Simply a Dream Trip
After our first stop in South Africa, including a safari and a trip along the Panorama Route, we reached the highlight of our journey: the Seychelles.
It began as soon as we landed at the airport in this beautiful part of the world. Once we had collected our suitcases, we went to pick up our hire car, although the collection point was not particularly easy to find. Hiring a car in the Seychelles is also very different from what you may be used to. Everything was much more personal and relaxed. Then came our first adventure: driving on the extremely narrow roads of Mahé, especially along the winding roads up into the mountains. In places, the roads were so narrow when cars approached from the opposite direction that all you could do was close your eyes. It also takes some getting used to, as there are drops of 1–1.5 metres right beside the road, with no barriers. These are often drainage ditches, not to mention the steep slopes. Most importantly, traffic drives on the left – please do not forget! Fully comprehensive insurance with no excess should therefore be essential for anyone hiring a car there.
We spent our first few days at Beau Vallon, staying at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay resort.
We had what was known as a superior room, with a newly renovated bathroom including a whirlpool bath and a small terrace. The breakfast area and restaurants were all open towards the sea. Fantastic! The pool was right beside the sea, which was simply wonderful.
In terms of value for money, I can only recommend the resort, as the superior room, location and food were all excellent. You can certainly stay somewhere more luxurious in the Seychelles, but you would have to spend at least twice or three times as much. I would rather spend that money on excursions, good restaurants and island hopping. We spent a total of 2 days exploring the entire island by car, visiting all the main sights and beaches. Our favourites were the wild Anse Intendance, Anse Royale and the beautiful Anse Soleil, which is definitely worth a detour.
With its gently shelving beach, Beau Vallon is ideal for families with young children. However, it is less suitable for keen snorkellers and divers.
After our first 3 days in the Seychelles, we took the ferry we had booked in advance across to La Digue. If you are not completely comfortable at sea, I can only recommend either taking travel sickness tablets beforehand or considering island hopping by small plane instead. The flights are not actually that expensive. We had a lovely sunny day for the crossing, but the swell and rocking were still extreme, even though my girlfriend and I normally have good sea legs. After a short stop to change ferries on Praslin, we finally arrived on La Digue, and it instantly made everything worthwhile.
We had booked the Le Repaire Boutique Hotel with breakfast through SeyVillas. The best decision! It is a beautiful little hotel in an extremely central location, yet still right on the beach.
The service and food were superb. I would say it is one of the top 3 places to stay on La Digue. It is considerably less expensive than the island’s 2 luxury hotels. In the evening, you can dine at the hotel’s restaurant, the best Italian restaurant in the Seychelles. You should definitely book a table in advance, as word has spread about just how good it is. The staff, especially Willer, also helped us arrange excursions and bicycle hire at genuinely excellent prices, with the bicycles delivered to and collected from the hotel. A bicycle is an absolute ‘must’ on La Digue. Each day, we used ours to explore a different part of the island.
One area was the wild south-east coast, with the wonderful Grand Anse, Petite Anse and Anse Cocos – make sure you walk right to the end of the bay, where you will find a beautiful natural pool.
Our favourite was, of course, Anse Source d'Argent, and we even visited it on 2 separate days. We simply could not stop marvelling at it: a beautiful corner of the world unlike anything we had seen outside photographs and postcards.
It was also here that I was able to propose to my girlfriend in this dream setting.
All in all, I can say that anyone who has not seen the Seychelles has missed out on something truly fabulous in life!
Thanks also to SeyVillas – you could not ask for better service or book more beautiful accommodation and hotels in the Seychelles.
