Here is the final installment from our honeymoon in The Seychelles! To recap, we first visited the islands of Praslin and Le Digue, which can be read on my blog.

Our final stop while in The Seychelles was to the main island of Mahé. There are about 100,000 people on this island (roughly 90% of the entire country’s population) and it is the only island that felt like it had an economy on its own. It’s also not fully overrun by tourists. Each visitor will undoubtedly stop here as this is the only island with an international airport, but most will likely continue on to spend the majority of their time on other Seychelles islands.

Jake reserved a remarkable stay here called Blue Rhapsody Villa, which had the character of a 100 year old home but with modern luxuries like air conditioning (a must in The Seychelles). It was fascinating enough that we spent an entire day just enjoying the villa instead of being tourists around the island.

While on Mahé we visited Takamaka, the singular rum distillery of The Seychelles, and we enjoyed a tour they had of the grounds. The distillery is small but they make every effort to make tourists feel special and the facility is immaculate.

Jake also surprised me with horseback riding! This was a dream of mine as I haven’t ridden a horse in over ten years. The ranch exists solely for tourists and the horses were even flown in from South Africa. It was fun to ride them through the forest and along the beach. Mine wanted to gallop but being the novice that I am, the guides didn’t want us running them so I was a little bummed I didn’t get to have that experience. It didn’t stop me from getting bruised, however! Horseback riding is not the most comfortable thing ever.

Over the next couple of days we visited a few more beaches and coves and really enjoyed flying the drone high above the mountains.

We spent a couple of hours walking through the capital, Victoria. The architecture is varied which is reflective of its history and colonial influence. First French, then British, you’re able to see remnants of both before The Seychelles gained its independence in 1976. Today, The Seychelles is home to many immigrants primarily from Sri Lanka, India and various African nations so the markets bustle with people from all over.

While Mahé isn’t famous for tourism, there are a few sites that were worth visiting. One is a tea farm (The Tea Tavern) where you can walk through an old factory and actively watch tea being bagged by a few workers. Plus, the cafe on site is well worth the stop!

Another great stop is the Victoria Botanical Gardens. There are fascinating plants as well as tortoises to feed.

Our final hours on the island were spent at Vallée des Fruits fruit farm. The views were incredible, as was the fruit “sushi” at the end, which included 7 different fruits (banana, coconut, avocado, papaya, mango, passionfruit and honey). It made for a healthy snack before our very long travel day back home.

I would recommend The Seychelles to everyone! The journey there is very far for Americans, which is why most gravitate towards Hawaii instead, but The Seychelles provides a truly unique experience that we, for one, will never forget.

*To enjoy a video recap of Mahé, be sure to read this from the blog page itself as it doesn’t load through email.