Seychelles – paradise on Earth

After intensive summer road trip in Australia, we wanted something a little easier for Autumn, something that is still exotic, that will offer us opportunities to explore, but will be different of well-known Europe and we wanted some sea. Something to break foggy Autumn days and fast pace of school and work routine. We didn´t have enough free days left for a longer trip, so finally it was time for Seychelles.

There´s a lot written about Seychelles, all in superlatives and surpluses, so we had high expectations (and we have previously been burnt on high expectations) but on the other hand we were wondering if those islands are really so heavenly beautiful as we have read on different traveling sites and blogs.

I also know that something can be heavenly beautiful for us but not for others (and reverse). Some people see idyllic tropical islands as heavenly and others magnificent scenery of mountains. Some people like to indulge in luxury resort compounds, others enjoy in genuine connection with locals. To experience “heavenly” we don´t even have to leave Slovenia, many times a walk in the nearby forest is enough for that. We are different and the beauty is always in the eyes of the observer. However, as I am thinking about Seychelles now, a week after coming back, I can´t go past adjective heavenly. There are moments that all the beauty that we saw at Seychelles seems unreal, as we were on some other world. What world, some other planet, another galaxy. Parallel universe, that is what I felt first days after returning home.

Seychelles are heavenly. No exaggeration. They are really good approximation of heaven as we see it.

Lush vegetation, wonderful nature, views and trekking paths, everything is green, blossoming, growing, unbelievably clean and not too touristic, far from that. Cool, groovy and so beautiful. Tropical fruits on every step and turn, endemic flora and fauna, and gorgeous beaches, a reason why people most often describe Seychelles as heavenly.

There are the most photogenic beaches in the world, for sure, with unique combination of lush green vegetation, granite rocks of unusual, fascinating forms and turquoise sea. But what makes Seychelles so special are not just beaches. The whole Seychelles are one big botanical garden and there were a lot of moments when we thought that we are in the middle of movies Jurassic Park or Avatar. Crazy.

Nevertheless, this paradise has one flaw. Even though the sea is clear and clean, the corals are destroyed. Some say it is because of climate changes and coral bleaching, but there are many that say that El Niño destroyed them. Underwater sight is sometimes sad, even though you can see many colorful tropical fishes.

Many ask about the difference between Seychelles and Maldives. The difference is huge, but both destinations are wonderful, each on its own. If you want just beautiful beaches and wonderful underwater world, then Maldives are the right choice for you. Beaches in Seychelles are much more photogenic, but underwater world is not. The essence of Seychelles isn´t in its beaches but in other things we can explore. Seychelles are much more than lying around on the beaches. But we would gladly go back to both destinations. If you will ever have an opportunity, go to both, in separate travels, of course J

The truth is that Seychelles are not the cheapest “low budget” travel, but belief that they are suitable only for those with big wallets isn´t right either. Far from that. We will write more about that in another article about logistic of the trip with some practical advises. There are some expensive luxury resorts on Seychelles (that we avoided J), but they don´t interfere with the beauty of the islands and they don´t determine the essence of Seychelles. Even though we like Asia, is the beauty of Seychelles more clean, more genuine and more heavenly – as we see heavenly (I don´t thing about Maldives here, because they are separate world, especially considering beaches and underwater life J). That´s why it is wise to save money a few months more and to pick a destination that is not the cheapest low budget – and go to see heavenly Seychelles.

Our travel was 12 days long, full 10 days on Seychelles and two days in Istanbul (first and last day of the trip). On Seychelles we explored islands Praslin, La Digue and Mahe.

After four days on island Praslin we were wondering if it is even possible to be more beautiful. After next four days on island La Digue we saw it can be. And we almost cried when leaving the smallest island, which can be explored only by bikes as there aren´t cars on it (with exception of few taxi cars). Praslin is wonderful, but La Digue is even more beautiful. We met another Slovene family there and it is nice to make new acquaintances. At the end we gave chance to the biggest island Mahe. There are more tourists that luckily don´t go further to Praslin and La Digue. Luckily for us and sadly for them, as even though Mahe is beautiful, it cannot compare to the other two.

I will write a special article about each island and I hope that you will get many useful information that can come handy when planning your own trip to Seychelles.

Until then, here are some photos. Let them show you the beauty of Seychelles that we experienced.