Our Holiday in Paradise
It had always been a dream of ours to travel to the Seychelles one day. We were curious to find out whether it really was as wonderful as it appears in so many travel documentaries, photos and videos. To give you the answer straight away: YES, it really is that beautiful. We travelled to the Seychelles as a family – 2 adults and our 10-year-old daughter – and went island hopping: Praslin – La Digue – Mahé.
As soon as we arrived, we received a warm welcome from the Creole Travel Services team and headed straight to the ferry, as we were spending the first few days of our trip on Praslin. Overall, we cannot praise the support provided by Creole highly enough. All the transfers to the hotels and ferries went smoothly, and we had a local contact on every island.
Praslin
The ferry journey from Mahé to Praslin took around 1 hour. The waves were very high, making the crossing extremely rough, and a few passengers saw their undigested breakfast again in one of the many bags provided. Our accommodation on Praslin was the Britannia Hotel at Grand Anse. It is a small, cosy hotel with 12 rooms. The rooms are spacious, and the bathroom and shower are enormous. We received a warm welcome with a drink. On the day we arrived, we still had half a day to explore the area. And that is exactly what we did, even though we were very tired after the overnight flight. But we were in the Seychelles – we could hardly just sleep in our hotel room. When we visited in July, the beach near our hotel, Grand Anse, was covered in seagrass, so unfortunately it was not possible to swim there. However, this was not a problem for us, as we had hired a car for the next few days – which we had booked from Germany through SeyVillas – so that we could explore the island.
On our first day, we explored the beaches on the eastern side of the island. We started at Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or) before continuing to Anse Lazio. It is a magnificent beach and one of our favourites on Praslin, so we spent most of the day there. If you walk a little further along the left-hand side of the beach, you can take some wonderful photos among the rocks.
We then drove back to Anse Volbert via Anse Boudin and Takamaka, bought some delicious Creole food from a takeaway and enjoyed the end of the day on the beach.
At Anse Takamaka, we saw our first giant tortoises. They were not in the wild but in an enclosure, although it was still an impressive sight.
The following day, we visited Anse Georgette, another beautiful beach and one of our favourites. Access to the beach is not particularly easy, as it is located within Constance Lémuria Seychelles. To reach it, you need permission from the resort and have to walk for around 15–20 minutes, uphill and downhill across the golf course, partly in the blazing sun. Our contact at Creole Travel Service helped us obtain permission. One phone call on the day we arrived was all it took to arrange our visit. The walk to the beach was well worth it too. It is a beautiful place to spend the day sunbathing, swimming, drinking coconut water and simply relaxing.
On our final day, we visited Vallée de Mai National Park and Fond Ferdinand. We explored both parks by ourselves, without a guide. It was impressive to see the famous coco de mer everywhere and learn more about the flora and fauna of the Seychelles. We could not say which park we preferred, as both were wonderful. Do not forget insect repellent. The trail at Fond Ferdinand is slightly more strenuous, as it leads to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking the hills and islands. The parks are also very suitable for children. Our daughter enjoyed them.
Admission is free for children under 12. This generally seems to be the case in the Seychelles, at least for all the attractions we visited that charged an entrance fee.
La Digue
For us, La Digue was paradise. As soon as we arrived, we could tell that it was a truly special place. When we reached our accommodation, Elje Villa, it was a real wow moment. Elje Villa is a small guesthouse, beautifully and lovingly furnished. Our daughter was particularly impressed by the animals folded from towels. There are just 3 rooms in total, and the atmosphere is very warm and personal. The owner is amazing. She takes such loving care of her guests, anticipates their every need and is an excellent cook. Both breakfast and dinner were absolutely delicious and wonderfully varied.
On the day we arrived, we walked to Anse Severe. We lay in the sun and did a little snorkelling. I had read beforehand that there were giant tortoises here, so I set off to look for them. After all, I had promised my daughter that we would see giant tortoises in the wild on La Digue. I walked just a few metres towards the bar, and there they were. It was wonderful to see these fascinating animals moving at their leisurely pace. My daughter was mesmerised too and no longer wanted to swim in the sea. She simply wanted to sit beside the tortoise, stroke it and watch it.
Anse Severe is a beautiful beach with plenty of Caribbean-style bars. Hammocks and swings hang from the trees everywhere, reggae music plays in the background, and you can enjoy delicious cocktails and freshly blended fruit juices. We hired bicycles for the next 3 days and visited 3 beaches on our first day: Grand Anse, Petite Anse & Anse Cocos. You leave your bicycles at Grand Anse and visit the other 2 beaches on foot – it takes 10 minutes to reach Petite Anse and a further 15 minutes to reach Anse Cocos.
Because the waves were very high, swimming was not possible at Grand Anse or Petite Anse. They are still well worth visiting, as they are beautiful and offer wonderful photo opportunities. You cannot swim directly from the main part of Anse Cocos either, but if you walk all the way to the far left, you will find a natural swimming pool enclosed by rocks. Here, you can cool off and see colourful fish while snorkelling. The rocks also make a wonderful backdrop for photos. Before heading back, we stopped at the bar for a freshly blended fruit cocktail.
We were particularly excited about our second day on La Digue. At last, we were going to visit the world’s most famous and most photographed beach: Anse Source d'Argent. And what can we say? Wow! It truly is one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. We arrived early so that we could take photos without the crowds. The sight of the beach genuinely leaves you speechless.
We booked a crystal kayak tour, and it was absolutely wonderful. It gave us the chance to see Anse Source d'Argent from the sea. During the trip and once we arrived at Robinson Crusoe Beach, we learnt a great deal about the ecosystem, efforts to combat coral bleaching and how to open a coconut without any tools. Thank you for such a fantastic tour. It is highly recommended for children too. A real adventure!
On our last day on La Digue, we explored the beaches in the north of the island by bicycle and stopped for a swim at Anse Patates and Anse Severe. We stayed at Anse Severe until sunset. We already felt a little wistful knowing that we would have to leave La Digue the next day.
We found it very difficult to leave this paradise. La Digue was simply a dream for us: the people, the hospitality, the food, the scenery and the island’s overall charm. Even now, we still talk a lot about our wonderful time on La Digue, and we are certain that we will return.
Mahé
On Mahé, we stayed at Marie-Laure Suites, a small hotel near Beau Vallon, Mahé’s most popular and liveliest beach. We had also hired a car on Mahé.
We drove along Sans Souci Road to the Tea Factory. Here, we were shown around the factory, drank tea on the inviting terrace and enjoyed the view. There are also plenty of wonderful viewpoints along the way. We also stopped at the beautiful Port Launay beach. The snorkelling here is excellent and the water is very calm. Perfect for children.
Finally, we made a brief visit to Victoria to see a few sights, including Victoria Clocktower, Sir Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market and Hindu Temple - Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar. The next day, we visited Le Jardin Du Roi Spice Garden, a beautifully situated garden filled with spices, herbs and other plants. At the entrance, you are given a colourful map of the paths and a list of the most important plants, including spices, medicinal plants, fruit trees and native species. This allows you to stroll through the garden at your leisure and identify the plants.
Afterwards, we visited the beaches of Anse Royale, Anse Parnel and Anse Forbans.
On our third day, we hiked 2.5 km along the Anse Major Trail to the beautiful Anse Major beach. Although the trail is only 2.5 km long, it takes around 75 minutes. It involves walking uphill and downhill, sometimes in the full sun. The route is quite strenuous, but the effort is definitely worthwhile. Along the way, you pass plenty of fantastic viewpoints, with something new to marvel at around every corner. The route is also manageable for children. Our daughter had great fun and remained motivated.
On our fourth day, we went beach-hopping in the south-west. We visited the dream beaches of Baie Lazare, Anse Takamaka, Anse Intendance, Anse Bazarca and Petite Police Because of the high waves and dangerous currents, we could only swim at Baie Lazare and Takamaka. However, all the beaches provide beautiful scenic backdrops for photographs, and even at beaches where swimming is not possible because of the currents and waves, it is worth making a brief stop to take a few photos.
On our final evening, we stopped at Beau Vallon and watched the sunset. As our flight on the day of our departure was not until 20:15, we spent the day at Beau Vallon. It was no problem to arrange a complimentary late check-out at Marie Laure Suites until 18:00. This meant that we could stay on the beach until 15:00, freshen up afterwards and then be collected for our departure at around 17:00.
Our conclusion: The Seychelles simply have to be seen at least once. It was a dream holiday. Even our daughter said at the airport: I don’t want to leave. Mummy, what can we do so that we can stay here?
