An Active Seychelles Adventure – Diving and Exploring Mahé
We love not only travelling around a holiday destination, but actively exploring it both above and below the water. The Seychelles therefore seemed like the ideal destination for us, and we were not disappointed. On the contrary, we had some truly incredible experiences that we could never have dreamt of.For our first trip to the Seychelles, we deliberately chose to stay only on Mahé. Our accommodation, Marie-Laure Suites in Bel Ombre, was in a wonderfully central location, allowing us to reach every part of Mahé easily with our hire car. The accommodation is also within walking distance of the small Anse Marie-Laure, while the impressive Beau Vallon can even be reached on a longer walk. However, we usually took the car so that we could enjoy the spectacular sunset at Beau Vallon in the evening before visiting one of the many restaurants or takeaways. The location of our accommodation between the mountains and the beach also treated us to some remarkable weather scenes. On more than one occasion, we lingered over an extra coffee on our balcony while admiring enormous rainbows.
During our first week, we explored the underwater world with Atoll Divers and were absolutely thrilled. Turtles, eagle rays, stingrays, grey reef sharks, enormous shoals of fish, an encounter with a very rare ornate eagle ray and impressive underwater rock formations immediately convinced us that we simply had to return for more diving!
Our experiences above the water during the second week were just as indescribable. We spent a wonderful time at the Botanical Gardens in Victoria. Along the coast, we hiked the Anse Major Trail and, after a refreshing dip at Anse Major Beach, took a water taxi back to Bel Ombre. Following a visit to the impressive Le Jardin Du Roi Spice Garden, we whiled away the afternoon at the Takamaka Rum Distillery , enjoying delicious food and drinks. Another exciting experience was the short hike to an abandoned site, the old prison in the middle of the jungle, combined with a visit to the slightly wilder east coast, with its refreshing breeze and magnificent waves.
We can safely say that we explored Mahé from west to east and north to south in our little hire car, and we still did not manage to see everything. Of course, we cannot forget something so typical of Mahé: the breathtaking sunsets on the west coast. Whether almost entirely on our own at our small local beach, Marie-Laure Beach, or among the people at Beau Vallon, where families spend the evening together chatting, swimming or playing football, Mahé offers so many beautiful stretches of beach that it is impossible not to find a little favourite spot of your own.
Speaking of favourite places: during our day trip to Praslin and La Digue, we instantly fell in love with the smaller sister island and its unique charm. Our next trip to the Seychelles will therefore definitely combine La Digue and Mahé – but next time, in the autumn. That way, we will not only discover a new island but will also have the chance to encounter manta rays and whale sharks. We are looking forward to returning to the Seychelles!
