A Childhood Dream

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the combination of rainforest, mountains, rocks and water. We finally managed to travel to the Seychelles, and it was a dream.

After a long journey and slightly rough seas on the ferry from Mahé to Praslin, we arrived safely and were absolutely delighted with our hotel. The Hotel L'Archipel was beautiful, clean and spacious, and even the access road was a little adventure in itself. We could hardly believe our eyes when we saw our bungalow right on the beachfront and were impressed by the size of the rooms.

On our first day, we drove around much of the island in our hire car to get an initial feel for the island and its vegetation. Our first stop took us up to the radio mast. We climbed past the gate and walked the remaining distance to the top. The view from there was beautiful.

The next day, we wanted to hike the trail from Anse Lazio to Anse Georgette. We found the start of the trail easily and, with the help of a few locals, also found the correct turning with a sign that essentially read, ‘Danger – Proceed at your own risk’.

Enter at your own risk From that point onwards, it was one big adventure. The path initially led over the mountain and later through the jungle. There could hardly be a better way to experience the natural surroundings. When we reached a banana plantation, the path came to an end, partly because it was covered in spiders’ webs.

So we made our way down to the rocks by the sea and continued by scrambling over them.

However, this is something only very fit and active people should attempt. After 3 hours in total, we reached the beach and felt as though we had discovered a new world. Anse Georgette was the most beautiful beach we saw in the Seychelles. However, the way we discovered it may well have added to its beauty. For the return journey, we took the signposted path by the golf course. It was not quite as adventurous, but no less beautiful. Blue dots every 10 metres mark the route very clearly, even though at first it feels as though it is leading in the wrong direction, towards the airfield. At the end, we turned left onto the road and came out again by the ‘Danger’ sign where we had started.

On rainy days, we also visited the pearl farm and the coconut oil factory. Both were quite interesting.

For food, we can recommend Coco Rouge Take Away & Cafeteria, where we enjoyed freshly grilled fish. Our favourite meal was at Breeze Take-Away, which is no longer actually a takeaway but a lovely little restaurant.

Before long, it was time for us to continue to La Digue. The ferry crossing was straightforward and took only 15 minutes.

In general, the infrastructure and punctuality in the Seychelles are very good, making it easy to organise your trip. However, I would definitely recommend hiring a car on Praslin. On La Digue, we stayed at Anse Severe Beach Villa. It was a wonderful apartment, where breakfast was served on the balcony of our room.

We hired bicycles and visited the park with the giant tortoises and the supposedly most beautiful beach in the world, although we preferred others. We also hiked to Snack Bellevue and tackled the trail from Grand Anse to Petite Anse, which we thoroughly enjoyed as well.

Belle Vue, La Digue Anse Petite, La Digue On our return journey from Praslin to Mahé, we took the plane this time, which was a little adventure in itself. Ultimately, compared with the Maldives, there is far more to see and experience. We were extremely happy with our dream holiday!