Returning to the Places We Long For

After a pleasant flight from Berlin with Qatar Airways, including a stopover in Doha (excellent service), we arrived on Mahé, collected our luggage, shed our heavy clothes and checked in again at the domestic airport. A short, adventurous flight took us to Praslin, where we collected our hire car at the small airport. Unfortunately, our car hire experience with Ola Rent-a-car was not the best; it may be sufficient simply to look for a provider yourself and hire the car of your choice locally. It was only 5 minutes to Villa Belle Plage, which was a wonderful surprise after the long journey. Bert, the host, built the 3 villas, and they are simply fantastic. We stayed in the Beach Bungalow with sea views and cannot praise it highly enough.

Nothing was lacking, and Bert had thought of everything when furnishing and equipping the kitchen. We had a day pass for access to Anse Georgette, which we used twice Anse Georgette, Praslin. The advantage is that you can simply go to the barrier without booking in advance and will be admitted. On our final day, we took a boat tour with curieusetravelexcursions and there were only 3 guests. It felt like a full-day private tour, cost us €200 in total and is highly recommended. Jonas, Peter and the team were fantastic. The tour took us past Anse Georgette to Curieuse Island (where admission costs €20 per person). We then walked across the island with Peter, who explained a great deal to us. After the walk, a wonderful barbecue awaited us, followed by a boat trip to snorkelling stops near St Pierre and at Anse Lazio.

Hike on Curieuse

Curieuse

We kept the hire car for our entire stay, which allowed us to drive to the other side of the island, to Côte d’Or Beach and Anse Lazio, where a new hotel complex is being built and a new restaurant has opened. Restaurant at Anse Lazio In the evenings, we drove to various nearby restaurants at Grand Anse or to Les Lauriers Restaurant (Les Lauriers Eco Hotel), which serves a buffet on Wednesdays and Saturdays and is highly recommended.

After 6 nights, we continued to the ferry terminal on Praslin, where we returned the hire car and, thanks to the vouchers from SeyVillas, boarded the ferry to La Digue without any problems. The crossing took around 20 minutes. On La Digue, we received a friendly welcome from Creole Travel Service and were driven to Le Surmer. We already knew it from our stay in 2015 and, as requested, were given the same apartment again. The interior is beginning to show its age, but we were happy to overlook that. The villas are spacious, and the service provided by the entire team is impeccable. We hired bicycles from Le Surmer and used them every day. The location is excellent, with supermarkets, restaurants, takeaways, the property’s own beach and the island’s highlight, L'Union Estate, all within easy reach. We were able to enjoy its beach, Anse Source d'Argent, almost entirely to ourselves that day, as no admission tickets (150 rupees per person) were being sold owing to the declared state of emergency. Anse Source d'Argent, La Digue Fortunately, we had bought ours the previous evening. Otherwise, the beach is very hyped and crowded, particularly with day visitors.

Other wonderful beaches include Grand Anse, Anse Patates (our favourite) and Anse Severe. One must-do experience, which we had already enjoyed in 2015, is taking a taxi to Belle Vue, where you can watch the sunset (unfortunately, the weather prevented us from doing so) and enjoy a multi-course meal. Junia from Le Surmer organised the evening excursion for us.

After a peaceful week on La Digue, we took the direct ferry to Mahé (it does not always operate, and the journey usually includes a stop at Praslin). The crossing was rough but passed without incident. Once again, the welcome on Mahé was friendly and extremely well organised, and we arrived at Hanneman Holiday Residence shortly afterwards. We already knew the property and were delighted to be surprised with a fruit basket, sparkling wine and a room upgrade for our wedding anniversary. There was also a welcome breakfast selection waiting in the fridge. Santale explained everything to us and was helpful in every respect, whether with hiring the car, buying water and stamps, exchanging beach towels or anything else. We were allowed to wait in our large apartment until our transfer taxi collected us at 16:00, so there was no stress about packing or having to wait outside. The support from Creole Travel was excellent here too. We booked a snorkelling tour, but unfortunately it was cancelled because of the storm and rain. The money was refunded without any problems. Perhaps payment should nevertheless only be required once a tour is confirmed to take place. As it was, this created additional work for Yulia and costs for us owing to the fluctuating exchange rate.

Over 4 days, we explored quite a lot by hire car. It is well worth driving south along the east coast, as well as exploring the west coast, whose beaches we preferred. View of Eden Island We visited Port Launay twice, where there is a swimming spot that feels like being in a bathtub. Incidentally, you can also reach everywhere by bus, usually by changing in Victoria. We also visited the capital, including the Victoria Clocktower and Sir Selwyn Clarke Market. Overall, however, we were disappointed: there was a great deal of traffic and some dirty corners that made walking around unpleasant. Anse à la Mouche, Baie Lazare and Grand Anse – beautiful beaches in good weather. Grand Anse, Mahé Unfortunately, we repeatedly experienced heavy rain and storms. Overall, we would not travel again in December, but work commitments meant we had no other choice. Mahé was particularly badly affected, so we could not properly enjoy Beau Vallon, our favourite beach, which is within walking distance of Hanneman. Beau Vallon, Mahé We were pleasantly surprised by the Boathouse and its evening buffet. It is best to book ahead; the freshly caught fish, the music and the excellent service made for an unforgettable evening.

With this travel report about our 3-week holiday across 3 islands in the Seychelles, we would like to express our sincere thanks to SeyVillas. From the start of the planning process until after the trip, we felt thoroughly well advised and looked after. The accommodation met and, in some cases, exceeded our expectations, while the local support provided by the ladies from Creole Travel Service was even better than in 2015. It is lovely to keep meeting other holidaymakers from Germany on the islands who share our outlook and our understanding of relaxation and low-impact tourism. We also have great respect for our hosts and virtually all the local people we spoke with, who are genuinely making such an effort, particularly in economically difficult times, to inspire tourists to visit their country by offering excellent service and fair prices. It worked 100% for us.

Owing to our bad luck with the weather in December, there are still several beaches and places we are determined to visit, so we hope to return if at all possible – this time without waiting another 8 years.