Island Paradise in the Indian Ocean

Praslin

Even the journey there is absolutely spectacular: we fly from Mahé to Praslin in a small propeller plane. We stay at the charming Islander Hotel on a self-catering basis. We enjoy the peace and relaxation, as we are almost the only guests here because the restaurant is closed over the festive period. We cook our own dinners, which turns out to be quite an adventure: the friendly shop right by the hotel stocks plenty of things, but of course not all the products we are used to. The result is some wonderful mix-and-match meals. We travel all over the island by bus, explore the most beautiful beaches and repeatedly enjoy the fantastic sunsets on ‘our’ beach, Anse Kerlan, where we even spot a stingray while snorkelling on our very first day. For us, this beach is much more beautiful than those on the other side of the island – no rocks making it difficult to get into the water, good visibility underwater and no seagrass either.

Of course, a visit to Vallée de Mai is also on the itinerary, where we marvel at the coco de mer, the largest seed in the world. We also take a catamaran trip, go snorkelling off the uninhabited island of St Pierre and visit the tortoises in Curieuse Marine National Park on Curieuse, an island that was once home to a leper colony. We swim at the famous Anse Georgette, which really is a wonderful beach. We also hike to Anse Lazio by ourselves. It is strenuous in the heat, but absolutely worth it!

La Digue

We would happily have stayed on Praslin longer, but our next adventure on La Digue is already calling. There, we stay at Chez Marston, a small hotel with a restaurant in an excellent location near the harbour, right in the heart of the action. What we particularly appreciate here is being able to discover a different restaurant or takeaway every evening and enjoy fantastic local specialities such as fish and seafood. Naturally, we hire bicycles, and the most demanding part is the climb up to Nid d'Aigle, where we feel the effects of the tropical climate despite the early hour. Fortunately, there is a restaurant halfway up where we can stock up on cold drinks. The view across the magnificent turquoise sea is breathtaking.

We visit the world-famous Anse Source d'Argent, which really is beautiful, although for us it is not quite as lovely as Grand Anse. The waves here are fairly high, but that does not bother us.

Mahé

After Christmas, we continue on to Mahé, where we stay at the Bliss Hotel on a half-board basis. The hotel staff are incredibly friendly, and we have the best room of all, with direct access to the sea. We truly unwind here once again: we feast on the fantastic breakfast and dinner buffets featuring local specialities, enjoy the New Year’s Eve gala dinner and snorkel on the house reef several times a day. There is so much to see here, from lobsters, cuttlefish and turtles to crabs and, of course, countless colourful fish.

Bliss Hotel, Mahé

Vista do Mar, Mahé

A trip to Victoria is a must – and not only because of ‘Little Big Ben’, which has become one of the city’s landmarks. Everything organised by SeyVillas works perfectly. We are glad that we booked all our transfers before leaving, allowing us to enjoy our island-hopping holiday without any worries or stress. We booked the flights ourselves, and everything went extremely smoothly. We really enjoyed all three islands, even though they were very different. If we had to choose, our favourite would be Praslin, although the best hotel was the Bliss Hotel on Mahé.

Sunset at Bliss Hotel