Unforgettable Moments in Paradise

Entry formalities in the Seychelles were quick, so we reached our ferry on time. The taxi journey from the airport to the ferry terminal took around 25 minutes and cost €30. We can highly recommend the Cat Cocos ferry. It cost €50 per person, and the crossing took around an hour. Our first island was Praslin, where we stayed for 6 days. As soon as we arrived, we were captivated by the island’s beauty. Our first accommodation, the Chalets Cote Mer, was just a 5-minute walk from the harbour.

Chalets Cote de Mer – Praslin The 13-room guest house is situated in the bay of Sainte Anne and has a lovely terrace and pool.

There is also direct access to the water.

Small swimming area at Chalets Cote de Mer – Praslin We had a standard room, which was perfectly adequate for us. The tropical garden was beautifully maintained, and every room had its own balcony or small terrace. We had booked bed and breakfast only, but it was also possible to dine in the restaurant in the evening and enjoy the menu, which changed daily. We also hired a car here so that we could explore the island independently over the next few days. We can only recommend doing this, as there is no beach directly by the harbour and we had booked two further places to stay on Praslin.

It simply gave us more flexibility. Traffic drives on the left in the Seychelles, and the roads are considerably narrower than in Germany. With a little practice, however, exploring the island on your own is great fun.

There is a car hire company called ‘Adventure Car’ right by the guest house. Highly recommended. Our transport for the next few days was a Kia Picanto, which took us to beautiful, sometimes deserted beaches with crystal-clear water. Our tip: make sure you visit these beaches: Anse Lazio, Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or),Anse Takamaka, Anse Bateau and Anse Grosse Roche.

Anse Lazio, Praslin Our second accommodation, for one night, was the Chauve Souris Relais.

The resort’s private taxi boat took us from the Pizzeria Berjaya Praslin Beach Hotel at Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or) to the private island of Chauve Souris. This was the beginning of our unforgettable private-island adventure. We arranged the transfer in advance by email with the SeyVillas staff. The SeyVillas team then organised everything for us.

Our taxi boat arrived on time, and 5 minutes later we reached the island, where the hotel manager, Mario, gave us a warm welcome. He took us on a tour of his idyllic domain.

Along with four other guests, we were the only people staying on the island. The property has five different rooms and suites. We booked the ‘Castaway Room’ category, which had an impressive terrace and wonderful views of the sea. The bathroom had a shower that looked as though it had grown into the rocks. The rocks were also visible in the living and sleeping area.

We did not just have a room, but our own little house, which could only be reached via a separate bridge. From our spacious terrace, with its wonderful sun loungers and private little pool, we had a breathtaking view across the neighbouring islands. We simply relaxed here, apart from a short snorkelling trip.

Snorkelling and swimming area at Chauve Souris In the evening, we enjoyed a freshly prepared four-course menu. We had prawn salad as a starter, seafood pasta as an intermediate course, red snapper with chips and salad as our main course – not entirely typical of the islands – and chocolate cake with local fruit for dessert.

It was an unforgettable evening in a dreamlike setting. This hotel was our absolute favourite. You simply have to experience it for yourself. We had one more overnight stay on Praslin, at the Coco de Mer & Black Parrot Suites. The superior room was modern and had a lovely terrace with sea views.

The hotel has a very special bathing jetty, featuring a circular island with its own saltwater pool and plenty of places to lounge and relax. Here we experienced our first sunset in the Seychelles and knew it would not be our last.

Relaxation area with sea view at Coco de Mer, Praslin Breakfast the following morning was also very good. There was a wide selection of excellent-quality food and friendly service. Our top restaurant recommendations for dinner on Praslin are Les Lauriers Restaurant at Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or), the ‘Paradisier’ restaurant in Grand Anse and the Coco Rouge Take Away & Cafeteria takeaway in Baie Sainte Anne.

Sunset at Coco de Mer, Praslin A visit to the tortoise island was also a must during our holiday on Praslin. We booked our day trip with ‘Sagittarius Taxi Boat Excursions’ via WhatsApp just one day beforehand – straightforward and reliable. The day was very well organised, and we discovered many of the island’s highlights. We travelled by motorboat in a small group of around 10 people to our first island, Cousin, and the Cousin Island Special Reserve.

Cousin Island – a birdwatcher’s paradise It is known as a nature reserve and is home to countless birds and what felt like millions of mosquitoes. Although we had Nobite mosquito repellent with us, it somehow did not help. Other mosquito repellents were also almost completely ineffective. The only upside was that the bites had disappeared again by the following day. We took a 1-hour tour of the island, heading through the forest and up and down hills, with unique views along the way. At the end, we were rewarded with a beautiful beach and sand as fine as icing sugar. One quote from our guide stayed with us: ‘You only die once, but you live every day.’ How right he was.

We then continued to the next island, the tortoise island of Curieuse in the Curieuse Marine National Park, where we first enjoyed a fortifying barbecue lunch. The tortoises were close by and watched us as we ate. Afterwards, we spent plenty of time stroking them :-). Around 300 free-roaming giant tortoises live on the island, some more than 100 years old. We also saw baby tortoises.

Our boat collected us from the other side of the island at around 15:00. A short hike to Anse St. Jose beach took us through mangrove forests and past wonderful viewpoints with sweeping views across the island.

View from Curieuse Island After a short swimming break, the boat collected us and took us to our final island of the day, St Pierre. Shortly before reaching St Pierre, we had the opportunity to go snorkelling. Naturally, we took advantage of this and saw many different colourful fish. At around 16:00, we returned to our starting point at Anse Volbert beach.

All in all, the day trip was absolutely worthwhile, and we were now ready to explore our next island, La Digue.

We took the ferry from Praslin to La Digue, which cost €14 per person and took around 15 minutes. On La Digue, we received a warm welcome from a member of staff from our next accommodation, La Digue Island Lodge, and were taken to the hotel by taxi. We stayed in a cosy A-frame bungalow in the front row, right by the beach.

Beach Bungalow at La Digue Island Lodge Our beach bungalow was comfortably furnished, and the gardens were very well maintained.

The beach at Anse La Réunion was only around 20 metres from our bungalow.

Beach at La Digue Island Lodge One thing immediately stood out: almost everyone on La Digue gets around by bicycle. There are hardly any cars, and that is part of what gives the island its unique charm. Cycling was therefore on our agenda for the next few days. A visit to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world – ‘Anse Source d'Argent on the western side of the island – is an absolute must.

The beach can be reached through the L'Union Estate nature reserve. Admission costs €8 per person. We could see the impressive granite rocks from a distance. They looked simply magical alongside the crystal-clear turquoise water and palm trees. Another highlight is ‘Grand Anse’ beach.

Grand Anse, La Digue It is a lovely bay away from the harbour in the south of the island, with unique rock formations at both ends. There is no reef in front of this beach, so the waves were quite high. Care should therefore be taken when swimming. You should definitely stop at the ‘Bikini Bottom’ bar on Anse Severe and enjoy a freshly made fruit smoothie. Two giant tortoises even dropped by as guests.

Bikini Bottom Bar on La Digue We continued by bicycle from the north of the island towards the east. Our cycle tour took us past gorgeous beaches such as Anse Patates, Anse Gaulettes, Anse Grosse Roche and Anse Banane. They were beautiful beaches with crystal-clear water and white sand.

Anse Grosse Roche You should also make sure to stop at Chez Jules and simply enjoy the atmosphere of the island. La Digue is truly special, and it is easy to lose track of time here.

We spent our final two days in the Seychelles on Mahé. We travelled aboard the ‘Cat Cocos’ ferry via Praslin to Mahé. The journey took around 2 hours and cost €64 per person. We once again hired a car for our two days on Mahé. ‘Quality Car’ was our car hire company here, and it was very reliable. This time, our hotel, ‘The Ridge Residence’, was not right by the beach but situated between the ferry terminal and the airport.

View of Mahé from The Ridge Residence hotel It is a modern, clean city hotel. The first place we visited on Mahé was the ‘famous’ Beau Vallon beach. This is probably the liveliest beach in the Seychelles, with a 3 km-long bay and numerous cafés, restaurants and takeaway outlets. We found a quiet spot a little away from the crowds and watched a beautiful sunset overlooking Silhouette Island.

Sunset at Beau Vallon We visited the ‘Beach Shak’ beach bar and enjoyed an excellent cocktail before heading to Boat House for a Creole buffet. The next day, we made our way towards the south of the island to Anse Parnel. It is a quieter beach but ideal for swimming. If you are looking for peace and quiet, this is the perfect place. Our tour continued towards the south-west of the island, passing Anse Gaulettes on the way to Petite Anse. The drive took around 30 minutes and ended at Four Seasons Resort. The 400-metre-long bay at Petite Anse lies on a peninsula on the south-west coast and can only be accessed through the Resort.

The narrow road covering the approximately 500 metres down to the beach was very steep towards the sea. We were lucky that one of the hotel’s club cars came by and gave us a lift down to the beach. The turquoise sea, white sand and imposing granite rocks were an absolute highlight. That evening, we enjoyed a wonderful sunset at Anse Takamaka, bringing our holiday to a lovely close before heading to the airport shortly before midnight for our flight back to cold Germany.

Anse Takamaka We said goodbye to the Seychelles with many unforgettable memories and wonderful moments. The saying ‘Enjoy your life every day, because you only live each minute once’ perfectly sums up our holiday. We enjoyed every minute in the Seychelles.

Thank you to the SeyVillas team for taking such good care of us.