Honeymoon on La Digue and Praslin
On our fourth attempt – thanks to Covid – we finally made it to the Seychelles for our honeymoon at the beginning of May. Along with a considerable amount of accumulated exhaustion and a lack of sleep from the long journey, we brought plenty of curiosity as to whether the reality of the Seychelles would live up to the photographs.
We sensed that the Seychelles were rather more special than other holiday destinations as soon as we landed. At 6.50 am, just after sunrise, we stepped off the plane – on one side of the runway was the sea beneath a red horizon, while on the other was a small airport building and the slope of a mountain rising behind it (at least by northern German standards!), seemingly almost untouched and covered in jungle. From there, we still had several transfers ahead of us before reaching our first destination on La Digue. Everything at the airport was quick and straightforward; we collected our SIM card (you can add one when applying for your travel authorisation, which we would recommend) and then set off by minibus for the ferry terminal. There, we spent another few hours sweltering in our travel clothes, which were not particularly suitable for the Seychelles, before the ferry departed in glorious weather and calm seas, travelling first to Praslin and then on to La Digue. We were already surprised by how undeveloped the islands looked from the water. There was only the occasional house tucked away in the jungle, with no large developments or blocks to be seen anywhere.
Once we arrived on La Digue, we realised on the way to our accommodation just how small and easy to navigate the place was. We stayed at Le Surmer, self-catering accommodation with breakfast available, consisting of what we estimated to be 10 bungalows in the typical local style. They are set within very attractive gardens, where the plants provide a pleasant visual separation between the bungalows and offer privacy. The interior of our bungalow was of a solid standard – not exactly luxurious, but clean and well maintained, with efficient air conditioning in the bedroom, a kitchen containing the absolute basics and a clean bathroom (although this was the area most in need of refurbishment). You do have to become accustomed to the general presence of insects in the Seychelles; there is simply far more life everywhere than we are used to in concrete-covered Europe. This ranges from irritating mosquitoes and harmless but impressively large spiders hanging in their webs along the roadside (not for arachnophobes), to the omnipresent tiny ants. In fact, I doubt there is any accommodation in the Seychelles that is completely ant-free – so keep the biscuit tin closed! We did not find it bothersome at all. The accommodation also has its own small stretch of beach with sun loungers. Although it would rank fairly low among Seychelles beaches, it is still very attractive by ordinary beach standards.
Then there is the location: this stretch is at the lower end of La Digue’s main beach, ‘Anse Reunion’, so hardly anyone ever walks past, and we had it to ourselves for most of the time we spent there (lying beneath a magnificent shade-giving tree). Overall, we really liked the location of Le Surmer, which is on what we considered the more attractive southern part of Anse Reunion. It is slightly outside the ‘town centre’ (or perhaps village centre would be more accurate), but everything is still within walking distance, or easily reached by bicycle. It is also very close to Anse Source d'Argent.
After allowing ourselves 2 days of pure relaxation and acclimatisation, on day 3 we set off for exactly that spot, passing through L'Union Estate on our way to Anse Source d'Argent. We found the farm and old cemetery only moderately interesting and the monolith quite impressive, but what delighted us most were the Aldabra giant tortoises living at its base, which we encountered here for the first time. The walk through the palm groves was also beautiful in itself, with the palms growing to truly impressive heights and coconuts looming overhead.
Anse Source d'Argent is everything the Seychelles promise, and it is difficult not to lapse into flowery romanticism about the beach – it is simply beautiful. The beach extends along the coast in several small sections between the characteristic ‘piles of rocks’, and it was also our first introduction to just how wonderfully natural the beaches of the Seychelles are. At every beach we visited, there were never any buildings immediately behind it; if anything, they seemed to begin only several rows back. A natural strip of greenery always follows the beach, there are no ranks of sun loungers, and only the occasional small, roughly constructed stall that blends perfectly into the scenery. That was also the case here, at one of the busiest beaches we saw in the Seychelles. Yet even here, there were still comparatively few people. And those prepared to walk will find fewer and fewer people competing for their own patch of palm-tree shade the farther they go along the beach.
We spent a wonderfully relaxing day beneath one of those palms, taking in the beauty of the scenery, occasionally pinching ourselves to make sure it was all real, and putting our European, Alpine-white skin through slightly too much despite litres of SPF 50 sunscreen, swimming in T-shirts and retreating into the shade. We continued our stay on La Digue in much the same way, alternating between lounging on the hotel beach and taking excursions. Two days later, we cycled along the island’s north coast, which becomes distinctly ‘rougher’ in places the farther east you travel. Here, you can feel the force of the sea and are occasionally reminded of a Seychelles version of the North Sea coast.
However, there are also more sheltered and attractive beaches in the north-west, and the tiny but beautiful bay by the Patatran Hotel particularly stayed in our minds – as did Chez Jules, located rather far to the east in the middle of nowhere, where we had one of the best evening meals of the entire trip. This was followed by an adventure on the return journey: bicycles on La Digue are not exactly generously equipped with lights, and this particular road has even fewer – so we had to cycle or push our bicycles through the jungle while holding up a mobile phone torch. It is perhaps worth mentioning that we did not feel at all uncomfortable doing so – we always felt very much at ease and safe, particularly on La Digue, and only slightly less so on the somewhat larger island of Praslin.
After another relaxing day on the hotel beach, we treated ourselves to a sunset dinner up the mountain at ‘Belle Vue’, which we would wholeheartedly recommend for both the food and the view.
Next, we got back on our bicycles to explore the 3 main beaches on the island’s south-east coast – Grand Anse, Petite Anse & Anse Cocos. The route takes you through the lush interior of the island to the other side, where we parked our bicycles at ‘Grand Anse’.
All three beaches on this side are much larger than the smaller beaches elsewhere on the island. Swimming is dangerous and shade is scarce, as the vegetation is set slightly further back and is less lush. As a result, these beautiful, expansive beaches were largely deserted during our visit, and we only had to share each of them with what felt like three or four other people – or no one at all. This was particularly true of the first two beaches mentioned, and slightly less so of Anse Cocos . From ‘Grand Anse’, you follow a narrow trail through the jungle, with just a few very manageable climbing sections, first to ‘Petite Anse’ and then finally to Anse Cocos. The latter is a little busier, as there are also a few palm trees here and, during our visit, a small beach hut served an excellent lunchtime barbecue at a fair price, as well as smoothies.
Most importantly, at the northern end of Anse Cocos there is a small bathing cove sheltered by large rocks, where swimming is safe and a lovely experience in itself. We spent the entire day here, until the tide had almost completely swallowed up the beach. As one final little adventure, we wanted to hike to the hidden ‘Anse Marron’ at the southern tip of the island at the end of our stay on La Digue. Everywhere you look, you are warned to book a guide because the route is difficult and not entirely safe. Based on similar experiences elsewhere, when we had regretted being tied to a group for a route we could easily have managed on our own, we decided to try it by ourselves. The reality is that a guide would have been useful here. We set off from ‘Grand Anse’ again, only this time heading south, but ultimately had to turn back at the beach just before our destination.
Here, you have to climb over one of the characteristic piles of rocks – the route is difficult to find and risky to tackle without assistance (from a distance, we saw a guided group making their way past this point). So our recommendation here is to bite the bullet and find a guide.
Sadly, after a week, our stay on this beautiful little island had already come to an end, and we took the ferry across to Praslin for our second week. On arrival, you immediately notice that the island feels rather busier than La Digue – suddenly there are roads and cars again, more people, and everything feels more built-up. We then travelled from the ferry terminal to the other side of the island and checked into Bliss Hotel Praslin, the supposedly nicer of our two accommodations, where we planned to spend more time by the pool and on the beach.
And that is exactly how it turned out – the hotel complex is very modern and well maintained, the room was lovely, and the staff were excellent, sorting out any little ‘issues’ straight away. After being spoilt during our first week with a beautiful private beach, one slight disappointment for us was ‘Grand Anse’ beach directly in front of the hotel, which was unfortunately covered in washed-up seaweed at this time of year. The seaweed was an issue we had been well aware of in advance, and it apparently affects large parts of Praslin’s west coast. We also saw many unfortunate workers here with wheelbarrows, apparently trying to keep the beaches reasonably clear. Aside from the purely visual aspect, the seaweed is also a breeding ground for tiny sandflies, which certainly do not remain on the beach and are active during the day – we spent most days practically drenched in DEET to avoid being eaten alive. However, once we had ‘discovered’ this on the first day and adjusted accordingly, it was no longer a problem. We would therefore strongly recommend bringing plenty of insect repellent! As animal lovers, another bonus for us was the hotel’s own giant tortoises, as well as the cats living around the hotel grounds.
We spent some lovely, relaxing days here and also took three day trips. On one day, we travelled to the famous Anse Lazio on the northern side of the island. As it can only be reached directly by car or bus from the eastern side, getting there would have meant travelling all the way around the island – instead, we opted for the alternative and took the public bus to its final stop at ‘Mont Plaisir’, then hiked the remaining distance to Anse Lazio . The bus journey alone is a small but worthwhile adventure, and the hike is equally lovely, with wonderful views down over the coves and a route through the jungle.
Most of the route is on tarmac, with a few rougher sections over stones and roots, but it is an easy-going walk overall. The beach itself is considerably busier than anything we had become accustomed to on La Digue, but it is also – unfortunately, this word quickly becomes overused in the Seychelles – beautiful and well worth visiting. Swimming here was particularly enjoyable because the force with which the sea surges into the bay varies enormously. One moment there are almost no waves, and the next you are knocked over by a wave taller than you are. It is great fun, but even once you know what to expect, the waves still catch you unawares from time to time. Some of the larger ones are genuinely quite powerful, so a degree of caution is advisable if you want to avoid braking your fall with your face in the sand. In the process, the sea runs quite a trade in exchanging sunglasses – on the day we were there alone, we saw five people lose their sunglasses in the waves. At the same time, sunglasses are constantly being found all along the beach, followed by searches for their owners, who are often successfully reunited with them. My tip: take them off before going into the water!
A visit to Vallée de Mai, a nature reserve in the centre of the island, is also a must during a stay on Praslin. It is well worth the trip, if only to see this truly unusual palm, found only in the Seychelles, with its gigantic coconuts. We also had a very friendly and entertaining guide, who made the whole experience complete. Our final highlight, however, was a day trip by boat. We first travelled to the tiny island of St Pierre, where we went snorkelling – with the Seychelles’ abundant marine life, this really is quite an experience. Sadly, most of the coral has died in recent years because of the extreme heat and excessively warm water, and efforts to cultivate it artificially are only just getting under way. From there, we continued to Curieuse Island, which has a breeding and conservation centre for giant tortoises. We even had the chance to see some baby tortoises here.
There was also a barbecue lunch here. In the afternoon, we made a brief visit to the equally beautiful little Anse Georgette in northern Praslin, before finishing the day with another snorkelling session at ‘Anse Lazio’. It is an excursion I can wholeheartedly recommend to everyone.
And then, sadly, it was already time to say goodbye to this beautiful little paradise that is the Seychelles, and which will hopefully remain so for a long time to come. On the ferry back from Praslin to Mahé, we once again felt very fortunate that SeyVillas had advised us to book upper-deck tickets, as the sea was rather rough this time. With a few travel sickness tablets and our eyes fixed on the horizon, we made it through without incident – although we had rarely seen so many pained expressions around us on a boat.
Unfortunately, we did not get to see any of Mahé or many of the other islands, and we were far from having had our fill of La Digue in particular – if we can, we will return!