Our 20th Wedding Anniversary: A Dream Holiday in the Seychelles

From 4–18 November 2023, we spent our holiday in the breathtaking Seychelles, visiting the islands of Praslin, La Digue and Mahé. We enjoyed the tropical climate, beautiful vegetation and stunning beaches. Our journey in the Seychelles began with a flight from Mahé to Praslin aboard an Air Seychelles propeller aircraft. We can highly recommend this flight; it is a wonderful experience. It also offers fantastic aerial views of the small islands and, of course, of Praslin during the approach. On Praslin, we stayed for 5 days at Chez Marlin, hosted by the German-Seychellois couple Anne and Hartmut. Their many valuable insights into island life, nature, and the country, its people and social life in the Seychelles were fascinating. We explored away from the main tourist spots in our own hire car, enjoying delicious Creole food from takeaways or buying picnic provisions and drinks from one of the many small supermarkets. Near the Vallée de Mai, we hiked along the Glacis Noire Nature Trail to the viewpoint, which offers lovely views of the neighbouring islands.

We particularly enjoyed swimming and snorkelling in the small bay of Anse Gouvernement. There are very few people here. Of course, a visit to Anse Lazio is also a must, even though it is busier. After 5 days, we continued our journey by boat to La Digue. As soon as you arrive on La Digue, you notice that it is livelier than Praslin. The Le Repaire Boutique Hotel was our accommodation for 6 days.

We explored the island by bicycle and visited its wonderful beaches. We particularly liked Anse Cocos, which can be reached from Grand Anse on foot via an approximately 40-minute walk through the rainforest. At high tide and when the waves are strong, you can swim in natural pools sheltered by rocks. At lunchtime, a small beach bar also serves a delicious Creole barbecue, including freshly caught fish. Another memorable experience was a boat trip to snorkel on the reefs off the islands of Ave-Maria, Grande Soeur, Coco Island and Felicité, which we took with Kevin from Keira / Sandfish Boat Charter.

Snorkelling with Kevin is a very personal experience, with a maximum of 6–8 people. We swam with sea turtles, watched reef sharks, and Kevin guided us right up close to octopuses. Of course, a visit to L'Union Estate National Park and Anse Source d'Argent is also a must on La Digue. At Anse Severe, we were even surprised by a free-roaming giant tortoise that enjoys being stroked by visitors.

We spent our final 3 days on the main island of Mahé, staying at The Beach House (Chateau Martha) in Beau Vallon. Beau Vallon beach offers spectacular sunset views. We also explored Mahé in a hire car. Despite driving on the left, self-driving is straightforward on both Praslin and Mahé. We used the only rainy day of our holiday to visit the capital, Victoria, the Kreolfleurage perfumery and the Takamaka Rum Distillery . We spent our final day of the holiday enjoying glorious weather once again at the fantastic Port Launay North Beach, which we reached after a wonderful drive across the mountains and through the rainforest. To round off our holiday, we even had the privilege of watching a beach wedding from the sidelines.

Port Launay, Mahé We returned home to Switzerland from the Seychelles with many wonderful memories. Our heartfelt thanks go to the SeyVillas team for their excellent travel advice and organisation, and to the local Creole Travel team for the perfectly arranged transfers. Orevwar, Seychelles Karin & Rémy