I am fortunate to have an incredibly supportive husband. He appreciated all the solo parenting I had to do last year when he started the new job in Doha and didn't hesitate when I spoke with him about taking a trip with one of my best friends. We went back and forth on location and finally settled on the Seychelles as our destination!
Chelsea flew over to meet me en route in Doha and we flew together to the Seychelles. We spent time on the three largest islands (Praslin, Le Digue, and Mahe) on our eight day itinerary and had an unforgettable and amazing trip. Everywhere we looked was beautiful and picturesque.
Praslin
When we arrived in Mahe we planned to purchase tickets on the ferry to get over to Praslin. We'd been told we didn't need to bother booking ahead, but forgetting it was Easter weekend through things for a loop. We didn't make the morning ferry and had to wait six hours for the next. Chelsea was jet lagged, both of us tired from the red eye so that first day left much to be desired. We grabbed some food, slept on benches in the port, and anxiously arrived to our hotel in Praslin and got a good night's rest.
The following day we'd booked a boat tour with
Geoli Charters and I would
highly recommend them. They picked us up, were amazing throughout the day, and easy to arrange with via WhatsApp. It was probably my favorite part of the trip. The glass bottom boat headed around the island and towards Curiese. It was stunning. We spent the day snorkeling, relaxing on the beach, eating bbq lunch, and catching up.
The next day we headed to Vallee de May to see the famous coco de mer. We enjoyed walking in the forest, but weren't sad to leave the humidity and catch our ferry to Le Digue.
Le Digue
This island is smaller than Praslin and you can rent bicycles to make your way around and bike the island. It was just as beautiful and we spent most of our time alternating between the hotel pool and the nearby beach. The first day we enjoyed lunch and relaxing.
The next day we got our bicycle rental and made our way south on the island to Anse Source de Argent. We enjoyed fresh fruit smoothies and the beach along with more snorkeling. After spending most of the day there I continued bicycling making my way to the very north of the island and then to another beach back south with a more hilly route. It felt good to be on the bike again and I literally rode the end of the trail - ha!
Our last day we had to check out, but spent the entire day by the pool before catching our ferry back to the main island of Mahe for our last few days in the Seychelles.
Mahe
Our hotel in Beau Vallon had a gorgeous beach and you can probably guess by now what our itinerary consisted of after arriving. We caught the most gorgeous sunset of the trip and enjoyed walking along the beach at dusk.
We spent the next day relaxing at the hotel. The next day we decided to rent a car for a couple days as we realized it would be cheaper than taxing across the island. It was an adventure driving on the incorrect side of the road and I'm thankful to say we survived without a scratch on the vehicle. :-)
Our first stop after collecting the car was driving to the other side of the island to visit the famed Takamaka Rum Distillery. It was neat to see and we enjoyed lunch at the restaurant. Afterwards we made our way to a small spice market not far and stopped at different shops along the way back for souvenirs.
The next morning I wanted to go hiking and Chelsea opted to sleep in and pack since she was departing that evening. The hike wasn't too rigorous and it gave gorgeous overviews of Eden Island and a chance to get some good exercise.
After breakfast we headed down to my next hotel in a different part of Mahe called Petite Anse. I checked in and we headed to the restaurant for lunch before a final swim together. I took Chelsea to the airport and said goodbye after an amazing time together.
Once I dropped Chelsea off at the airport I felt kind of at a loss for exactly what to do. It made me realize I have never been completely alone in a foreign country with no one but myself to make the decision. Tad overwhelming! As I made the drive back towards my hotel I decided that I wanted to sit by beach one final time. I stayed there until just before dusk and then headed back to my hotel for the evening. I enjoyed a quiet night reading and watching a movie in bed (real mom vacay right there - ha!)
The next day I enjoyed the view from my room for a coffee and reading and then spent the remainder of my time at the pool and getting a massage before heading to the airport to fly back to Doha.
The Seychelles is an absolutely beautiful place and it was a trip of a lifetime!
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