My Babymoon. My Seychelles. We chose them because we heard that they are friendly to pregnant women, they do not have terrible diseases that would be harmful to the baby, and the weather is great. I had a fond memory of Seychelles, even though I visited them at the age of six.
Seychelles
Seychelles are an island nation in the Indian Ocean, east of mainland Africa. It consists of as many as 115 islands, not all of which are inhabited, and some are not even allowed to visit, due to nature protection. The weather there is extremely humid and temperatures range between 24 and 30 degrees throughout the year. They are known for their beautiful beaches, rounded rocks on them and giant turtles. Three currencies come into play – the euro, the dollar and their local rupee. Most accept all three and return more or less their money.
Jan and I visited three of the islands – Mahe, the main island, Praslin and La Digue. Each of them is something special and worth a visit.
Seychelles have higher prices than we are used to, especially given the standard they offer. This applies to EVERYTHING, both accommodation, food and drink. Food is worth buying in their so called fast foods, where you basically don’t have to sit, but you get the package and eat the food somewhere along the way. As far as accommodation is concerned, I urge you not to expect too much, the prices are quite high and the standard is lower than we are used to.
Moving between islands
There are ferries between the islands, and there is also an air connection between Mahe and Praslin. Attention! This is not an airplane as we are used to. This is a plane for about 10-15 people, a mini airplane that takes you from one island to another in about 20 minutes with quite a bit of shaking. This little plane is a really special experience and if you have the chance, go for it! The ferries, however, are the same we know. You can reserve a seat on the deck or inside. I recommend the seat upstairs, in the open, where there is air and if you are lucky you can also see dolphins (supposedly).
Praslin
Praslin is the second-largest island of Seychelles. It is best known for the Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve, which is home to the Seychelles Black Parrot, which is extremely difficult to see, and here grows the most famous coco de mer – Seychelles Coconut, which is really specially shaped and which they are extremely proud of but also protective. If you want to buy it, it costs a small fortune, but there are very few of them available, as most of them are left on the ground to grow new ones. In the Vallée de Mai Seychelles, we also took a guide who took us along the trails, showed us the plants and animals and explained everything. Although it was quite expensive, it was worth it. The entrance fee to the park is 20€, and the guide cost us an additional 80€.
We didn’t move around Praslin much, but for one day we hired a local guide / taxi to take us around. I highly recommend Laurent, who really put in a lot of effort, explained and showed us a lot, answered our questions and adapted to us, our needs and wishes. He also took us from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the ferry.
Praslin has quite a few interesting beaches, the most beautiful being Anse Lazio, where there are huge rocks, beautiful sand and nature. There is also a restaurant nearby that offers food and drink, as well as fresh coconut.
La Digue
La Digue is a smaller island, but the third most populated. You can only reach it by ferry (or private boat), and there are practically no cars on it. Because it is so small, most tourists explore it by bike. They rent them on every corner, both ‘ordinary’ and electric. In principle, the paths are nicely arranged, but there are also some hills in between. BUT! If I managed them pregnant, I have no doubt you won’t either.
La Digue is known for its gorgeous, gorgeous beaches, some even more remote, for giant tortoises and for the vanilla plantation, L’Union Estate. If you are lucky you can meet three large turtles that roam the island freely. We both met them and I was absolutely thrilled! The next morning, however, Jan almost ran over one of the bikes because the young lady was lying in the middle of the road. 😉 You can see the remaining turtles at L’Union Estate.
L’Union Estate is a former coconut and vanilla plantation where vanilla is still grown today. A beautifully landscaped area where you can also see giant tortoises that are totally cuddly and if they figure that you want to pet them, they turn on the ‘hydraulics’, get up and enjoy the attention. They are seen to be accustomed to and love human touch.
L’Union Estate is also home to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world – Anse Source de Argent. Beautiful beach, secluded from everything, surrounded by high stones, also known for its suitability for snorkeling. You can see quite a few interesting fish. On the beach, there is also a mini cafe (more of a stall, but …), where you can get a variety of cocktails or fresh coconut.
Mahe
The largest island of Seychelles is Mahe, where their capital, Victoria and the international airport are. Mahe is the island that impressed me the least of the three. The beaches are beautiful, but that’s basically all that it offers. I was fascinated by just one beautiful place, Port Launay Falls. A beautiful waterfall in the embrace of nature, which invites with beautiful water and peace.
The beach we visited the most in Mahe is Beau Vallon, a beautiful, long and, of course, sandy beach with palm trees and even a few restaurants along the beach. We also hired a taxi guide at Mahe, but we weren’t so happy with him and I can’t recommend him.
The Seychelles will remain in my memory for its beautiful beaches, excellent home-grown fruit, friendly people, humidity, crazy nature and high prices. Great trip, but I wouldn’t go again, maybe to some other island only. If I had gone back, I would have gone to greet the turtles, hihi. 😉
How about you, have you visited Seychelles yet? Would you like them? Do you have any other destination in mind?
Xoxo, A.
