Very Close to Paradise
We booked a trip to the Seychelles with SeyVillas from 8 May 2023 to 28 May 2023. We are Astrid (63) and Arnd (66), and travelling is our passion. We have already visited every continent except Antarctica and experienced many adventures. We first became interested in the Seychelles after watching an episode of ‘Wunderschön’ with Tamina Kallert. The independent guesthouses were highlighted in particular, as they are considerably more affordable and personal than large hotel chains. From the very beginning, SeyVillas listened to our wishes and adjusted our itinerary several times to suit us.
For us, unspoilt nature, encounters with exotic animals, peace and quiet, and small adventures are always the main priorities. Our journey began with a flight from Frankfurt via Dubai to Mahé, followed by a ferry to Praslin. It was quite exhausting, but thanks to SeyVillas’ excellent planning, everything went completely smoothly. The journey took almost 24 hours (train to Frankfurt, flight to Dubai, flight to Mahé, bus transfer to the harbour, ferry to Praslin, bus transfer to the Beach Villa Guesthouse).
The Beach Villa Guesthouse was an absolute stroke of luck and a recommendation from SeyVillas. It consists of several houses, each with its own terrace, and is located directly on the beach. Breakfast always included a wonderful platter of freshly cut local fruit. To our surprise, Creole food was also available in the evenings. After breakfast, we would sign up for dinner, usually featuring freshly caught fish. Heavenly, with vegetarian options available if required, and very reasonably priced too. In short, there was a wonderfully warm and friendly atmosphere thanks to the Seychellois-Austrian couple Marie Francoise and Martin, as well as the staff, some of whom are family members.
The Beach Villa Guesthouse is in a very central location on the island. The small village has several restaurants to suit more modest budgets, while the excellent Creole Village Takeaway is a little further away. There are also several supermarkets and a small shopping centre. The Fond de l'Anse (Grand Anse) is directly behind the houses, while Anse Lazio, Anse Georgette and the Vallée de Mai National Park are all easy to reach by bus or hire car. There is no mass tourism here, only smaller hotels and guesthouses. As a result, the beaches are relatively empty and unspoilt. To reach Anse Georgette, we were allowed to cross a golf course after registering in advance. Only a certain number of visitors are admitted each day.
We find swimming alongside local people much more enjoyable than being stuck in a tourist group. As soon as you enter the water, the fish come over to greet you as if they were delighted to have visitors. It is an absolute snorkelling paradise, especially around the beautiful rounded rocks found everywhere, where you can spot countless fish while snorkelling. Afterwards, nothing beats a freshly opened coconut right on the beach: delicious. In fact, the food in general was a real pleasure. We also ate at other restaurants, and the food was fresh, delicious and relatively affordable everywhere. The excellent and very reasonably priced local takeaways serving Creole cuisine are particularly recommended.
The guesthouse also offers boat trips, including to Curieuse Marine National Park. With a maximum of 10 guests, the excursion feels very personal and relaxed. The boat trip alone is a dream: turquoise sea, anchoring in small bays for snorkelling, followed by a barbecue on Curieuse after a walk across the island, where there are plenty of tortoises. In fact, they never really ‘left’ us for the rest of the trip. They are accustomed to people, very curious, happy to be fed and love being stroked under their extremely looooong necks. When feeding them, however, it is best to pull your fingers away again as quickly as possible.
Up to this point, we had already come very close to paradise. And then came Bird Island! Bus transfer to the harbour on Praslin, ferry to Mahé, then a flight to Bird Island. The flight alone is an experience. Once again, everything was perfectly organised. Bird Island is home to more tortoises than people, as well as thousands of birds, including tropicbirds, frigatebirds and noddies. We particularly loved the beautiful fairy terns.
The island is quite small, and we could easily explore it and walk all the way around it. We were always given a fresh papaya in the morning, while everyone ate together in the evening. Here too, everything was fresh and the Creole food was delicious. There is an island shop where we could buy everything we needed to get through the day. Of course, we encountered more tortoises. After a long search, we also found Esmeralda, the oldest living tortoise of his kind in the world. He always hid in the undergrowth and seemed a little tired. Hardly surprising, as he is 275 years old and weighs more than 300 kg. A truly impressive sight. But Esmeralda wanted to be stroked too. Then there are Jonathan and many others. Some of them followed us around, expecting to be fed. Papaya peel is a delicacy for Aldabra giant tortoises.
The beaches on Bird Island are almost deserted and are the most beautiful we have ever seen. There are no predators here, and birds such as tropicbirds nest on the ground. Bird Island is paradise … and not just for birds.
Our final stop was Mahé. We stayed at Villa Caballero, which is in a very central location. The owners also live on the property, and we often chatted with them and received some useful tips. We followed Tamina’s example here too and visited the market in Victoria. Travelling by bus is very convenient, although you need strong nerves. Speed limits seem to apply only to tourists. We visited Takamaka Beach and had actually planned to explore the island. But then we found Café Creole, directly on Anse Royale, with deckchairs and sun loungers that guests can use free of charge. Where else can you still find that? We ate at Amy’s Snack and Takeaway and at the Green House. We ate almost nothing but seafood or fish, fresh from the sea and deliciously prepared.
Mahé ranks slightly lower in our assessment. As you can probably tell from our report above, we love peace, quiet and nature, and are less keen on the tourist crowds. That is why we did not visit the north of Mahé, as there are many tourist hotspots there. But tastes differ.
All the beaches were always clean, and the local people also make sure that their most precious asset, nature, is preserved. After 3 weeks, it was time to return to Germany. Unfortunately, we could not stay in paradise after all, but who knows what the future may bring.
