Seychelles: A Journey Beyond All Expectations!

After the winter, my husband and I set off for a week’s holiday in the Seychelles, eager to enjoy the tropical sunshine and sea, and very curious to discover what awaited us.

We flew with Emirates from Bologna, with the usual stopover in Dubai. The journey feels easier as the flight from Dubai to Mahé takes only 4½ hours, and on arrival the time difference is just two hours ahead.
After arriving in Mahé early in the morning, we took a transfer straight to the port and then caught the ferry to Praslin, a journey of about 1 hour. We would spend 5 wonderful days here.

Once on Praslin, we made our way to the resort we had booked through SeyVillas, the Paradise Sun Hotel.
The resort matched the description we had read on the website perfectly, which had immediately won us over. The hotel’s location is ideal: it is in the best-served area of the island, on a wide white-sand beach, not far from the port and the national park, which is an absolute must-see. All the rooms have sea views and overlook a lawn filled with palm trees. The restaurant where dinner is served, included in our package, is right by the sea, and the overall atmosphere is truly magical.
After spending our first day relaxing on the hotel beach, we devoted the following days to exploring the island’s natural beauty and taking a few boat trips in the surrounding area.

Anse Lazio, Praslin

In particular, we spent a whole day at Anse Lazio, Praslin’s most famous beach, which is both beautiful and iconic. The beach can also be reached by bus, an experience we thoroughly enjoyed because it is a form of transport widely used by local people, so it felt very authentic.

Also well worth visiting are Curieuse Island in the Curieuse Marine National Park, about 20 minutes by boat from Praslin and famous as a sanctuary for giant tortoises, as well as for its beautiful deserted beaches, and La Digue, which we also reached by boat and where we spent an entire day riding very comfortable bicycles.
Cycling on La Digue On La Digue, we visited Anse Source d'Argent.

La Digue

After 4 nights on Praslin, we took a domestic flight to Mahé. The flight takes around 20 minutes and is particularly convenient if you plan to travel in the evening, as the last ferry leaves at 17:30.
Once we had landed on Mahé, we took a taxi to the Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa, which we had also booked through SeyVillas. Once again, it proved to be an excellent choice.
The view from the Hilton terrace The resort blends perfectly into its wild natural surroundings and offers very spacious accommodation with sea views. The staff could not have been more helpful, and the shared areas offer breathtaking views. Here, we enjoyed two incredibly romantic sunsets…

Sunset on Mahé

We spent our two days on Mahé visiting the island’s main beaches. It is worth bearing in mind that Mahé is much larger than Praslin, so hiring a car can be a sensible choice.
On the first day, we visited Beau Vallon, while on the second day we went to a beach in the south belonging to the Constance Ephelia Seychelles hotel, but also open to the public, as well as Grand Anse beach, which offers a completely different landscape: rough seas, large waves and an exceptionally wide stretch of sand.

Combining Praslin and Mahé proved to be an excellent choice, including in terms of the amount of time we spent on each island.
With more time available, La Digue would certainly be worth at least a one-night stay, allowing you to explore it at a more leisurely pace.

Overall, the Seychelles impressed us not only with the sea, which, as you can see from the photographs, is breathtaking, but also, and above all, with their lush vegetation, wild jungle and abundance of flora and fauna. The people who live on these islands are cheerful, helpful and generous… whenever we asked for directions or advice, we were always met with great warmth.

A trip we would absolutely love to repeat!