Dream Beaches, Exotic Charm & Joie de Vivre
In May 2024, we fulfilled a dream by spending 2 weeks in the Seychelles. The SeyVillas website and the many excellent customer reviews convinced us straight away. There was an incredible amount of information and a super easy-to-use Island Hopping Configurator! We had never seen such a professional and user-friendly tour operator website before. The only thing we found overwhelming was the huge choice of accommodation. The service throughout the entire booking process was impeccable, and we always received a quick response to our questions.
We booked the ‘standard tour’: 5 days on Praslin, 3 days on La Digue and 5 days on Mahé. We flew from Munich with Emirates via Dubai to Mahé in early May. When we stepped off the plane, the heat hit us immediately: it took us a while to get used to the heat and high humidity! The transfer from the airport to the ferry went smoothly. In general, the transfers throughout the trip were always punctual, and the drivers were very friendly. We were glad that we had booked a transfer package, so we did not have to worry about anything once we were there. The ferries are notorious because the heavy swell often makes many passengers feel unwell. All we can say is: make sure you bring travel sickness tablets! We were lucky and had relatively calm seas on all our ferry crossings, but we still took a travel sickness tablet as a precaution and had no problems at all. The only annoying thing was that the ferry staff were not exactly gentle with the suitcases, and the side handle of one of ours was broken...
First stop: Praslin
Our guest house Ocean Jewels on Praslin was lovely – a spacious flat with a kitchen and balcony. Breakfast was brought to our room every morning, and the day before we could choose the time and decide what we wanted to eat. It was delicious, always with fresh fruit, juice, coffee, egg dishes and toast. Relatively simple, but perfectly adequate. Unfortunately, our full itinerary meant we did not get to enjoy the guest house’s lovely garden with its own beach access at all. The owner, Janette, and her staff were absolutely lovely, and one of the employees even cleaned our hire car on the final day
We liked Praslin straight away. It is a very manageable island, and our hire car allowed us to get from A to B quickly. At Vallée de Mai on our very first day, we had an interesting tour with a funny guide who explained everything about the Coco de Mer to us. During our 5 days, we visited several beautiful beaches (Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or), Anse Lazio, Anse Georgette, Anse la Blague) and were pleasantly surprised that there were not that many tourists around. We kept finding stretches of beach where we were almost alone.
While snorkelling, we even saw a sea turtle for the first time, as well as lots of colourful fish
Unfortunately, the underwater visibility was not quite as good at many of the beaches. This was probably also because it was often windy during our holiday and the sea was not particularly calm. There was also some seagrass on a few beaches, but it did not bother us much. As a result, some beaches, such as Anse Lazio, did not look quite as powdery white and turquoise as they do in the photos. But this was not a big issue for us – the beaches were still beautiful, even with rough seas. Every now and then, we also experienced very dark skies with brief, strong winds and a downpour. But after no more than 30 minutes, it was all over again – typical tropical weather! Our highlight on Praslin was the guided boat trip to Curieuse, with its many adorable giant tortoises.
There was a group barbecue, and we were able to snorkel at several spots.
During the day and in the evenings, we always ate takeaways and, with the help of Google Maps reviews, usually found some really good food vans serving delicious curries, chips, burgers and salads. As vegetarians, however, it was sometimes not that easy to find something. Restaurant prices really were very high, so in total we only ate at a conventional restaurant around 4 times.
La Digue – the world’s most famous beach
We then continued to the island of La Digue – our expectations were quite high, as we had already read a great deal about the island and its beaches. Here, on our first day, we hired bicycles for the duration of our stay. It was not particularly easy, as we only arrived in the afternoon, by which time most of the ‘good’ bicycles had already gone. With a great deal of luck, we managed to get 2 bicycles from a slightly out-of-the-way hire shop. In general, there were lots of construction vehicles, small transfer buses and golf buggies driving along the streets in La Digue’s main town, which sometimes made cycling a little stressful. We also saw a few run-down or abandoned houses and several building sites, which unfortunately rather spoilt the overall impression of the island. However, our guest house, Agnes Cottage, more than made up for it, thanks to its incredibly friendly and funny owner, Agnes.
As soon as we arrived, she gave us lots of tips about the island, was extremely helpful and had plenty of fascinating stories to tell. Our flat was very spacious, with its own kitchen and a small veranda, nestled in a beautiful garden full of exotic plants. The best part was breakfast – served on a shared terrace, it included fresh fruit from the garden, homemade cake,
coconut yoghurt, omelettes and more every morning. Everything was sooo delicious and lovingly prepared!
Unfortunately, we were not very lucky with the weather during our 3 days on La Digue. It rained almost continuously for one day and was often cloudy. On top of that, Stefan developed a stomach bug, as did 2 other German tourists we met.... So be sure to bring a well-stocked travel medical kit with you, including electrolytes.
Our guest house was only a 10-minute bicycle ride from the famous Anse Source d'Argent, which was right at the top of our ‘must-see’ list. It felt quite surreal finally seeing it in person. We were particularly impressed by the huge granite boulders. The beach is relatively extensive and, to be honest, its beauty is best appreciated from the water. We did that twice – first on a guided group tour in glass kayaks, which is highly recommended and included survival training on how to open coconuts, and then once more in a kayak we hired ourselves – and on our final day, the sun finally came out properly again
One day, we also cycled to the northern part of the island to visit the beautiful Anse Severe and Anse Patates, and on the way back we treated ourselves to delicious drinks at the very cool Bikini Bottom Bar. Unfortunately, 3 days was far too short to see more of the island. Alongside the kayak tour, another highlight was a private candlelit dinner at our guest house, cooked by Agnes’s husband. We had already read about it in the reviews. Everything Agnes and her husband served us was sooo incredibly delicious! There was such a lovely atmosphere that evening, and we were the only guests who had booked the dinner. We will not forget it any time soon.
Finishing our trip on Mahé
On Mahé, we immediately noticed that the island was considerably larger and not as ‘cosy’ as Praslin and La Digue. Some of the cars sped around the bends at breakneck speed. It felt a little more ‘hectic’ here, at least by Seychelles standards. We stayed at the Crown Beach Hotel right on the beach. The room was very spacious, with a large balcony and sea views even from the shower. Once again, we were absolutely delighted by how friendly the staff were. Breakfast was served every morning on the terrace by the pool – the à la carte selection included toast, juices, fruit, egg dishes, pancakes and porridge. The food was tasty and plentiful, although in our opinion, it could have been presented with a little more care. The excellent service from the staff more than made up for it, though.
We hired a car again here, which is absolutely essential given the size of the island. On Mahé, too, we found beautiful beaches, some of which were almost deserted, including Anse Takamaka and Baie Lazare. We particularly liked the small Anse Parnel beach with its excellent Surfers Beach Restaurant. One highlight was a half-day catamaran tour through St Anne Marine Park. This also included a short trip to Moyenne Island, with a barbecue and 2 snorkelling stops. Unfortunately, we did not see very much here because the water was quite murky. Nevertheless, it was still a wonderful excursion. We also took a trip to the small capital, Victoria. There, we visited the little market and shopped for souvenirs. The small main street, with its miniature ‘Big Ben’ and beautiful buildings, is definitely worth a visit. We would also have liked to go hiking one day, but in the end, we simply did not have enough time. One final highlight of our trip was dinner at the hotel for Katja’s birthday, which the hotel staff served at a beautifully decorated table right on the beach, as requested. The 2 weeks in the Seychelles felt much longer because island hopping made the trip incredibly varied and we experienced so many wonderful things.
We had very high expectations for our holiday, which was not exactly cheap, and we can honestly say that they were completely met and that it was worth every penny. The beaches really do look like something from a picture book – especially, of course, in sunny weather with blue skies – and from now on, we will probably compare every beach with those in the Seychelles. Although the weather was not always ‘ideal’, overall we were very lucky, and in the tropics you simply have to be prepared for it to be extremely changeable. As well as the beaches, we particularly loved the exotic plants, animals and friendly people, with their laid-back way of life and reggae music. We were completely satisfied with the service from SeyVillas and felt very well looked after at all times. We hope this was not our only visit to this beautiful country!
