Have you heard of Seychelles? If not, you’re not alone. Only in recent years did I become aware of this small African country in the Indian Ocean. Seychelles is an archipelago comprised of 115 islands. The capital Victoria is on Mahè Island. A few of the other major islands are La Digue and Praslin.

Scrolling through photos on social media, I recall seeing unforgettably beautiful images of the island. I even looked into getting married there a couple years ago but flights were too expensive. In August of 2019, I found a great deal from D.C to Seychelles for $645. Typically flights to Seychelles can cost 1k dollars and up.

A few days before Valentine ’s Day weekend, my husband and I began the journey to Seychelles. The first leg of the journey began with a 6 hour flight to Paris. Once we arrived in Paris, we had a 9 hour layover. We debated going to Versailles but the weather wasn’t ideal. So we decided to spend the day in the lounge instead. Then we flew from Paris to Mahè, which is a 10 hour flight. We decided to start our vacation in La Digue, which is a 90 minute ferry ride from Mahè. The ferry is $60 each way. In addition to the ferry ticket, you can book the shuttle for $10 which takes you to the port from the airport. Unfortunately, the first ferry doesn’t leave until 10 am. We arrived in Mahè at 6am so waiting another 4 hours to head to La Digue was not ideal.

General Facts about Seychelles

Languages: Creole Seychellois and French

Currency: Seychellois Rupee

Religion: Roman Catholicism

La Digue

Accommodations

Hotels are not plentiful on La Digue. There are some but they can be quite expensive. Most of the accommodations are self-catering guesthouses which have cooking facilities. We stayed at Chalet D’Anse Reunion. It was about 10 minutes walking distance from the center of town.

Food

Since Seychelles is an island, we ate seafood of some sort every day. One of our favorite places to grab a snack was Glorious bakery. Each morning we indulged in delicious fish samosas. They also had a smoked fish quiche and a salted caramel puff which were divine. There are multiple restaurants to choose from but they tend to be more expensive than other options. Take-Away’s are a much more affordable dining option. Basically a take-away is a place to get food to-go. Some places have seating outside for you to enjoy your meal.

*Julie’s Take-Away is delicious! The lamb curry is amazing!

Getting Around

La Digue is a very small island. The entire island is less than 4 miles. Due to the size of the island, there are very few cars. Most people get around on bike. There are several places on the island where you can rent a bike. The place we stayed at arranged for two bikes to be dropped off. Bike rentals are $7 a day. On one of our first bike rides, we stumbled across one of the giant tortoises, Seychelles is known for.

Beaches

Anse Source d’Argent- if you’ve seen photos of the beaches on Seychelles, you’ve most likely seen this beach. This beach is known for its amazing rock formations. Unlike the other beaches on La Digue, there is an entrance fee of $8. The water itself is rather rocky which can make it hard to enter the water. This beach is definitely one of the most alluring beaches I’ve ever seen. The water is crystal clear. It can be a bit crowded so plan accordingly.

 

Grand Anse- We actually stumbled upon this beach. We were following one of the bike paths and ended up here.  This beach is perfect for swimming! The waves were big but not so big so you can’t enjoy the water. It was also a lot less crowded than Anse Source d’Argent beach. The bike ride to the beach includes a tall hill so it’s definitely a challenging bike ride but well worth it.

*There are also diving excursions to take advantage of if you’re looking for something else to do.

Praslin

Due to poor planning, we did not have a chance to visit Praslin. We planned to take a day trip from La Digue because it’s only a 20 minute ferry ride. However, we waited till the last minute and the only tickets available were for the evening. Now we have even a better reason to go back so we can see what we missed out on!

Mahè

After we spent an amazing time in La Digue, we finished our vacation in Mahè. We didn’t have any set plans for Mahè aside from relaxing by the pool. We stayed at an Airbnb on Eden Island. Eden Island is a an artificial island, not far from Victoria. The island has a variety of accommodations from luxury villas and apartments. Golf-carts are used to get around the island. On the island, there is a gym, tennis courts, multiple pools, beaches, and a plaza. The plaza has a grocery store, restaurants, and shops. Docked along Eden Island are countless impressive yachts and boats.

Overall, I had a fabulous time in Seychelles. I would definitely go back in a heartbeat. Seychelles is a great place not only for couples but also for families and friends. It’s also a popular destination for honeymooners. The heat is unforgiving so bring strong sunscreen. Both my husband and I got sunburned despite wearing sunscreen. The Seychellois people were very warm and kind. If Seychelles isn’t on your bucket list, it should be!

Have you visited Seychelles? How was your experience?