Christmas and New Year’s Eve under the Palms

The Seychelles welcomed us (a family with 2 teenage children) on 23/12/19 with a brief but heavy tropical downpour. We were collected from the plane on Mahé with umbrellas and hurried on foot into the airport building. We then continued straight on to Praslin in a small propeller plane (15 passengers) – a fantastic experience for all of us. We rounded off the day at the Palm Beach Hotel, enjoying the sunset from our balcony and the first-class 4-course dinner (we had booked half board).

On 24/12/19, we walked along Grand Anse, directly in front of our hotel, through knee-deep water to a sandbank, accompanied by 2 stray dogs. At lunchtime, we explored the little village and watched the locals bustling about as they made their final purchases and preparations for Christmas.

We stopped for lunch at Breeze Take Away – good and inexpensive. In the afternoon, we watched a tropical downpour from the balcony, which lasted until the evening. It was the final rain of our trip – from then on, we had nothing but sunshine! Because of the rain, we rounded off Christmas Eve in our room after the festive Christmas buffet. (The Anglican church near the hotel was due to hold services at 19:00 and 23:30, and at 09:00 on 25/12. The Catholic church by the harbour was due to hold a service at 09:00 on 25/12.)

As almost everything was closed for the public holiday, on 25/12/19 we took the bus (7 rupees per person) to Anse Lazio, the most beautiful beach on Praslin. Many others had apparently had the same idea, as it was far from deserted. However, the beach emptied around midday when the organised coach parties left. The waves were high and there was seaweed in places, but this did not spoil the fun of jumping through the waves in the slightest. Later in the afternoon, we also took the bus back to our hotel on the other side of the island. This meant we had an adventurous island tour thrown in: narrow, winding roads, some of them very steep.

Anse Lazio, Praslin On 26/12/19, we hired a car from the hotel (€50 per day) and drove to Anse Lazio (admission €25), where there was supposedly a free guided tour every day at 09:00. But ‘today, purely by chance, as an exception’, it was not taking place, and you could instead book a guide for an additional €10 per person. A complete rip-off!! We took the tour anyway, hoping to see and learn more than we would on our own. On the one hand, it was very interesting in terms of the flora (Coco de Mer and other palms), but on the other, it was disappointing in terms of the fauna (apart from a few small lizards and geckos, the guide could not show us any animals!! We heard birds but did not see them – there was more to see from the hotel balcony and in its garden!)

In the afternoon, we took a water taxi from Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or) to Curieuse, the tortoise island. We walked through the mangrove forest and watched lots of large and small crabs, stroked and fed the giant tortoises, and enjoyed the shallow, warm water between the granite rocks on the beach of powder-fine sand. We have arrived in paradise! It is truly wonderful here!

On Praslin, particularly in the small village at Grande Anse, you can get a good sense of local life. The atmosphere and standard are reminiscent of a holiday in Greece in the 1980s: small supermarkets (just one room, but with everything essential), small restaurants (takeaways), non-air-conditioned buses on narrow, winding roads, stray dogs…

On 27/12/19, we took the ferry from Praslin to La Digue, treated ourselves to a generous lunch at Gala Takeaway – very good and inexpensive – and explored the small village on foot. We quickly realised that, in the heat, a bicycle was essential. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, our host at Zerof Guesthouse arranged 4 bicycles for us from a local cycle-hire company for the following morning.

So, on 28/12/19, we were able to set off straight away for Grand Anse. From there, the 1-hour hike leads over rough and rocky terrain via Petite Anse to Anse Cocos. It is a truly gorgeous, secluded beach with fine sand. We spent the entire day there, snorkelling in the natural pool and jumping through the waves along the rest of the beach, but take care – swimming is at your own risk! All 3 beaches are shadier in the afternoon, as the sun is already low, while at midday they are fully exposed to the sun. In the evening, we treated ourselves to a ‘luxury meal’ at a beach restaurant.

Restaurant prices are on a par with those in Swiss tourist areas (5–10 times as expensive as a takeaway). On 29/12/19, we went on a snorkelling trip to the neighbouring islands. The evening before, we had agreed on the price with the skipper at Keven-Island (see OpenStreetMap). Everything here is very straightforward and informal. Another family wanted a private tour, so a friend stepped in with his boat (and we also ended up with a private tour). You pay afterwards. We snorkelled at Little Sister and Big Sister, then passed Coco Island before snorkelling once more off the exclusive private island of Félicité.

Unfortunately, all the coral is dead, but it was still a unique adventure to see so many colourful fish up close. Afterwards, we travelled around La Digue, saw the beaches from the water and arrived back at around 13:30.

Snorkelling off Félicité On 30/12/19, we set off for what genuinely is the most beautiful beach in the Seychelles! We cycled through L'Union Estate (admission 115 rupees per person for the whole day). Incidentally, you can pay in euros or rupees almost everywhere. We walked along Anse Source d'Argent – the picture-postcard beach! The tide was out, and you could have walked a very long way out through the calm water. Around midday, we had a siesta at our accommodation and returned to the beach in the late afternoon for sunset. By then, it was almost deserted; only a newlywed couple were having a photo shoot, and we also managed to take some lovely photographs. It was nearly dark on the way back, but our head torches lit the way.

In our view, La Digue is the most beautiful and unspoilt island, where mass tourism has not yet taken hold, although there is a great deal of construction work going on!? The bicycle is still the main form of transport, but there are already plenty of taxis and small lorries on the roads too. The beaches are wonderfully peaceful and idyllic, each more beautiful than the last (and almost deserted in the mornings and evenings), and you can reach them on foot or by bicycle (just like in the Fischland-Darß-Zingst nature reserve on the Baltic Sea). It is easy to strike up a conversation with the locals; they are friendly, warm and honest. They radiate joy and contentment. Here, you can truly enjoy nature at its purest – simply gorgeous!

On 31/12/2019, we took the ferry from La Digue via Praslin to Mahé. As we wanted to experience bustling Victoria (1 and 2 January were public holidays), we took the bus back to the capital, threw ourselves into the crowds and visited the main sights: Victoria Clocktower (Little Big Ben), Hindu Temple - Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar, Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market,… We then took another crowded bus back to the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay, where we were allowed to check in at 14:00 – to a room that had not been cleaned! Everything was still dirty from the previous guests!

Afterwards, we explored Beau Vallon beach directly in front of the hotel. It is a very long bay, shaded in the evenings and mornings – ideal for walking. From 19:00–21:00, there was a New Year’s Eve gala buffet, followed by a disco in a large hall from 22:00. At midnight, there was a countdown to the New Year with fireworks, balloons and party horns.

On 1/1/2020, we got up early and went for a swim in the warm sea from the deserted beach before breakfast. As it was high tide, the beach dropped away steeply and after just a few steps we could no longer touch the bottom, but it was great for jumping over the waves. During the day, there are plenty of activities and water sports on offer here. It is a typically developed tourist beach – we preferred the more secluded beaches. As at Zerof Guesthouse, flying foxes could be seen on the beach at dusk. We encountered hardly any insects, if any at all, on all 3 islands! You can sit outside undisturbed (nothing like the mosquitoes that torment us at home in summer!). On 2/1/2020, it was time to say goodbye. In the afternoon, we travelled to the airport via Victoria (as it was a public holiday, nothing was happening today: all the streets were empty and the shops were closed,…).

Palm Beach Hotel (Praslin)

We stayed in a very large and spacious room sleeping five. Everything was clean, and there was a balcony overlooking the sea and pool. The roof projected well beyond the balcony, so it could still be used comfortably in both rain and sunshine. The small, friendly hotel is colonial in style, and the staff were welcoming, competent, extremely helpful and service-oriented.

The location is perfect, directly on Grand Anse beach, with a bus stop in front of the hotel and the village just a 5-minute walk away. Breakfast consists of a buffet plus a plate of fruit, while coffee and tea are served at the table. With half board, a delicious 4-course dinner is served, with a choice of 2 main courses. The freshly squeezed fruit juices and excellent cocktails are also highly recommended. A good, simple mid-range hotel offering excellent value for money – we would return at any time!

Zerof Guesthouse (La Digue)

The rooms are very large and spacious, with simple but practical furnishings. They are not up to European standards and could be described as needing refurbishment, as everything is used until it actually breaks. On the other hand, everything we needed was there (for example, well-functioning air conditioning with adjustable power!) and it was clean – what more could you want? Breakfast was also very simple but sufficient: a plate of fruit per person, toast with butter and jam, coffee or tea, and fruit juice. The accommodation is simple, good and inexpensive – comparable to a rural inn offering rooms back home. There is also a takeaway, supermarket and restaurant on site. The restaurant is highly recommended – we enjoyed a very good and inexpensive evening meal there. Please note: there is a Creole buffet on Fridays and Sundays (advance booking required).

Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay (Mahé)

The hotel has no lift, and the stairwell and seemingly endless corridor leading to the room are particularly hot. The rooms are small and cramped, with no balcony but a large glass frontage, meaning that the sun streams in from midday until sunset. If you close the black curtains, they simply heat up instead. The air conditioning blows extremely cold air and cannot be adjusted. The rooms need refurbishment: ours smelt of smoke (apparently it used to be a smoking room), the wardrobe was warped, and the curtain was torn and dirty. We found the reception staff unfriendly and incompetent. We were assured that we could exchange our remaining rupees back into euros at the hotel on our final day, but when the day of departure arrived, nobody suddenly knew anything about it and they wanted to send us to a bureau de change (a 10-minute walk along the beach). It also felt as though we were staying on a building site, as conversion work was being carried out on 31/12, 1/1 and 2/1 for New Year’s Eve. The breakfast buffet was large, varied and international, but we missed the typical local fruits (only oranges, bananas and watermelon were available). There was a buffet on New Year’s Eve (standard fare for New Year’s Eve at a 3-star hotel), while the party was simply a regular disco with a DJ (no additional entertainment, activities or show) – so it was fine, but nothing special. Given the extremely high price of staying there over New Year’s Eve, we had expected more, so it offered very poor value for money! We also missed the Seychellois atmosphere that the other accommodation had offered.

Organisation:

The trip was perfectly organised by SeyVillas and handled flawlessly by the local tour operator, Creole. We booked our flights, hotels and ferries and were pleasantly surprised that all transfers to and from the hotels were included as well. A representative from Creole was already waiting for us at each port and arranged our transfer. On each island, we were assigned a personal representative who visited us at the hotel. If we had any questions or problems, we could call or send her a WhatsApp message at any time. Although we did not always receive an immediate response, we still received a competent answer promptly. For example, we wanted to change our ferry bookings from La Digue to Praslin and from Praslin to Mahé. Lorella on Praslin handled this for us without any fuss and brought the new confirmations/vouchers to our guesthouse. Jacqueline on Mahé was also immediately available by phone, and her dedication to service made our stay easier. The service was perfect. Quite a few travel organisers back home could learn something from them! We felt very well looked after!

THANK YOU!