I Love Seychelles

Posts Tagged ‘Praslin’

Lovely afternoon at Anse Georgette

After our visit to the coco de mer forest in Vallée de Mai we continued in western direction to the coast again. Here we turned right to Grand’Anse and along the air strip. Yes, Praslin can be reached by airplane as well. A few miles further we reached the Lemuria resort where the road ends. I remembered reading something about day passes for Anse Georgette beach, a limited number of those passes and disappointed people, so we told the guard at the entrance gate we were there for lunch at the Lemuria. Which was actually true, because we were getting pretty hungry.

The Lemuria is a huge  and luxurious resort at the most western tip of Praslin island. Our lunch consisted of one pizza, a sandwich and 2 drinks and was the most expensive lunch so far. But truth be told, it tasted very good.

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Coco de Mer palm tree

Coco de Mer palm forest

Vallée de Mai is a nature reserve on Praslin island in the Seychelles and has a unique and natural palm forest preserved in its original state. The reserve is home of the famous Coco de Mer palm tree, endemic to the Seychelles, with its giant double coconuts. Vallée de Mai was added to the UNESCO world heritage list in 1983.

It’s only a short drive from the coast at Baie Sainte Anne to the reserve which is located about 5 miles land inwards. Several well maintained paths lead you through the palm forest.

We took the north route and were amazed by the giant palm leaves, almost five times my own size. After about 45 minutes we reached a shelter up a small hill offering a beautiful over the tropical forest.

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Map of Praslin island, Seychelles

Exploring Praslin island, Seychelles

Just like we did on Mahé, we decided to do a round trip on Praslin island. Saturday September 27th we rented a car from a guy called Manuel of Prestige Car Hire, who was always hanging out near the Acajou hotel. He was also recommended by our Mason’s Travel contact. The rental price per day was €50 or €70 including insurance, which was a lot pricier than our rental car on Mahé.

Again the fuel tank was almost empty, so I had to fill it up first. About a 3rd of the tank this time, because Praslin island is even smaller than Mahé island. The car we got was a small, bright orange Kia with airco. All Seychelles rental cars come with airco. I think it’s standard on the cars, and everything else, even the most basic things like electric windows in the front doors, is optional.
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Creole buffet @ Les Lauriers restaurant, Praslin

Creole buffet at Les Lauriers

Les Lauriers is a petit hotel and restaurant in Anse Volbert (Côte d’Or) on Praslin. It’s formula is “Creole buffet” just like The Boathouse in Beau Vallon, Mahé. We decided to go there, because we had heard good stories about it.

Normally I hate the buffet concept, but this one was really nice.

The creole buffet contains a huge “salad” bar, which is much more than just salads. There are delicious grilled and baked vegetables, pumpkin lasagnas, and many other creative, but tasteful creations. Next to it are several curries with rice, which I liked a lot. And then there’s a cook grilling fresh fish, chicken and pork chops right in front of you.

For the buffet you pay a fixed fee of I believe €30 per person.

It’s not really a romantic restaurant, but it offers good food for a good price. If you’re staying on Praslin you should check it out.

Tante Mimi restaurant

Tante Mimi is a well known restaurant and casino on Praslin. On tripadvisor I had read some very positive reviews of the restaurant so for our first dinner on Praslin we decided to dine at Tante Mimi.

The restaurant and casino are situated in a beautiful, white plantation mansion with huge colums and marble floors. The building is recently built, so it’s not authentic, but the atmosphere is really nice. Think “Gone with the wind” or ” North & South” style.

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Côte d'Or at Praslin

Côte d’Or, Praslin

Côte d’Or (or actually Anse Volbert) is one of the most famous beaches on the north coast of Praslin. Many resorts like L’Archipel,  the Berjaya Beach Resort and Paradise Sun are all located close to or on this beach.

Our own hotel, Acajou, was also located on the Côte d’Or beach. After our little incident with the hotel manager, we decided to relax on the beach. The hotel provides its guests with beach chairs and parasols, which is nice, because the sun is burning hot. On the other hand we never really missed these chairs and parasols on the Mahe beaches. A big Takamaka or coconut tree (watch out for the coconuts!) gives a much nicer shade than any parasol can ever provide…

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Acajou hotel seen from beach

Acajou hotel, Praslin

At the jetty in Baie Sainte Anne at Praslin the Mason’s bus was already waiting to bring us and some fellow travelers to our accommodations. First stop was hotel L’Archipel where the Italian couple from my previous Cat Cocos post went out. 2nd stop was Acajou where we stayed.

Distances on Praslin are really short since it’s a small island. From the jetty to our hotel is maybe 4 or 5 kilometres.

At Acajou we were welcomed by the girl at the reception. We could leave our bags, a porter would bring them to our room. While checking in we got a fresh pineapple drink and the receptionist walked away to check some things. Still in an excellent mood we sipped from our tasty, tropical drinks not realizing the sh*t that was about to happen (Pardon my French).
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Anse Takamaka, Mahe

During our 12-day holiday on the Seychelles we wanted to see as much as possible, without racing all over the islands. So we made a holiday plan with the places we would stay at and all the things we wanted to do and see.

Planning your stay is already half the fun. Looking at all those photos, reading reviews, deciding what we wanted to see, and what was better to skip. Learning from other travelers experiences. The Internet is such a useful tool to prepare ones holiday or honeymoon!

Feel free to use our plan while making your own I included flight times to give you an idea of how much time these take.

Our Seychelles plan

21st September: flight BA439 Amsterdam to London 16.25 – 16.40
21st / 22nd September: flight HM001 Londen – Mahe 21.05 – 10.15
22nd – 25th September: stay at Clef des Iles, self catering accommodation at the Beau Vallon beach on Mahé
25th September – 1st October: stay at Acajou, hotel BB at Côte d’Or on Praslin
1st – 2nd October: stay at Jardin des Palmes, hotel HB at Anse la Mouche on Mahé.
2nd October: flight HM008 Mahe – Paris 09.15 – 17.30 and flight AF2240 Paris – Amsterdam 18.30 – 19.45
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