Praslin is my favourite island in Seychelles. Out of all the islands in Seychelles that I visited, Praslin is the most vegan-friendly. It also has two of the most beautiful beaches that I have ever seen. You can visit a beautiful Nature Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site called Vallée de Mai. You can relax by the perfect beaches or hike around for amazing views. Praslin Island is the ideal destination for your holidays in Seychelles.
HOW TO GET TO PRASLIN?
When arriving at the international airport in Mahe there are two options on how to get to Praslin. The first one is to take the one-hour catamaran ride which is the most budget-friendly option. But keep in mind that the waves can get quite big and if you are easily seasick this is not the best option for you. On our way back I was so seasick that I could not wait for the boat ride to end.
The other and more expensive option is to take the direct flight from Mahe to Praslin with Seychelles airlines. The flight is only 20-minutes long. Sometimes the luggage does not go with you because of the weight but they will deliver it to your hotel on Praslin until the end of the day. If you are not seasick the best option is to go one way by airplane and the other way by catamaran so you can experience both.
WHERE TO STAY IN PRASLIN?
Praslin is offering many luxurious hotels that not all tourists can afford. Because the restaurants in Seychelles are so expensive the best option is to stay at self-catering apartments. That way you can cook some of your vegan meals at home and save money.
The most important tip for Praslin is to rent a car upfront. There are not enough rental cars available on the island so as soon as you have your trip booked make a reservation. A rental car offers you the freedom to move around the island wherever you want. That way it is not important where your hotel is situated because every beach is easily accessible by car. You can also travel around Praslin on the bus, but it takes more time.
We found the most perfect self-catering apartment called Seashell beach villa. We were lucky that the sea view apartment was available. It was very clean and comfortable, plus the view was perfect. The beach in front of the apartment is excellent for watching sunsets, just wear your mosquito spray because there are a lot of sand flies on Praslin.
WHAT TO DO ON PRASLIN?
You have to visit beaches. Beautiful beaches are the whole point of visiting Seychelles and Praslin has the best. My two favourites are Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette. Both have perfect, calm, turquoise water that is ideal for swimming. These are the best beaches that I have ever seen. If I knew that La Digue and Mahe do not have beaches so perfect, I would spend more time on them.
The best part about Praslin is also that if you get tired of relaxing on the beach you can visit two unique nature parks or many hike paths around the island. The most important one is UNESCO World Heritage Site called Vallée de Mai.
There are famous CoCo de Mer trees that naturally grow only on the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in Seychelles. The park has a nice easy walk around the jungle. The other park worth visiting is Fond Ferdinand. This one can be quite challenging for older people because it is quite a hike in very high humidity and heat. But the views on top are breathtaking.
You can take a full-day guided tour to see Vallée de Mai and Anse Lazio Beach.
VEGAN FOOD ON PRASLIN
Praslin is not the easiest destination for vegans especially if you like to eat out. Most of the restaurants on the island are offering seafood so finding vegan options is quite a challenge. We were lucky and we managed to find some restaurants that are offering vegan options.
ROOTS JUICERY – A FULLY VEGAN RESTAURANT ON PRASLIN
This is the only restaurant that we found that is fully vegan and also my favourite. It is not a restaurant but a healthy juice and smoothie bar. Their philosophy is to make healthy vegan nutrition accessible across Seychelles. They are determined to create products that are guilt-free and packed with goodness. On their menu, you can find many fresh and healthy vegan juices and smoothies.
You can also buy their nut mylks and wellness shots. But my favourite were smoothie bowls. Roots Juicery was the only place making smoothie bowls I could find in the whole of Seychelles. I love to eat smoothie bowls in the tropical heat. The smoothie bowl that I tried was Island sunrise. You can also buy their signature granola or snack on some bliss balls.
MA’S TAKEAWAY
It is a local takeaway restaurant on Praslin offering mainly seafood, but it also has one or two vegan options per day. You can have mixed salad, lentils fricassee or vegetables with rice. Everything is really delicious and because it is take away restaurant the prices are very affordable. The good quality-price ratio in this restaurant was the reason that we visited it often.
THE NEST – RESTAURANT ON PRASLIN WITH VEGAN OPTIONS
The Nest restaurant is based inside Constance Lemuria resort. You have to make a reservation otherwise they won’t let you inside the resort. For visiting the beach Anse Georgette you have to make a reservation at the same resort. So I recommend that you visit them on the same day.
This restaurant has an amazing view and the decor is really nice. Vegan dishes are specially marked on the menu. For our starter, we tried the vegan salad and for our mains, we had vegan curry. The food was good so we really enjoyed our vegan lunch on Praslin.
VEGAN FRUIT PLATTER
On Praslin, the beach bars and restaurants are almost non-existent. Especially on Anse Georgette and Anse Lazio, you won’t find any proper vegan meal on the beach. Sometimes locals are selling drinks or fruit platters. We were very hungry one day at the beach and decided on a vegan fruit platter. It was very expensive but also pretty and we were super hungry so for us at that time it was worth the price.
Most days we were cooking in our apartment. In local shops, you can find some fresh and frozen vegetables. There are some vegan kinds of milk like soy, almond, and coconut. For breakfast, we were usually cooking ourselves some oats with fresh tropical fruit. But other vegan goodies were hard to find. We did not find any tofu or vegan yogurt, but we did manage to find vegan pate. You can probably find vegan options in the most exclusive resorts on the island, but they are sadly out of our budget to try.
Praslin is definitely worth the visit. The locals are very friendly, the nature is beyond amazing. It is a dreamy tropical paradise. It is not the destination for vegan foodies but even if restaurants are not offering vegan options, you can always cook yourself something vegan and delicious.