Seychelles, a tiny nation consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, is indeed one giant, never-ending, fantasy right from the time your plane starts to descend.
Located northeast of Madagascar and about 1,600 km east of Kenya, the majority of the Seychellian islands are uninhabited, with most of them dedicated as natural reserves.
Honeymoon Trip to Seychelles
Photo: Honeymooners at the tea factory
With white-sand beaches everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE, with gorgeous, lush jungle covering the semi-mountainous island interiors makes this place “Perfect” in every sense of the word. No doubt why this place is considered as a paradise among honeymooners!
Photo: The Art of Travel Partner
Day 1: Reaching Mahe Island
After a 10 hour of layover at Sri Lanka (will be covered in my next blog post), we finally reached Mahe Island at 5:30 in the morning.
Mahe Island is the main entry point for Seychelles. It is the largest island in Seychelles with the smallest capital city of Africa – Victoria city.
Ferries run frequently between Mahe and Praslin, or you can also fly between the two. The ferry only takes about an hour, though, but is more of an adventure.
It is advisable to avoid ferry during the rainy season or in case you are prone to seasickness. During the rainy season, the sea gets so rough that there are high chances of people getting sick due to heavy wind.
After an hour journey, we reached Praslin Island and our first reaction was WOW!
Photo: Honeymooners paradise / The Art of Travel Partner
Our accommodation was booked in Indian Ocean Lodge which in itself was so spectacular. We booked our stay for 3 nights but, literally we could have stayed here forever.
The property gates open into Grand Anse Beach which is the longest beach in Praslin.
Day 2: La Digue Island
Photo: La Digue Island, Seychelles / The Art of Travel Partners
After relaxing for the whole day and enjoying the sunset at Grand Anse Beach we were ready for a whole day bike tour at La Digue Island.
It is the third smallest island on Seychelles and holds one of the most beautiful beaches of the world, Anse Source d’Argent.
We started our day early and after taking a stroll at the Grand Anse Beach. Then we left to catch our ferry to La Digue Island via Cat Cocos.
By 11 am we were at the La Digue beach and ready to rent bikes for a day tour.
Bike Tour at La Digue Island
Photo: La Digue Beach / The Art of Travel Partners
The island has no car traffic, and bikes are commonly used here. The road of La Digue is divided into three parts:
One goes to famous beach Anse Source d’Argent which is plain hills, another one goes to Anse Bananes which is also a hilly area, and the third one goes to the Grand Anse which is for professional bikers and hence we did not take up that route.
Anse Bananes
Our first route was to Anse Bananes where we took halt many times at different types of beaches. All the beaches were giving us major travel goals and we even had the beaches to ourselves. Not to forget the weather was pretty HOT! Very Hot!
The path was very steep and after several halts, we conquered our path and reached Anse Bananes which has again a breathtaking view. Amazing views, fresh fruit drinks.
Riding at steep hills and such a humid climate that we were exhausted by the time we reach Anse Bananes.
There we found the famous Cafe, Chez Jules, ordering coconut water and Indian vegeterian food rejuvenated us.
Photo: Seychelles Islands / AOT Partner
Seeing all the neighboring islands was something unforgettable but we also wanted to explore what’s the deal with Praslin, the world-famous Seychelles island.
After exploring La Digue Island, we took our ferry back to Praslin enjoying the cool breeze.
Day 3: City tour of Praslin Island
Photo: Beautiful Praslin Island / The Art of Travel
Our last day in Praslin Island included city tour. We rented a car for the day and headed straight to Vallee de Mai, a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This is a nature preserve filled with rare Coco de mer palms – they’re so rare that they only grow in Seychelles! They also produce the largest, heaviest seeds/nuts in the world, which are pretty cool to see.
After Vallee de Mai, we headed directly to Anse Volbert at Cote D’or. Here you will find lots of shops to take back momentous for family and friends.
We spent a few SCR (Seychelles Rupees) on momentous and went straight to Anse Lazio, which is considered to be the best beach in the world. To our surprise, it indeed was the best beach we have seen and also a private beach for us.
Day 4: Ferry to Mahe Island
The last two days we were supposed to spend in Mahe. Unfortunately, we missed our morning ferry to Mahe Island. Thankfully our travel agent helped us to get transferred to the next ferry and we also got permission for a late check-out.
By the time we reached Mahe, it was already late in the afternoon and you won’t find anything open in Seychelles post 5:30 pm. So we planned to go straight to our hotel, Coral Strand, located in Beau Vallon.
Photo: Beau Vallon / The Art of Travel PartnerPartner
Beau Vallon beach is the biggest tourist area in Seychelles and largest beach we came across.
It’s a gorgeous, wide bay with calm, gentle waters. The sunsets here are out of this world, and the glassy-smooth water reflects the light beautifully.
Day 5: City Tour of Mahe
Next morning we woke up early and our plan was to see as much as possible which was only doable by renting a car. So we did!
La Plaine St. Andre
Taking delivery of our car from the airport, we headed direct to La Plaine St. Andre, the famous Takamaka factory (however the distillation activity was closed due to Christmas), we tasted different varieties of Rum. We even bought a few for ourselves. 🙂
Jardin Du Roi
Photo: Cocoa Fruit, Spice Garden
Heading South our next stop was Spice Garden, Jardin Du Roi. The terrain to the Spice Garden was so steep it really gave us heebie-jeebies.
Tea Factory
Yet there was another adventure waiting for us, the Tea Factory. It’s all the steeper literally taking our breath away. At the end when we saw the view from Tea Factory, it was actually worth both the dare and physical effort.
Mission Lodge
Our Driver cum Guide then suggested us to visit Mission Lodge, the most famous vantage point in Seychelles. Even after refusing to visit there, he took us to the view point. It indeed was worth the famous vantage point in Seychelles.
Victoria City
Before we head to the airport for our flight to Sri Lanka, we paid a visit to the capital city. Victoria city is regarded as the smallest capital in Africa. We covered the whole of the city walking in just three hours sightseeing Clock Tower and afterward enjoying desserts in La Dolce Vita.
We wanted to explore Eden Island, which is one of the man made island (after 115 natural islands, they created few more ;). But due to time constraint, we couldn’t.
Also, it was late evening by the time we left from Victoria and as I mentioned earlier nothing in Seychelles is open after 5:30 pm except Pubs, Bars, and Restaurants.
Photo: Saying goodbye is always hard
After taking millions of photos of this part of the island, we knew, our vacation in the Seychelles islands is literally over and it’s time to fly back.
Would you consider going to the Seychelles islands? Or have you already experienced this lovely paradise? How long did you stay and what did you see? Tell us more in the comments below!
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Author Bio
This blog post is written by Vishakha, a finance girl by profession and a traveler by heart. You may also get in touch with her through her personal blog at TravelJaunt.