Sinimalist

A few months ago we wanted to escape the chill of Finnish winter with my boyfriend and took off to Seychelles. It was such an amazing experience and I wanna share some of the Seychelles magic with you. Seychelles is world famous for its beaches, crystal clear waters and spectacular nature. The islands are unique, since they are formed of granite. The rock formations are spectacular, especially the ones on the beaches.

It´s unbelievable that Seychelles isn´t more popular or well known (at least in Finland that is). We received a lot of raised eyebrows and questions when we told our friends about our vacation plans. Most of the tourists on Seychelles seemed to be German, with a few Italians and French here and there. Overall, the vibe on the islands and among the tourists was relaxed and very well-behaved, something you won´t see in Thailand or Ibiza. The two weeks we spent on the islands went by way too fast. Unfortunately we didn´t get to do everything on the must-do-on-Seychelles-list, but here´s a few tips on what do in there.

1. LA DIGUE

The island of La Digue is a must. It is only 3km wide and 5km long and everybody rides around with bikes. There are only a few cars, but mostly they are taxis and minibuses for driving tourists between the ferry and the hotels. You can rent bikes anywhere, our bikes cost us about 7€ per day and we got them from the hotel. The vibe on La Digue is very relaxed. You can ride around the on narrow roads that weave through lush rain forests, massive rock formations and beaches and find yourself an isolated beach where you can spend an entire day more or less alone. And there are no locals trying to sell you stuff you don’t need for a “special price”. More on the beaches of La Digue below…

2. RENT A CAR

The prices aren´t too bad and the traffic is ok, at least on the island of Praslin, where we drove around in our small Hyundai. I guess you need to be at least a decent driver to enjoy Seychelles by car. The traffic is left-handed, the roads are narrow and there are a few massive hills, which can be challenging for a less experienced driver. Other than that, renting a car is a smart move, since there is a lot to discover and you get a nice sense freedom when you are able go wherever and whenever you want to.

3. BEACHES

The beaches are spectacular pretty much everywhere you go. We spend our two weeks on two different islands, La Digue and Praslin, a week each. There´s no shortage of nice beaches, most of them are very quiet and if you get bored, just on your snorkeling gear and head out for a swim. You can spot rays, turtles, octopuses and other exotic fish in the vicinity of the beaches. Plus, the climate is very nice, it is amazingly calm for a place that is surrounded by thousands of miles of ocean. A local taxi driver explained that Seychelles is located in a tranquil part of the Indian Ocean, due to ocean currents and winds. The climate is hot, sunny and very calm, bigger storms and cyclones are extremely rare in Seychelles. Then again, this is how the taxi driver told us, so maybe this claim doesn´t hold any scientific value.

On La Digue, there are plenty cool beaches to discover. The world famous Source D´Argent was very nice indeed, but our favorite was a remote beach called Petite Anse. It takes a 15 minute trek over some rough rocky terrain from another great beach, Grand Anse but it definitely is worth the effort. The first thing we saw on Petite Anse were three manta rays swimming only a few meters from the beach in full courtship mode! I don´t think it gets much more unique than that! However, the waves on these two beaches are no joke, as I discovered after being tossed around a few times. But that is another story…’

4. VALLE´E DE MAI NATIONAL PARK

We visited Vallée de Mai nature reserve, which was like a movie set for Jurassic Park. Massive palm trees, endemic bird species and fruit bats flying above the canopy created a magical vibe in the jungle. Spending time in the shades of the jungle also serves as a good balancer for the hot sun at the beach, as if you´d want a break from sun bathing! 🙂 Anyway, this is definitely a place worth visiting.

Here is a well written piece about the basics of Seychelles, check it out! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask 🙂