point.
Our apartment was new, very well maintained and superbly furnished. The kitchen had everything needed for self-catering, and there was even a bottle of orange juice, water and milk waiting in the fridge. The balcony offered a good view of the sea, and the pool area was also very attractive. However, we were bothered by the construction sites surrounding the villa and even within the villa grounds themselves. Had we known about this beforehand, we would not have booked the stay. The following day, we also learnt that the host himself was building on the property. Unfortunately, it was difficult to sleep at night because several dogs kept barking. Construction noise during the day and barking dogs at night…Nevertheless, we first went in search of a supermarket and discovered that it was only a 5-minute walk away. We also had complimentary internet access. This at least allowed us to look up the bus routes, and we then travelled exclusively by bus for the 4 days. Unlike almost everything else, it costs next to nothing: SCR 5 per person, per journey.
Mahé is the largest island in the Seychelles, so we did not manage to explore it completely during our 4-night stay. On the day we arrived, we only spent a short time in the pool and bought supplies from the supermarket. The next day, we took the bus — the bus stop is 2 minutes away — to Beau Vallon, explored that section of beach and bought a delicious lunch at the market. Incidentally, the bus journey itself is a great experience and allows you to see plenty of the surrounding area. However, compared with the beaches on La Digue and Praslin, Beau Vallon was considerably more touristy, so we headed to the beach’s far north-eastern end instead. We picked up dinner from a takeaway at Beau Vallon and spent the evening at the villa. On the third day, we took an early bus to Victoria, visited the ‘Sir Selwyn Selwyn Market’ and explored the city. Victoria is certainly worth seeing once, although it is not exactly an idyllic slice of paradise. On the fourth day, we went on a hike from Maldive Village via La Gogue Village and onwards towards Beau Vallon. It was a very enjoyable hike, and we saw plenty of the natural surroundings, local residents and even the Kenyan Ghost, complete with a warning sign. However, the weather at Beau Vallon was poor, so we took the bus back.
On our final day, we decided to make one more short visit to Beau Vallon, bought food from a takeaway and returned again because it was raining in Beau Vallon. Conveniently, the weather on our side of the island was always lovely.
*Please note: Villa Anse La Blague is due to be sold and is therefore not currently available to book through us.
