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Praslin, Mahé and La Digue - you must experience that in the Seychelles

Africa Seychelles Beach Palm Travel
Take a tour of the largest islands in the Seychelles; Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, and become wiser about what you can experience and where it is obvious to eat and live.
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Praslin, Mahé and La Digue - you must experience that in the Seychelles is written by Jacob Gowland Jørgensen

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The beautiful island kingdom

Praslin is located between the other two main islands of Mahé and La Digue in the beautiful island kingdom Seychelles, in the middle The Indian Ocean.

The Seychelles are beautiful beaches, round cliffs and azure sea. But it's not just about the amazing beaches on Praslin. The island kingdom is also an interesting island destination in many other ways.

Here is therefore a tour of the three different main islands that most people visit, focusing on what you can experience and in good places to stay. There are 115 islands in total and there are good opportunities to visit some of the other islands on day trips from Mahé, Praslin or La Digue.

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Mahé

There are only 100.000 people living in the Seychelles, and most of them live in Mahé.

This is where you will find the capital Victoria, where there are shopping opportunities and museums. However, you do not have to be very far away from Victoria before nature finds its place again and the beaches appear. For example, the popular beach area Beau Vallon is only five kilometers from the center.

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Experiences and places to eat at Mahé

First of all, remember to set aside some time to wander around Victoria. It can reportedly be done in 15 minutes if you are busy, but you should not have it in the Seychelles, so set aside a few hours. Visit the food market, the Hindu temple, the natural history museum and the small stalls.

Get into the island atmosphere by eating Creole food that manages to combine French cooking with specialties from the Indian Ocean. In Mahé you can walk to Marie Antoinette, which is a cozy local restaurant in one of the original houses, and where the food is as fresh as the giant turtles right next door are old.

Four kilometers south of the center is Eden Island, which is a beautiful area with marina, shops and of course good places to eat. Here you can for example find Bravo Restaurant, which has really delicious food and a great view.

There is also delicious food at the airport, where one of the large resorts, Avani Resorts, runs a delicious lounge that is open to everyone. It is called CIP Lounge and is located on the 1st floor, before check-in.

If you are into rum, spices and delicious food, it is quite obvious to head south to Takamaka just under 20 kilometers from Victoria. Here, two of the island's prides are gathered in one place, namely Takamaka Rum Distillery, which has popular tastings, and the restaurant La Grande Maison. The restaurant is one of the island's absolute best restaurants, and it is all located in an idyllic little park with spices and flowers. Both are highly recommended.

Mahé also houses the Morne Seychellois National Park, where you can trek, and it is also from Mahé that you can sail out to the small islands of Saint-Anne Marine National Park just off Victoria.

There are many who visit Mission Lodge, which is one of the historic sites. The place tells the story of how the slave children were cared for in a mission school, and there is a beautiful view from up there, with a scent of cinnamon and exotic flowers.

There are generally lots of small cozy corners on the island where one can easily find a peaceful corner and a beautiful beach.

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  • Seychelles - mahe praslin la digue - maia luxury resort travel

Hotels and resorts on Mahé

There are several hundred hotels and resorts on Mahé, and in addition there are private rentals of rooms, apartments and houses, so there is plenty to choose from. The price level is generally high, as it is throughout the island kingdom. Here are a few great deals on resorts, all located at the more expensive end, but also delivering the goods:

In Beau Vallon shares modern and well-functioning H Resort and more traditional Le Meridien Fisherman's Cove a beautiful beach with good snorkeling opportunities. H Resort's villas with small pool in front are really lovely, and are everything one would expect from a resort in the Seychelles.

Constance Ephelia is a large and modern resort that covers an entire peninsula with several absolutely perfect beaches. Their restaurant Corossol is also absolutely top class. You can also zipline and pull here, and generally you get to walk something if you do not want to ride in golf carts.

Maia Luxury Resort is as exclusive as Constance Ephelia, but in a fundamentally different way. Maia Luxury Resort is much smaller, and here there are only the most beautiful villas and a focus on tranquility and togetherness with those you have come with.

Maia Luxury Resort is absolutely stunning and has a level of service that most 5-star hotels can only dream of.

If your budget is not for these places, then there are plenty of smaller guesthouses and private rentals. The beaches are the same, because they are public and freely accessible to everyone.

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Praslin

Praslin is possibly the most beautiful of the three islands. Here is one of the islands' UNESCO national parks, and the beaches are just as lovely as you think they can be. There are also many different types of beaches and hotels.

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  • Seychelles - praslin island beach - travel

Experiences and places to eat on Praslin

The Vallée de Mai nature reserve is a UNESCOreserve located in Praslin National Park. It is famous for the coconut palm Coco de Mer, which has the world's largest plant seeds and sexy shapes: the female nut is shaped like a woman's lap and the male like… an elephant's beak!

Take a guided tour where you walk through the dense forest on good paths, and hear the fascinating stories about the beautiful forest. Here, too, a good guide can make a difference, and 7 ° South is an obvious choice here. The national park is located in the middle of it all on the small island.

Anse Lazio located on the north side of Praslin, in Baie Chevalier. It is regularly on the list of the world's most beautiful beaches, and for good reason. It is also a fairly peaceful and large beach, so there is plenty of space. Several hotels have shuttle buses to here, and the local bus also runs here.

It is obvious to go on an excursion to the small islands of Cousin, Curieuse and St. Pierre, who with Masons Travel is typically part of a full-day excursion with a comfortable giant catamaran.

Cousin is a small island packed with animals, and Curious is a gem one must not cheat on. Here the giant turtles roam freely and the beach is really more beautiful than beautiful. St. Pierre is just a rock tuber with heavy snorkeling, but very picturesque.

There are some good restaurants that are not located in the hotels, and here we can recommend, among others The Laurels og St. Pierre Beach Restaurant. The nicest and most cheerful was though Cafe Des Arts, there is a beach cafe during the day, a nice restaurant in the evening and a dance and cocktail place on the weekends. It is centrally located on Anse Volbert Beach.

No1 Baie Sainte Anne is cozy with breakfast, café and delicious cakes.

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Hotels and resorts on Praslin Island

Paradise Sun is located right next to one of the most beautiful beaches, namely Anse Volbert. It is part of a South African hotel chain and therefore has complete control over service and logistics.

The hotel has small cozy cabins with plenty of wood quite close to the beach, so you can hear havet. There is an informal beach restaurant which has a huge buffet with everything good from havet. It is one of the most relaxed hotels we know of on the islands.

The Duke of Praslin is located right next to Paradise Sun and is next door to Café Des Arts. It is a fairly modern 4-star hotel with super nice bathrooms and a smiling service at the reception.

In addition to the rooms around a small inner courtyard, they have several luxury villas on the hill with telling names like Villa 360, which has 360 degree views from the pool. The hotel is located almost right on the beach. The hotel's restaurant La Pirogue is a lovely restaurant with high ambitions and great food.

Les Villas D'Or is located a little further down the beach and is a completely different style than the first two hotels. Here are classic and cozy cabins in a large park, and the focus is on friendly service, tranquility and enjoying nature.

It is run by a local family who wants the best for you and at the same time there is no hint of bling-bling or anything pretentious. You walk a few meters and then you are out on the beach Anse Volbert with the beautiful view. Villas D'Or is a place where one easily feels at home.

Coco de Mer Hotel is located on the west side of the island, so there is a guarantee of beautiful sunsets. The beach is completely different here - more wild and untamed. The 4-star hotel has a number of regulars, and we can well understand that, because here you feel welcome from the first second.

Rooms at the Coco de Mer are neat with a modern touch and sea views. They have a range of luxury suites called Black Parrot.

The restaurant is possibly the best hotel restaurant on the island with nice and delicious dishes, even though it is a buffet restaurant. Guided walks up to the viewpoint are included, and it is a beautiful, sweaty and entertaining experience. There is a free shuttle bus to Anse Lazio.

Coco de Mer also has local owners.

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La Digue

The small rocky island of La Digue is a completely different place in life than its big brothers Mahé and Praslin. Here there are more bicycles than cars, and life goes on calmly. La Digue is quite close to Praslin, and there is a ferry there with the Cat Rose Ferry, so it is ideal to visit if you want to slow down and feel the island life.

It is also an obvious place if you want to go out and pull and move. When you arrive at the port, you are in the middle of the main street and at the tourist office, so it is easy to get help to move on.

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Experiences and places to eat at La Digue

Life at La Digue takes place primarily on foot or by bicycle. It is obvious to rent some good bikes from the bike places in the small harbor and use them to get along the half-steep road around the island. Note that there is usually no lock on the bikes. There are also a number of golf carts on the island - mostly for transport.

One of the most obvious experiences is getting out to pull. There are some places where it is reasonably simple, such as along the world famous beach Anse Source d'Argent. But if you really want to experience nature, there is no way around taking a guided trekking trip, with the Sunny Trails Guide being the most obvious.

It must be taken quite literally: There are areas to the south of the beautiful - and quite secret - beach Anse Marron, where you simply can not get in and around if you do not know the exact path between the rocks. Even experienced trekkers give up there without a guide.

It is a trekking trip that you should only go on if you are sure of your legs and have good hiking shoes or similar, because you have to go out and balance on rocks and wade through havet more places. In return, you get to see how beautiful the Seychelles can be in all its naturalness and get to experience Anse Marron almost for yourself.

There is a very big difference on the beaches. Some are with sand, some with rock. Some have no waves, others have massive waves. A few are advised against swimming due to undercurrent. So just find a new beach every day so you can experience the whole palette of beauty by the water.

Because La Digue is more low-key than, for example, Praslin, there are only smaller hotels and many options for eating out. In the middle of the city on the main street is the popular Fish Trap Restaurant with both local and international dishes, the elegant Kaffir lime and finally Mi Mum's Takeaway, which as the name suggests is simple and tasty food. They are all located within a few hundred meters of the island's only town, La Passe.

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Hotels and resorts on La Digue

There are exclusively family hotels, boutique hotels, hostels and cabins for rent, and the vast majority are locally run. That way, the hotels fit in really well with the island.

Patatran Hotel is obvious for you who love great views. From your terrace or from the pool you can look directly at the beautiful sea and follow the weather and the sun's hiking. It is a cozy and solid hotel with a reasonably large restaurant.

The local beach Anse Patates is sometimes good for swimming and snorkeling, and other times there are too many waves. The beach is right in front of the hotel and is visited almost exclusively by hotel guests.

Patatran Hotel is located right at the northern tip of the island, so it is 1,5 kilometers from the city, which is a nice bike ride with a few climbs along the way.

A good alternative is Chateau St Clou south of the city, and otherwise rent a cozy room or a cottage from the locals.

Seychelles is a place you must experience one day. Good trip to Mahé, Praslin and La Digue and the many other small islands - good trip to The Indian Ocean.

You must experience this on Praslin, Mahé and La Digue

  • Relax on some of the world's best beaches
  • Snorkel and dive
  • Trekking and hiking in beautiful surroundings
  • Visit the Vallée de Mai nature reserve which is a UNESCO reserve
  • Go on an excursion to the small islands of Cousin, Curieuse and St. Pierre
  • See giant tortoises at Curieuse
  • Stroll around Victoria

About the author

Jacob Jørgensen, editor

Jacob is a cheerful travel nerd who has traveled in almost 100 countries from Rwanda and Romania to Samoa and Samsø. Jacob is a member of De Berejstes Klub, where he has been a board member for five years, and he has extensive experience with the travel world as a lecturer, magazine editor, consultant, author and photographer. And of course most important of all: As a traveler. Jacob enjoys traveling traditionally such as car holidays to Norway, cruises in the Caribbean and city breaks in Vilnius, and more out-of-the-box trips such as solo trips to the highlands of Ethiopia, road trips to unknown national parks in Argentina and friends trips to Iran.

Jacob is a country expert in Argentina, where he has been 10 times so far. He has spent almost a year in total traveling through the many diverse provinces, from the penguin land in the south to deserts, mountains and waterfalls in the north, and has also lived in Buenos Aires for a few months. In addition, he has special travel knowledge of such diverse places as East Africa, Malta and the countries around Argentina.

In addition to traveling, Jacob is an honorable badminton player, Malbec fan and always fresh on a board game. Jacob has also had a career in the communications industry for a number of years, most recently with the title of Communication Lead in one of Denmark's largest companies, and has for a number of years also worked with the Danish and international meeting industry as a consultant, among others. for VisitDenmark and Meeting Professionals International (MPI). Jacob is currently also an external lecturer at CBS.

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