Dream Islands in the Indian Ocean

Our trip began on the island of Praslin. The ferry crossing from Mahé alone was a highlight. Once we arrived on Praslin, a taxi took us to our accommodation at Grand Anse, on the western side of the island. From there, over the next few days we visited dreamlike beaches such as Anse Georgette and Anse Lazio, where, despite their popularity, there was no sign of mass tourism. We also took walks along the bays. Côte d’Or, on the eastern side of the island, is particularly beautiful at sunset. At high tide, you just have to bear in mind that the beaches become quite narrow, but you are barefoot most of the time anyway. Besides white beaches and turquoise water, Praslin also has magnificent vegetation to offer. During a hike through Fond Ferdinand, a hidden gem recommended by our hosts, a guide explained all sorts of plants to us, including vanilla, cinnamon and, of course, Coco de Mer palms. The hike ended on a ‘mountain’, which offered magnificent views across the island.

Another highlight of our stay on Praslin was an excursion to the neighbouring island of Curieuse. On the way there, we visited wonderful coral reefs, where we saw not only fish in every colour of the rainbow, but also sea turtles. On Curieuse itself, we were greeted by enormous Aldabra giant tortoises. These prehistoric-looking creatures were more than happy to have their necks stroked and to be fed colourful flowers.

Our next stop was the small island of La Digue. There were hardly any cars here, but bicycles were everywhere. We hired bicycles for a day to explore every corner of the island, while on the remaining days we hiked to the bays that could not be reached by bicycle. We particularly liked Anse Cocos.

We spent an entire day there completely alone, even though the beach is by no means small. The waves were so strong that swimming was not advisable, but at the far end of the bay there was a kind of pool formed by granite rocks, which was perfect for cooling off. One of the most beautiful beaches in the Seychelles, Anse Source d’Argent, is also on La Digue. The beach really was every bit as beautiful as it looks on postcards, although there was an admission fee of a few euros and it was quite busy by Seychelles standards. Nevertheless, it was more than worth the visit.

The final stop on our island-hopping trip was the main island of Mahé. Our accommodation was at Beau Vallon, the island’s best-developed area for tourism. There were numerous water sports activities on offer. However, the operators never pressured anyone into taking part, which was very different from what we had experienced in Tunisia, for example.

Beau Vallon was a popular beach, but it stretched for several kilometres, so even here it could hardly be described as mass tourism. A sailing regatta was taking place during our visit, so many local people had come along and there were numerous food and drink stalls, rather like at a German funfair. Mahé also offered some excellent hiking opportunities. Probably the most impressive hike we did started directly at Beau Vallon and led through the Baie Ternay Marine National Park. The coastal path offered breathtaking views of the turquoise-blue water, while the small bays had magnificent reefs to explore just offshore. In Baie Ternay, where the water was an estimated 27°C, we saw manta rays. Local people told us that, with a bit of luck, you might also spot dolphins there and whale sharks a little farther out. Unfortunately, we were not that lucky, but the excursion was still absolutely wonderful. La Digue, Anse Cooc

On all three islands, we stayed in lovely accommodation with exceptionally friendly and helpful hosts. In fact, those adjectives could describe all the other Seychellois people we met as well. Our accommodation always provided breakfast with wonderful local specialities, including local fruit and even chips made from the so-called breadfruit. In the evenings, we nearly always ate at one of the excellent takeaways. The food there was remarkably inexpensive and tasted delicious. There was usually a choice of different curries, but pizza and toasted sandwiches were also easy to find.

We did not hire a car on any of the islands, even though our guidebook strongly recommended doing so on Mahé and Praslin. On both islands, the buses could take you anywhere very cheaply, at around 50 cents per journey. The buses run during daylight hours, but you need to allow a little time, as they do not always run entirely regularly. This means you may occasionally have to wait 20 minutes.

All in all, the Seychelles are definitely worth visiting. If we travel there again, however, we will spend more time on Praslin and La Digue and less on Mahé. The two smaller islands felt much more authentic and relaxed to us. The weather on Mahé also seemed considerably rainier than on the other two islands.