We love to discover the most beautiful sights and photo spots of our destinations on our own. We stayed a total of 4 days on the island of Praslin and therefore had enough time to explore the most beautiful sights. And Praslin really has a lot to offer: beautiful natural parks, beautiful beaches and impressive giant tortoises on the nearby island of Curieuse.
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Interesting facts about Praslin
Praslin is located by ferry about an hour from Mahé and with a total area of 37.58 km2 is the second largest island of the inner Seychelles. The island, which is 12 km long and 5 km wide, has a population of about 9,000.
The vallée de Mai nature reserve, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983, is located in the interior of the island. Here is the endemic palm species Coco de Mer (Seychelles palm), which occurs exclusively in the Seychelles. In addition to numerous, dreamlike beaches, there is another nature reserve on the island: Fond Ferdinand. Near Praslin are other islands such as Curieuse, Silhouette, Cousin, Ile Ronde, La Digue and Ile St. Pierre.
How to get to Praslin?
Between the three most visited islands Mahé, Praslin and La Digue there are two ferry companies that connect the three islands. The Cat Cocos ferry runs 3 times a day between Mahé and Praslin and 1-3 times a day between Mahé and La Digue. There are 3 different booking classes:
» Main deck (50 EUR)
» Upper deck (55 EUR)
» Business class “Lazio Lounge” (70 EUR)
For our trip from Mahé to Praslin we decided for the upper deck, because here you have a really great view of the island world of the Seychelles. The journey time is about one hour, between Mahé and La Digue about 90 minutes. The second ferry company, Cat Rose, connects Praslin and La Digue daily with 5 to 8 departures. The journey time between the two islands is about 15 minutes.
We had bought our ferry tickets for the journey from Mahé to Praslin via SeyFerry.com. After the purchase process, you will receive the vouchers for the journeys by e-mail, which you then have to exchange for “real” tickets at the ferry terminal. Right next door you can drop off your suitcases, which are then conveniently loaded onto the ferry. Luckily the lake was very calm, so after about an hour’s drive we arrived on Praslin unscathed.
Our rental car
It quickly became clear to us that we would book a rental car for the whole time on the two islands of Mahé and Praslin, because we didn’t just want to lie in the hotel on the beach, but wanted to see a lot of the islands. The choice has fallen to Seychelles-info.com due to the very good price-performance ratio. It is always important to us that we have an unlimited number of kilometres and that an additional driver is included free of charge. And since there is left-hand traffic in the Seychelles, it was still important for us to book a rental car with automatic. The insurance cover was basically in order, but the self-sharing of EUR 500 was too high for us, so we took out additional insurance. Our tip: often you have such additional insurance included in the service of the credit card.
For Praslin we chose a Kia Picanto for 40 EUR per day. When we arrived in Praslin by ferry from Mahé at Jetty, a “Bliss Car Hire” employee was already waiting for us and handed us the car. The delivery four days later we had agreed for the same place, because we wanted to transfer by ferry to La Digue. At the time of the return, a member of staff was on site who checked and received the car. All in all, the complete booking and car rental process was super smooth and everything worked out wonderfully.
Our car rental for the island of Praslin
Our Hotel Acajou Beach Resort
During our stay on Praslin we stayed for 4 nights at Acajou Beach Resort. The resort is surrounded by lush green forests and the bright white Cote d’Or Beach. On the hotel grounds you will find on the one hand Rusical pile buildings with Creole-furnished rooms and on the other hand two buildings with modernly furnished rooms. Due to the staggered construction, most rooms offer a beautiful view of the turquoise sea. In the middle of the grounds there is a tropical garden, where you will find all kinds of flowering plants and oasis of peace. The resort also features a new infinity pool including pool bar & Starfish Restaurant. In the main house, next to the reception, there is the restaurant “Les Boucaniers” and the “Chapo! Bar & Lounge”.
More impressions and photos of the Acajou Beach Resort can be found here in a separate post.
The most beautiful beaches on Praslin
The beaches of the Seychelles are certainly among the most beautiful beaches in the worldwith the turquoise blue water, powder-soft sand and the fascinating granite rocks. What we particularly liked about the Seychelles is the fact that all the beaches here are public, i.e. even if the beaches are located on the grounds of hotels, you can enter them (partly with prior permission). On the island of Praslin there are numerous beaches, some of which we have visited.
The most beautiful beach on Praslin for us was the Anse Lazio, which is located in the northwest of Praslin. The beach is about 600 meters long and is a real feast for the eyes: Beautiful granite rocks in front of picturesque palm trees, along with the crystal clear water that shimmers turquoise blue in the sun.
Other beaches we have visited on Praslin are Anse Georgette, Anse Volbert / Cote d’Or Beach, Anse Takamaka and Anse La Farine. To our impressions of these beaches we have written a separate post with many photos.
The Nature Reserve Fond Ferdinand
Opened in 2013, Fond Ferdinand Nature Reserve is located in the south-east of Praslin and can only be explored through a guided tour. The nature reserve extends over an area of 122 hectares and is almost a densely overgrown jungle, in which there are many different, sometimes even endemic, i.e. only in the Seychelles, animal and plant species to marvel at. A total of 600 steps are divided into 23 stations, where there are interesting things to see and interesting things to know. At the end of the trail you will be rewarded with a fantastic panoramic view of Baie St. Anne Bay at the top of the viewpoint. In addition, you can see many offshore islands such as La Digue, Sister Island, Félicité, Coco Island and Round Island.
The Fond Ferdinand is best known for the famous Seychelles palm Coco de Mer. The palm is endemic and occurs exclusively on the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles. With a weight of up to 30 to 40 kg, the seeds of Coco de Mer are by the way the largest seeds of the plant kingdom.
A detailed report about our stay in the Fond Ferdinand Nature Reserve can be found here.
The Vallée de Mai National Park
The Vallée de Mai is a national park in Praslin, Germany. The park was added to the Unesco World Heritage List in 1983. The Vallée de Mai is located in the heart of Praslin, home to the largest intact forest of the endemic Seychelles palm Coco de Mer, as well as many other endemic animal and plant species. If you walk through the national park attentively and with a good eye, you may encounter the extremely rare Seychelles Black Parrot, chameleons, island ants, frogs, geckos or snails. The natural park with its 19.5 ha is one of the smallest national park areas in the world.
You can read all about what we discovered in the Vallée de Mai here.
A trip to the giant tortoises on Curieuse Island
The island of Curieuse is only about one kilometer from Praslin and is therefore perfectly accessible with a small boat trip as part of a day trip. The island is only 3 km2 in size, has no notable infrastructure and is inhabited by very few people. Curieuse served in the 19th century as a leper’s camp for leprosy sufferers. Today there is a research station for water turtles, a lot of endemic flora and fauna as well as a colony of Seychelles giant turtles.
Our day trip to Curieuse Island with Geoli Charters consisted of many highlights: snorkeling in the turquoise blue water, walking with Seychelles giant tortoises, a hike through the jungle and mangrove forests as well as a delicious barbecue at the end.
Learn more about our trip to Curieuse Island here.
A map with all places of interest on Praslin
On the following Google MyMaps map we have mapped the most famous beaches & sights that we have looked at on our round trip over the island of Praslin.
Our travelogues from the Seychelles
White dream beaches, crystal clear water, sun and palm trees: the Seychelles are the epitome of an island paradise. For 2 weeks we explored the main islands of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue and saw the most beautiful sights: From gorgeous beaches, fascinating nature parks to hidden photo spots, animal islanders and beautiful viewpoints.
» Seychelles: Things to know & Travel Tips (Mahé, Praslin & La Digue)» Seychelles: Travel Planning, Flight & Rental Car
» Mahé: Things to know & places of interest
» Mahé: Tropical Hideaway Apartement & Beau Vallon Beach
» Mahé: Victoria – Things to do & beautiful photo spots
» Mahé: The Rock Pool (Ros Sodyer) at Anse Takamaka
» Mahé: Top 10 most beautiful beaches on the island
» Cerf Island: Snorkeling in Sainte Anne Marine Park
» Praslin: Things to know & places of interest on Praslin
» Praslin: Acajou Beach Resort on the Cote d’Or Beach
» Praslin: Fond Ferdinand – Coco de Mer Nature Reserve on Praslin
» Praslin: Vallée de Mai – UNESCO National Park on Praslin
» Praslin: Top 5 most beautiful beaches on the island of Praslin
» Curieuse Island: A trip to the giant tortoises
» Félicité: The luxury resort Six Senses Zil Pasyon
» La Digue: Things to know & Travel Tips from the island of La Digue
» La Digue: Cat Cocos Ferry & La Diguoise Guesthouse
» La Digue: Crystal Water Kayaks – Transparent kayak tours on La Digue
» La Digue: Anse Marron – Hike around the south coast of La Digue
» La Digue: Top 10 – The most beautiful beaches on La Digue
» La Digue: The resort Le Domaine de L’Orangeraie