p Seeing is believing. As a little girl I was enchanted by the movie "The Blue Lagoon". Now I can say for sure that places like that really do exist in the world, just a 6-hour flight away.
p "I've been to Paris and to Rome too": that's how I thought about stunning beaches before I got to the Seychelles. That's what I thought.
p For years I've been collecting stunning places on my list. But I'd never seen anything like this, I swear.
p When I was thinking about how I wanted to celebrate my milestone birthday, I hesitated between a few destinations.
p After all, it's not every vacation that we treat ourselves to a luxurious destination.
p The vision was: a turquoise sea, white sand, coconuts and a shake at sunset. A place where you can both go hiking and just lie around.
p A place with wild, exotic scenery, and lazy beach days too. A place we'd carry in our hearts after we got back, and dream about in hard moments.
p All this and more in the most photogenic stories ever! The Seychelles, part 1 and part 2.
p Why enjoy alone???
p (Come enjoy London, Greece, the Black Forest, Madrid or even a desert inn in the south with me too.)
p Why the Seychelles?
p Choosing a destination like this was so much fun. There are so many amazing places in the world: Thailand of course, Zanzibar, the Maldives, Mauritius, the Cayman Islands, Aruba, French Polynesia and many, many more. The world is full of them.
p In the end I narrowed it down to: the Seychelles, Mauritius and the Maldives.
p Zanzibar: I was told the town is very ugly. Thailand: I'm saving it for a trip with the kids, and I've been already. And the other places are too far for one week.
p The Maldives: it looks dreamy and is definitely on our list, but everything there looks exactly the same. That swing in the sea and the bungalows over the water. We'll go there when all we want is a shake by the sea. That's it.
p Mauritius: it looks special, and after all, Mark Twain wrote about it:
p “God Created Mauritius First, And Then Made A Copy Which He Called Heaven”
p But with all due respect to Mark Twain, he didn't have Google, and I do.
p The black granite rocks of the Seychelles enchanted me. I couldn't wait to see this wonder rising out of the sea, waves crashing on it, in that picture-perfect scenery with the white sand. A mix of sky, clouds, sea and hammocks that looks like the photo was edited.
p That picture of a hike through a giant granite rock, a walk through a wild green jungle that ends at a beach that takes your breath away, left me no dilemma.
p Seychelles it is.
p And I'm here to tell you more, because why enjoy alone?
p There's no end to the beauty and no end to the stunning photos; come visit my Instagram, where I saved all my stories, or my Facebook page for more photos.
p A little about the Seychelles
p The Republic of Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, is made up of 115 islands, the biggest of which is Mahé. Only 33 of them are inhabited.
p A direct flight gets you there in just six hours. The main language is Creole, a unique mix of English and French. If you ask me, it's broken English with a French accent :)
p The Seychelles were discovered by the Portuguese in 1503. France took over the islands in 1756; before that, it was mostly pirates. The French named the place Seychelles, after the French finance minister of the time, who had that name. Lucky he had such a pretty name :) Imagine if he'd been called François Diamant?
p Legend has it that there were only Frenchmen and one woman in the Seychelles, and that's how the population started to grow. Either that's one huge myth, or she was exceptionally friendly. We'll never know.
p In 1794 the British conquered the Seychelles. Legend has it that just before the French left, they made sure to kill every crocodile on the island. Down to the very last one.
p The Seychelles only became independent in 1976. Practically yesterday.
p The locals are maybe the kindest people we've ever met. They're fair, they're nice, they volunteer information, they go above and beyond, they're cheerful and simply good-hearted.
p Also, fines for theft on the islands are very high, since tourism is so important to the country, so the crime rate is low.
p Even though it's tropical, there are no dangerous animals, so go barefoot freely and experience the jungles safely.
p All the buildings are lower than the tallest coconut tree in the area, and the view opens up to you wherever you are.
p Things you need to know:
p The most important thing to know is the weather! The average temperature is 29 degrees Celsius.
p The southeast monsoon comes from May to September. According to the internet, it's cooler and drier then. I was there in August; it really wasn't cool, it rains during this period, and there's seaweed on the beaches in the southwest of Mahé and Praslin. Meaning, during these months, book a hotel in the north of the island.
p The northwest monsoon comes from November to March. It's very rainy then, so it's significantly cheaper. There's seaweed on the beaches in the northwest of Mahé and Praslin. Meaning, during these months, book a hotel in the south of the island.
p April and October are the transition months between the monsoons. It's hottest then.
p It's not the end of the world if you don't book hotels by these tips, because it's easy to get around; it's just nicer to step out of your room straight into the sea than to cross to the other side of the island... So if you can, book the right hotel.
p 2. The waves there are very high and very dangerous. Only go into the water in places sheltered by two strips of rocks or hills. Pay attention. Roni is 1.90 m tall, and further down there's a photo showing how high and dangerous the waves are.
p 3. Snorkeling is well worth doing, but only when the water is calm, so you actually see something. The fish there are beautiful on another level.
p 4. Pay attention to the animals, even the small, ordinary ones. The dogs there don't bark; they've probably realized there's nothing to be angry or bark about in the Seychelles. Nothing could be better, and we're here to enjoy. The birds feel comfortable visiting you anywhere. Their colors aren't real, and the confidence they feel coming right up to you is priceless. And I haven't even mentioned the perfect fish at the beaches and the giant tortoises! Stop for a moment and treasure it. A bird in Israel and a bird in the Seychelles are not the same bird.
p 5. You can get between the islands by boat or by plane. We booked a ferry, and after I threw up my soul the whole crossing and discovered I suffer from very bad seasickness, we decided to fly back. Imagine a woman throwing up next to you (or you throwing up!) into a sick bag, or into the toilet next to you, but the moment a big wave hits, she flies out of the stall. A bit unpleasant, not to say disgusting.
p So the flight back was perfect. First of all because I didn't have to spend the rest of the trip anxious about going through it again on the way back. More advantages:
p A similar price (300 shekels compared with 200 shekels)
p A quarter of an hour compared with a full hour
p If you're flying straight on somewhere else, it's very efficient
p You get to see an amazing low-altitude view of the island chains
p Our way back was Praslin, Mahé, Israel, so the domestic flight was walking distance from the international one and saved us a taxi and time getting to the airport. That let us enjoy many more hours at the hotel on the last day.
p We booked the ferry from Mahé to Praslin through Seychellesbookings. I recommend booking ahead if that's how you choose to get between the islands. We booked the flight through Air Seychelles.
p 6. Coco de Mer
p At first we didn't get why all the symbols were of bottoms. We thought to ourselves, how rude :) But we soon realized it's a one-of-a-kind fruit, and the place where it grows has been declared a World Heritage Site! It's become one of the best-known symbols of the Seychelles. There's a male coconut and a female one, and legend has it that whoever sees the coconuts walking hand in hand will stay on the island forever! We tried, but didn't find them :)
q “Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller”
p And now for the practical part:
p The first thing I always do, and it proves itself again and again, is book flights and hotels ahead. The price gaps were huge, and it saved us over 10,000 shekels. The Seychelles are very expensive! So expensive that a can of Coke can cost over 20 shekels. We booked in October for August: flights, hotels and, of course, flight cancellation insurance.
p How did I start planning THE trip? There's no end to the amazing beaches and the options in this country, and still, I had to choose two or three at most.
p We decided to stay on two islands: Mahé and Praslin (most nights on Mahé), and from Praslin we spent one day on the island of La Digue. The island with the most beautiful beach in the world.
p On Mahé, the southern part is wilder, with locals. The northern part is more touristy.
p On the day we moved to Praslin, we left our suitcases with a driver who took them to the hotel, and went straight on to La Digue, to save the time of driving to the hotel and back. It ran like clockwork and freed up a few more hours of enjoyment on La Digue. And every minute in paradise counts.
p Rent a car or hire a guide for the day? We chose a day guide:
p In the Seychelles they drive on the left, and the roads are a little dangerous.
p Another reason we chose a guide is that with a guide, we could concentrate on the road and the guide's explanations.
p Lovely Nelson took us to hidden gems we definitely wouldn't have found. A choice that turned out to be excellent.
p We didn't miss a single beautiful spot on the list; I came to him well prepared.
p If you take a guide like that, try Nelson. He promised me that if you tell him you came through me, he'll give you a 25-euro discount. Instead of 175 euros a day, just 150 euros. Phone: 002482502520.
p And just like that, out of nowhere, all I did was ask how you peel a coconut 🤷♀ and then this happened:
p And then I had just one more question: where does cinnamon come from 🙄?
p In short, nobody beats Nelson.
p These are the spots I had on my list, plus the extras Nelson showed us. We visited most of them, but not all. We preferred to settle into amazing places rather than tick everything off:
p * Victoria: we were there very briefly and didn't connect with it.
p * The TAKAMAKA rum distillery visitor center: a factory that makes rum from sugarcane. There's a beautiful beach of the same name, named after the takamaka tree.
p * Michael Adams's art gallery: his art is everywhere.
p * Sunset Beach, Hilton Northolme: one of the small, perfect beaches. We stayed at this hotel on Mahé.
p Details below.
p * Port Launay
p * Anse Royale | Fairyland Beach
p * Anse Baleine
p * Carana Beach
p * Grand Anse
p * Police Bay
p * One of the perfect beaches! Anse Intendance. Eat at the Del Place restaurant
p * We really loved Anse Takamaka beach
p * Baie Lazare
p * THE beach at the Four Seasons hotel, called Petite Anse!
p Of course it's one of the most perfect hotels in existence (we didn't stay there, obviously), and its beach is public!!
p You arrive at the hotel, walk down to the beach, and stop breathing because the beach is so perfect. Perfect.
p Can't breathe.
p * We saw and jumped into an amazing waterfall at one of these spots: two of the waterfalls are on Mahé and one on Praslin. We visited the Port Launay waterfall on Mahé.
p * A particularly wonderful viewpoint, Mirante la Misère, named for all the miserable slaves who built the roads of the Seychelles with their own hands.
p * We also saw an even more beautiful view at Mission Lodge. That's where we ended the day.
p Sample days on Mahé:
p A hiking day plus chilling at the hotel:
p 1. Anse Major
p One of the most beautiful.
p We took a taxi to the trailhead, and remember the vision I told you about earlier, of jungles, mountains, crazy granite rocks and a dreamy beach? This is exactly it. The trail isn't considered hard, but I can't say it was easy for us. You can come back by speedboat, but Seychellois take their time, so we preferred to walk back and take a taxi (we'd taken our taxi driver's number and called him from the trail to come and pick us up).
p We did this trail on a Sunday, when lots of things are closed.
p 2. Half a day chilling plus Beau Vallon beach, combined with the night market:
p Mahé's famous beach. A huge beach, insane sunsets, and a market we made sure to visit on a Wednesday, when it's open and lively. The market is open from 4:00 pm to 10:30 pm. We ate local food by the sea, drank a shake at sunset and bought souvenirs.
p The sunset looked like it had set the sky on fire. Seeing is believing.
p 3. Zipline
p A zipline between the trees at the Ephelia hotel: I really wanted to, but we didn't get to it, and it was too expensive to take a taxi especially for it.
p 4. More hiking trails I had on my list:
p 5. Of course, a tour of the island that includes the spots I listed above.
p My finalist hotels:
p It was just Roni (my husband) and me, so we tried to go for hotels with few options for kids, or adults-only by definition :)
p But I'm including the hotels recommended online and by friends.
p A summary of the hotels I checked out for you:
p Mahé
p Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa
p This is the hotel we stayed at. It was our best choice. As I said, we booked many months ahead. There are only a few rooms, so hurry if you pick this hotel.
p A little about the hotel: the view is breathtaking, the service is among the most perfect I've come across, the food is on another level, and the experience is one of a kind.
p Breakfast is served on a cliff, with a sea breeze and calming music. It was the highlight of the day, and we really appreciated it.
p The hotel's beach is small and dreamy. A hammock over the sea, sand among the softest we've felt, and if you get a massage, you won't hear calming music, because you'll hear the waves against the cliff you're on.
p All the rooms are up high so the sea is fully on display, and if you choose a room with a pool, don't even get me started on the infinity pools that merge with the sea. Every room has a bathtub for two that's also a jacuzzi facing the sea. In short, everything you've dreamed of.
p I have to share videos so you understand what we're talking about.
p The dining room. Ahhh, how I miss the calm:
p The room with the pool (we rented it for just one night, spontaneously, and by fluke it was free. The rooms without a pool look almost the same):
p Ephelia: lovely; lots of Israelis recommended it to me. The food is good and relatively cheap. The beach is comfortable (fewer waves and less seaweed). I was told to get a room on the north beach.
p A beautiful hotel in a tropical reserve by the sea, but far from all the restaurants, and meals at this hotel are very expensive.
p Praslin
p What to do on the island:
p We stayed at this dreamy hotel: Constance Lemuria
p If you ask us: one day on La Digue, the island with the perfect beach, and the rest of the time at the resort. We wanted to rest before going home, and you have to save something for next time, right?
p Ideas for Praslin:
p A day on the dream island of La Digue. Details below. Not to be missed.
p Anse Georgette: a gorgeous beach.
p It's the beach at the hotel we stayed at. One of the most beautiful beaches in the world, if you ask us!
p Stay at the resort!
p Two more places we wanted to see, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to leave the resort:
p Vallée de Mai: a national park and rainforest with the famous coco de mer trees.
p It's a hard trail, but it leads to a gorgeous view, and there's a wide variety of stunning animals in it.
p Anse Lazio: a gorgeous beach.
p Fond Ferdinand nature reserve
p One of the most beautiful.
p Anse Georgette, one of the must-see beaches on Praslin
p La Digue
p Whatever happens, don't even think about not coming here. Everything they say is true. The beautiful beach I saw is called Anse Source d'Argent. A one-of-a-kind experience. It's a beach that looks like a set in a studio. You see it and can't believe things like this exist. An explosion of beauty. Don't forget to explore by bike.
p When they build sets for movies and plays, when they write stories like Robinson Crusoe: this is the source of inspiration.
p Silhouette Island, half an hour from Mahé: there's one hotel on the island, as far as we understood
p The resort on Praslin: Constance Lemuria
p A summary of the must-sees in the Seychelles:
p 1. La Digue: the beach is called Anse Source d'Argent, plus a bike ride around the island
p 2. Praslin: the beach is called Anse Georgette
p 3. Mahé: the beaches Petite Anse or Anse Intendance and the Del Place restaurant
p 4. Mahé: a hike like Anse Major
p We wrapped up the Seychelles with these in our memory box:
p ✔️ Snorkeling
p ✔️ A rowboat trip, jumping from it into the open sea for stunning snorkeling
p ✔️ A private guide for a day touring the island, reaching places we never imagined existed
p ✔️ A hiking trail through granite rocks and jungle, with an untouched beach at the end
p ✔️ The most beautiful beach in the world
p ✔️ Street food
p ✔️ A coconut shake, or a drink from a whole coconut
p ✔️ A low-altitude domestic flight over the islands
p ✔️ An insane resort
p ✔️ Falling asleep in a hammock over the water
p ✔️ A romantic dinner on the beach
p ✔️ Reading a book
p ✔️ A conversation with each other that had a beginning, a middle and the end of a sentence. Uninterrupted!!!!
p As for the Seychelles with kids: definitely yes! Just keep in mind it's very expensive there, and if your kids are the snacking type, plan accordingly.
p In short, even paradise could take inspiration from the Seychelles. Mark Twain got the sentence right, but only almost got the location right. At least until I get to Mauritius. Next destination?
q “The smarter you get, the more you travel”
p And come visit my new Instagram and my Facebook group, where you can share your own good times too, because why should you enjoy alone?