Collect the Perfect Seychelles

Updated Nov. 21, 2013 5:30 p.m. ET

PARADISE FOUND: Anse Takamaka beach on Mahé Africa Travel Resource

WAVES LAP INTO the bay against alabaster white sands as couples recline on loungers in the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles on Mahé, sucking on fresh fruit lollies under the swaying coconut palms. In this genteel setting, my private adventure turns into public humiliation.
I had saved my paddle board lesson for the last afternoon of a six-day visit to the Seychelles. My Australian guide, Jacob Stuth, drags a board to the water’s edge and takes me through the basics: “Stand here, feet this wide apart, and whatever you do, do not look down!” How hard can it be?

Yoga at Maia Luxury Resort & Spa MAIA

A grilled fish prepared in the local Creole way of Seychelles Getty Images/National Geographic Creative

Wildlife on Mahé Getty Images

Bungalows at Maia Walter Bibikow / AWL Images Ltd;

Able to stand on the board almost immediately, I glide through blue waters as the sun sets, and I start to let my mind drift. Big mistake. A gaily colored parrot fish catches my eye. I peer down, wobble, flail and plunge into the water, bikini askew, dignity drowned. Even the cacophony of myna birds beneath the darkening hill cannot mask the chuckles from onlookers.
Well, my husband and I hadn’t come to the Seychelles, a 115-island archipelago in the Indian Ocean, to relax. Though the beaches are renowned for their beauty, I’m not one for lazing on the sand—we were lured by the combination of comfort and potential for adventure.
Tour company Cazenove & Lloyd helped arrange an itinerary taking us to three of the main islands—Mahé, Praslin and La Digue—and packed with outdoor activities: marlin fishing, hiking, yoga and a thing or two I’ve never tried before, including paddle boarding.
We begin at the Maia Luxury Resort & Spa, hidden in the jungle on Mahé. Each of the secluded 30 villas is nestled in its own garden, lush with hibiscus and lemon grass plants. Our view of the rugged Anse Louis beach tempts me to lounge around the entire first day…. Instead I go for an hourlong snorkel, spotting butterfly and batfish among the coral, then hop into a four-wheel drive jeep with a guide to explore the 400-square-kilometer island.
The road weaves high up through the jungle, then plunges into dark ravines. The drive takes us past Mission Lodge, a pavilion with spectacular views, but, unlike Queen Elizabeth II on her visit here in 1972, we don’t stop for tea. We press on instead for the capital, Victoria, and its lively fish market, abounding in red snapper, job fish and mackerel. Tempting, but we head back to the resort for dinner—after taking in a tour of the Takamaka rum distillery.

Island Fashion: What to Wear There

A two-hour intensive private yoga lesson ends my day, easing the aches from the previous week’s trekking and making it that much easier to tumble into bed.
It’s a good thing I do. We are up early the next day, moving on to Praslin, the second largest island in the archipelago.

The pool at the Four Seasons Dook Photo

The writer marlin fishing Jemima Sissons for The Wall Street Journal

Hiking in the Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve on Praslin © Ferruccio Carassale/SIME/4Corners Images

Anse Source d’Argent beach on La Digue Sergio Pitamitz

Inclement weather creates an unexpected adventure. It is only the start of the rainy season (November-March), but the downpour is torrential and our flight—just a 15-minute hop—is canceled. After waiting for six hours, we finally board a catamaran ferry. Out in the Indian Ocean, bashed by 5-meter waves, many passengers take a turn for the worse. My husband and I leave the boat an hour later feeling pretty green. So when we arrive at the 86-villa Raffles Praslin Seychelles, a short taxi ride from the port, it is straight to bed.
Waking at six, I take an early swim in the lap pool, which I have all to myself at this hour, and feel renewed. After a hearty breakfast—ham and cheese omelet, pineapple and mango with freshly made yogurt—guide Gemma Jessy picks me up for some nature watching in the Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve, a Unesco heritage site.
As we hike up the path, pushing aside the waxy leaves, she points out the different types of palms—six altogether, including the coco de mer, with its humorously bottom-resembling fruit. Suddenly she stops, puts her fingers to her lips and points up. I hear a chirrup, and look up to see not one but two of the extremely rare Seychelles black parrots. Further on we spot bronze-eyed geckos and fingernail-sized sooglossid frogs, cowering under decomposing leaves.
An hour later, we leave the jungle humidity behind and head out to sea on a small ferry. A 15-minute ride brings us to La Digue, a charming 10-square-kilometer island with a laid-back pace well-suited to the vehicle of choice: bicycles. Meeting Frank Nosolo, our guide here, we jump on our bikes to explore the island’s hidden beaches.

The Lowdown: The Seychelles
GETTING THERE: Flights to the Seychelles land at Mahé, the main island. (Most flights are via Africa or the Middle East.) Most Mahé resorts are an easy taxi ride away, with the furthest taking around 45 minutes. Helicopter transfers are also possible—the larger resorts offer helipads. Air Seychelles has regular flights to reach other islands. Ferry services are also available.
STAYING THERE: Raffles Praslin Seychelles has 86 modern villas and many on-site activities, including water polo and dancing lessons (from €600 a night, raffles.com ). At Maia Luxury Resort & Spa, one of the most upscale offerings in the Seychelles, privacy is the greatest luxury: each villa comes with its own garden and infinity pool (from €1,780 a night, maia.com.sc ). The Four Seasons Resort Seychelles offers 67 secluded treehouse villas overlooking a beautiful bay (from €1,116 a night, fourseasons.com).
EATING THERE: The Jardin du Roi villa on Mahé offers delicious Creole dishes, including chicken curry and homemade ice cream (248-4-37-13-13). The Takamaka distillery’s bar and restaurant, La Plaine St Andre, serves local dishes such as rum-and-Coke-glazed ribs and (yes) fruit bat ravioli ( laplaine.sc ).
WHAT TO PACK: Bring beach gear—but don’t forget hiking boots for exploring the islands. It’s warm year round, so you’ll never need more than a light jacket, but with the rainy spells, it’s best to have one that’s waterproof.

After lunch, we are at sea again—marlin fishing in open waters as we sail back to Praslin. Under the watchful eye of our captain, I take hold of a rod. The colorful, plastic squid-like bait is already on the hook, and I simply sit on the fishing chair and wait for the pull. With the occasional plume of water dousing me, I feel quite the mariner. Suddenly, the captain shouts and points: Two dolphins are swimming alongside, perfectly synchronized with the swell. Beautiful as they are, I feel a twinge of regret that they’re not marlin. They are the only sealife we see, and we arrive at Praslin without a fish tale to tell.
That comes when we are back on Mahé, at the Four Seasons, where I don chef whites for a midafternoon Creole cooking lesson with chef Daniel Louis in the resort’s restaurant, Kannel. I learn to make the local specialty, Creole fish curry, a lip-smacking octopus salad and banana fritters.
Later, to work off my meal, Vishal Ganatra, a yoga teacher who works at the Four Seasons, takes me out of the grounds and marches me up a steep mountain path. At the end of our 30-minute trek I am scrambling, using roots for handholds, to reach the top. But it’s worth it: I’m standing on a rock overlooking the bay—the perfect spot for a serene yoga lesson. A 40-minute session leaves me thoroughly energized.
Our final morning starts with a guided snorkel with marine biologist Lindsey Sullivan in the bay in front of the hotel. Manta rays glide past and shoals of grouper dart behind rocks. For the rest of the day, the beach seduces me away from hiking and jungle paths: my most strenuous activity is that ill-fated paddle boarding lesson. After my tumble, I drag my board back to the beach, a little ruffled, but exhilarated.
Any embarrassment evaporates completely at dinner, a Creole BBQ accompanied by a live band. Seychelles dancing queens show us how the locals’ hip-shaking Moutia dance should be done, encouraging us to join in. Tougher, it turns out, than paddle boarding.

See the rest here: Collect the Perfect Seychelles