The Dreamlike Seychelles
Praslin
A long-awaited dream that we were finally able to fulfil together. When we arrived at Frankfurt Airport, we could feel the excitement taking hold. In 12 hours, we would be landing on our dream island – that was all we could think about. After a flight of almost 10 hours, we finally reached our destination: the Seychelles! Thanks to the sunrise, the granite rocks visible upon arrival at Mahé Airport glowed a beautiful shade of yellow, creating a wonderful sight. Once we had collected our luggage, we received a warm welcome from Creole Travel Services and took a shared transfer to the harbour on Mahé, from where we travelled onwards to our first accommodation on Praslin. As we had booked Upper Deck Class, we also enjoyed fantastic views of the sea during the crossing. When we arrived on Praslin, I was overwhelmed by how beautiful the harbour and the surrounding water were. After a short transfer, we reached the beautiful 3-star Sea View Lodge with its swimming pool, where Ajay gave us a very warm welcome. Ajay takes excellent care of his guests. The lovely Anse Possession beach is also just 100 metres from our accommodation. A family of tortoises lived in our garden too, and we were always welcome to visit and feed them suitable food.
Our first day ended with a delicious dinner at sunset on the hotel’s own terrace. We were served a typical Creole dish with fish and curry. I can highly recommend it
As we had hired a car, the next morning we drove to a beautiful spot on Praslin: Anse Georgette. I had already made a reservation for this famous beach while we were still in Germany. The beach can only be reached via a hiking trail or by making a reservation at Anse Georgette. After a 30-minute walk through the hotel’s golf course, we finally reached the beach, which I would describe as one of the most beautiful of our entire holiday. White sand, a stunning bay, crystal-clear water and beautiful rock formations. There was even a small bar selling local fruit and, of course, fresh coconuts. It was incredible finally to be there. It is the sort of scenery you would normally only see on postcards.
After a long stay at the beach and an extensive photo session, we were naturally feeling hungry. So we headed back through the golf course to one of the resort’s restaurants, which we had also reserved in advance from Germany. We booked a table at ‘The Nest’, which offers first-class views across the bay of Anse Kerlan. The turquoise water was gorgeous, and the sea was also very calm. The food at the restaurant was good. Naturally, we ordered typical Creole dishes.
The next day, we headed to the tortoise island of Curieuse and the Curieuse Marine National Park. We booked a glass-bottom boat tour through SeyVillas. This particular tour is only available on Praslin. Our first stop was for some snorkelling, allowing us to discover the Seychelles’ beautiful underwater world. After an extensive snorkelling tour, we continued towards Curieuse Island. There is a mangrove forest here which you have to walk through to reach the tortoise sanctuary and the beach. The route is truly unique. We encountered free-roaming tortoises everywhere, as well as crabs that like to hide in the thousands of shells lying around. So do not take any shells with you, as something may be living inside them. When we finally reached the sanctuary, I went straight over to the tortoises.
It is simply fascinating how long an Aldabra giant tortoise can live. To round off the trip, the tour operator served a Creole buffet. After a delicious Takamaka rum that evening, another wonderful day came to an end.
La Digue
Small but mighty. That sums up La Digue perfectly. After a short crossing from Praslin, we finally arrived on La Digue. I already had a feeling that this would be my favourite island, simply because I like places that are small and compact. After arriving at the harbour, we went straight to our accommodation. We spent a total of four nights at Villa Charette, which is run by Arthur. Arthur is a warm and welcoming host. He greeted us with a welcome drink and explained everything we needed to know about the accommodation. He also gave us plenty of advice. Arthur always has a useful tip for you. You can hire bicycles on La Digue directly from Baba. Baba’s bicycle hire shop is located right next to the Le Domaine de L'Orangeraie hotel. We hired two bicycles straight away for four full days. We spent our first day exploring ‘La Passe’. There are numerous barbecue bars, souvenir shops, restaurants, supermarkets and much more here.
Our first stop was the Bikini Bottom Beach Bar at Anse Severe. We enjoyed delicious smoothies made with local fruit. The bar is painted in all sorts of bright colours and decorated with great care. To reach the Bikini Bottom Bar, simply cycle up the hill by the cemetery, after which you can enjoy a relaxed ride downhill to the bar and the beach. There are also free-roaming tortoises at the Bikini Bottom Bar.
On our second day, we set off for what is probably the most famous beach in the Seychelles, Anse Source d'Argent. We cycled along the main road from La Passe towards La Réunion. Along the way, you will once again find numerous restaurants and bars. When we reached our destination, we first passed through L'Union Estate . There is a small admission fee of €10.00 per person. With its numerous palm trees, the park is very impressive and also provides the perfect backdrop for your photos. As you make your way through the park towards the world-famous Anse Source d'Argent, you will also come across the vanilla plantation. The park is also home to what is probably the largest and tallest granite rock on La Digue. When you reach the rock, you will also see the enclosure where the Aldabra giant tortoises live. After a 2-hour bicycle tour through the park, we finally arrived at the wonderful beach. Once I saw it, I understood why it is the most photographed beach. When we arrived, we did not want to laze around; we wanted to explore everything.
So our first stop was the Crystal Kayak kiosk. At Anse Source d'Argent, you can hire a crystal-clear kayak and paddle through the Indian Ocean at low tide.
The kayaks on the water provide a beautiful setting for photos. I can highly recommend it, as it was one of the highlights of our entire holiday. Yves, who works there, will take photos of you and give you a few tips for getting some fantastic shots! We stayed on the beach until sunset. Honestly, from 16:00 onwards, most of the day visitors disappear and you have the beach almost entirely to yourselves.
After our day at the beach, we headed to the Reggae Bar in the evening. You can play billiards and darts here in the evenings. There is also a large television for football fans. This is where people on La Digue meet to enjoy a fun, relaxed evening with delicious cocktails. I love this bar. It has a Jamaican feel and has been decorated with a great deal of care. Among other things, there is a large picture of Bob Marley hanging in the Reggae Bar.
We used our third day to set off on a tour of the island. Our first stop this time was the Sunset Bar. Refreshed by a cocktail made with local fruit, we then continued to a beautiful beach: Anse Patates. It is a small beach in the north of the island. One of its main attractions is that there are very few visitors. Unfortunately, there is a lot of coral in the sea, so I strongly recommend wearing water shoes. However, you should be careful wherever you go into the sea. This beach is definitely a must-see. Simply get off your bicycle, have a swim, sunbathe and then carry on. After making ourselves comfortable there for a while, we continued north. Here you will find a wonderful art gallery by George Camille, whose unusual Creole drawings are truly impressive. His paintings and works are simply beautiful.
You should definitely stop by. In the evening, we went for Italian food at Le Repaire (Le Repaire Boutique Hotel). It is one of the best Italian restaurants on the island. After dinner, we walked over to Le Domaine de L’Orangeraie hotel. We had been invited to a beach party there. Entry to the party was free. Two DJs played music, and everyone could dance freely in the sand and forget their worries. This was exactly how I had imagined island life. The cocktails, in particular, were mixed brilliantly.
Our fourth and final day was fairly relaxed. We returned to Anse Source d'Argent and also visited Grand Anse on La Digue, which unfortunately is not suitable for swimming. It is quite wild, but very beautiful. Four days on La Digue were definitely too short for us. There is still so much to discover here. I really liked La Digue. I love the fact that there is no hustle and bustle. There are very few cars, if any. The roads are well built, which made cycling great fun. Once again, the weather was excellent. We had some light rain on one day on La Digue, but even that could not stop us from exploring the island. So it was see you soon to La Digue and hello to Mahé.
Mahé
Final stop: Mahé. We were looking forward to the last island. At the same time, we were sad to be leaving La Digue after only four days. The best part was that I had saved our most beautiful accommodation for the end of the trip. After arriving on Mahé, we got into our car and drove straight to our accommodation, SeyView Apartments, run by Angie & Francoir. On the way there, we drove straight past Mahé’s charming clock tower and already got to see a little of the island. When we arrived at the accommodation, Angie welcomed us with a drink and showed us around. Our accommodation was situated on a hillside in Glacis. We enjoyed the most wonderful view of the sea. Our bed looked directly out over the Indian Ocean. I had deliberately chosen this as the most beautiful accommodation of the entire trip. It was very modern, exceptionally well maintained and in an absolute dream location.
We were only a 5-minute drive from the famous and lively Beau Vallon. There was even a really good breakfast café nearby. As we did not want to cook while on holiday, we made sure to have breakfast there several times. On our first day, of course, we went straight to Baobab Pizzeria at Beau Vallon. I love this restaurant. The food here is genuinely excellent. You should particularly try the Bolognese. There is so much on offer around Beau Vallon on Mahé, including souvenirs, very inexpensive food stalls and some moderately priced ones. There is plenty of variety along the beach. We could certainly feel the atmosphere of the main island. On the second day, we went to the shared pool overlooking the sea. After relaxing by the pool, we set off to do some shopping. We stocked up on the essentials and then went for something to eat nearby. Both the restaurant and supermarket were in the Bel Ombré district, around a 5-minute drive from Beau Vallon. We ate at a bar and grill that also had a casino and a large screen for watching sport. I can only recommend it. The venue is open until 03:00, and you can enjoy delicious American-inspired food there. We ended the day sunbathing on Beau Vallon beach. It was excellent for snorkelling and swimming, as the sea was always very calm and pleasant.
The following day, we finally wanted to explore the island by car. So we set off for our first stop: the capital, Victoria. Our destination was the Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market. It is a must-visit when you are on Mahé. You can find everything your heart desires here, including fruit, fish, spices and vegetables. The market even has an entire floor where you can shop for souvenirs. We were quite overwhelmed by the selection. Naturally, we also bought a few gifts to take home. After visiting the market, we went to the Hindu Temple - Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar, the only one in the whole of the Seychelles. It is beautiful and definitely worth visiting. Next, we decided to drive to a viewpoint. From here, you have a wonderful view of many of the Seychelles’ islands. We particularly liked the view of Eden Island. Mahé has so much to offer and is simply too large to explore in 5 days.
The next day, we went on a tour of the beaches. Our first stop was Sunset Beach, which is located in Glacis beside the now-closed Sunset Hotel. The beach is known for its breathtaking sunsets and diverse marine life. Since the adjoining hotel closed, the beach has become particularly popular with locals. It is the perfect place to relax and unwind. After a good 2 hours, we continued to Anse Soleil. We drove along Mahé’s coast and across the island. It was a wonderful experience. The island is beautiful. The beach is situated beside the Four Seasons Resort on Mahé. You can see plenty of fish here. The beach is lovely for swimming and is a great place for photos.
After more than two weeks, our dream holiday came to an end. With mixed emotions, we made our way to Beau Vallon Beach and enjoyed our final hours in the Seychelles before heading to the airport. Our conclusion after this trip is that we have visited what, for us, is the most beautiful place in the world. The Seychelles are unique and stunning. The people are so warm and hospitable that you feel completely at home. Personally, we liked Praslin and La Digue best. We simply prefer somewhere smaller and more peaceful. But that is just our opinion. Mahé has so much to offer and is every bit as beautiful as the other islands. However, as it is the main island, it is also busier. We will definitely visit the Seychelles again. Thank you to SeyVillas for this wonderful experience and exceptional service. Everything went smoothly and efficiently!
