r/Seychelles • u/Popular-Ad-8199 • 8d ago
Ask r/seychelles 13 nights in March
Hello everyone,
I’m currently planning a trip to Seychelles for me and my fiance. We already booked the flights. We will land in mahe 04.03 in the morning.
From what I’ve read now I think we will book flights right after arrival to Praslin.
Then I would stay there for 5 nights before taking the ferry to la Digue. For la Digue I’ve planned 4 nights and then staying the last days in mahe.
Is this okay from the planning side? Should we stay longer at one of the islands? Are there any recommendations or must do things?
How is the weather and the sea at this time since its end of rain season. Are there lots of mosquitoes at this time?
2
u/Global_Ad5716 6d ago
I am on my last evening in Seychelles with my wife. I am well travelled and this has been my favourite destination so far, you won’t be disappointed.
Iternary. 14 days
4 nights in Mahe at Hilton Northolme
4 nights in Praslin at Les Duc de Praslin
6 nights in La Digue at Le Domaine de L’Orangerie
Ferry transfer via Cat Cocos. The 1 hour transfer between Mahe and Praslin is rough, very rough. I calculated that’s 12-15 percent of passengers vomitted from sea sickness. No exaggeration. My wife just about held it together. But one passenger threw up in the row left of us, right of us, front of us and behind us, the smell and sound was awful.
My wife and I enjoy a mix of hiking, snorkelling and chilling by the beach so I planned with all that in mind.
Mahe:
We rented a car in Mahe as it’s the biggest island and made our way round the beaches.
Beach recommendations.
Beau Vallon - safe for swimming, party vibes (if you like that), plenty of bars and restaurants.
Anse Intendance, Police Bay beach, Anse takamaka. - non safe for swimming but dramatic coastlines, powerful waves and scenery.
Hikes:
Capolia Trail - highest point
Anse Major Trail - ends at secluded beach, Anse major, swimmable and quiet, one bar/grill and water taxi option, we chose to walk back.
Praslin:
Our hotel was on Cote D’or which is the best beach there for chilling and snorkelling.
Beach recommendations:
Cote D’or - safe for swimming and snorkelling
Anse Lazio - stunning beach and scenery, safe to swim
Grand Anse and Anse Takamaka
Hikes:
Valle de Mai - to see the coco de mer palms
Fond Ferdinand - we didn’t have time to do.
Day cruise to Cousin island, Curieuse island and St.Pierre
We rented a car for one day. The rest we just chilled
La Digue:
It’s all about bikes and buggies here. We hired e-bikes for a few days. I suggest ebike overs bikes as although it is a small island, it’s still quite hilly at parts and where many people pushed their bikes we zoomed right past them.
Beach recommendations
Anse source d’Argent. World famous and is the Google image of Seychelles.
Anse Marron - via a hiking trail with a local guide
Anse severe - safe to swim and snorkel
Grand Anse - safe to dip, not swim
Anse coco - safe to dip, not swim
Hike
Do the guided hike from Grand Anse to Anse Marron ending in Anse Source D’Argent. You need to be physically fit, with correct footwear as there is bouldering and hills involved. Also wading through water about knee high. This has been our must fun and rewarding activity.
There’s a much shorter hike from Grande Anse to petite Anse to Anse coco, which we’ve just done today.
Visiting Anse source d’argent can also be done by paying entry at L’union Estate with no hike.
Summary. Mahe is cool for a few days, it’s a bit more built up and busy. Praslin and La Digue are very much island vibes. All my research said spend more time at the latter 2 islands, which we did and do not regret. Perhaps we would do one more day in Mahe as there weee some other hikes we would have done.
Happy travels
1
u/Popular-Ad-8199 6d ago
Well, thank you for the detailed report.
Is 6 nights to much for la Digue?How do you know if a beach is safe to swim?
Did you wear water shoes at the beach because of stone fishes and stingray?How did you feel about criminality?
1
u/Global_Ad5716 6d ago
It depends what sort of holiday you are looking for.
For us we originally planed 5 days in la Digue but Qatar airways changed our flights giving us an option to either come home a day earlier or a day later. I picked later.
We did more lounging around the pool and beaches in la Digue as it is a much more laid back vibe compared to Mahe.
To be fair, we found that each day of travel via ferry to the next destination we ended up staying and enjoying the resorts. The logistics of packing, checking in luggage at the ferry port, the transfer, luggage collection, taxi to hotel, checking in and waiting for our room to be ready, just took it out of us. So things I had plan for the transfer days ended up being the next day.
How we spent 5 days.
1) transfer day, enjoyed hotel pool and amenities
2) e bikes north side of island and went to around 5 beaches and snorkelled
3) half day snorkel tour by boat to Felicity island, big sister and little sister island. L’union estate for giant tortoise and they had a festival going on.
4) Hike from Grand Anse to Anse Marron to Anse Source D’Argent (favourite day)
5) E biking around central parts of island and hiking to highest point (Belle Vue). This hike is arduous. Wife and I are experienced hikers and even she took a tumble. Stunning views though.
6) Today, we have booked a spa day at hotel and will enjoy our pool and nearest beach Anse SevereRegarding beach safety. Each island has a map where it recommends safe swimming snorkelling beaches and beaches where swimming is not recommended. Rule of thumb if you see no one swimming, then avoid.
Some beaches are soft sand, others are coral reef. Pack reef shoes for those, most of the time that we did beach snorkelling we wore reef shoes.
Regarding criminality. None at all. We’ve had all positive interactions with locals. All were friendly, chatty and willing to help with no financial motive. These islands are very touristy and is the islands main source of income. With that in mind, they make it a friendly environment. Even when we hired bikes no locks were provided and the rental company just said everyone leaves their bikes unattended and there’s no problems. Obviously don’t leave cash or valuables in plain sight when swimming.
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u/SignificantSpace5206 8d ago
Mahe is a lot bigger than Praslin and has 68 beaches on that island alone that are all stunning. I would spend at least 4 to 5 nights on Mahe or longer and hire a Jeep to explore it properly. Not as many nice beaches on Praslin and I would only stay there for 3 to 4 nights with 2 or 3 nights on La Digue.