Seychelles General Info June 2018
We visited the Republic of Seychelles April until July 2018 and would like to share, in no particular order, observations that may be useful to other yacht owners crossing the Indian Ocean.

1. Visiting Seychelles is not as expensive as we were led to believe. There is a fee for checking into the country, but it’s less than we’ve paid in many other places, around US$20.00. There are fees payable each time one checks in and checks out of Victoria Port, but it is not necessary to check in and check out each time the vessel returns to Victoria for provisions unless one wishes to anchor in the inner harbor. There are other suitable places to anchor without incurring fees. It is possible to visit many of the “inner islands,” the granitic islands around Victoria, without paying National Parks mooring fees.

Those fees are approx. US$15 per night, the marine park perimeters are clearly marked by large white buoys, and there are plenty of lovely anchorages outside the park boundaries. Upon arrival, one receives a free 30-day visitor permit, which is renewable for an additional 60 days at no charge. A further extension is expensive at approx. US$360 per person. In our first month in Seychelles, we paid less than US$125 in fees including check-in formalities, park fees, and mooring fees.

2. Restaurants and bars are very expensive and Creole cuisine is far less impressive than that of India or Southeast Asia, so we eat most of our meals on board as do other cruisers in Seychelles. Most resorts serve mediocre buffet meals to their guests as part of an all-inclusive accommodation plan. Those who welcome outside guests and many do not charge very high prices for the buffet. A good cocktail in a nice establishment can cost US$20.00. If you like to eat all your meals in tourist-oriented restaurants you will find Seychelles exorbitantly expensive.

If you like spicy flavors you will be disappointed. A bottle of Seybrew, the local beer, served at Marine Charter or the SYC, costs US$2.20. The same beer will cost up to US$10.00 at a resort or at a restaurant with an ambiance. Local eateries are more modestly priced and generally of average quality.

3. Anchoring is very slightly restricted. We came prepared with detailed information on where to find the few mooring buoys installed by the Marine Parks and Tourism Board, the limitations for their use, the associated fees, and fines for overstaying the 1-night limit. In fact, there are no mooring buoys at all for public use anywhere around the inner islands. No one monitors the length of time a yacht remains in one place and no one comes to collect any kind of fees except in the National Marine Parks where overnight anchorage (no moorings) costs less than US$15.00. Pleasant and courteous park rangers come to your yacht to collect fees if you overnight in a Marine Park.

There are strict prohibitions against anchoring in some locations clearly expressed in the helpful information packet given to us by officials at the time we checked in. However, yachts anchor freely in those places without penalty and without time restriction. These mooring/no anchoring policies may have been a good idea and may have been enforced in the past, but the moorings simply don’t exist and the restrictions are universally ignored by both yachties and officials. Only the National Marine Park regulations are enforced and even their one may anchor as long as desired at a rate of US$15.00 per day.

4. The information packet provided upon arrival is comprehensive and helpful, but it fails to inform yacht owners that they must apply for temporary importation of the yacht at the expiration of the initial 1-month visitor permit. We did not understand this and only learned of the regulation from another yacht owner who had made the same mistake. Upon submission of the proper forms to the Customs Inland Revenue Department, temporary import is generally granted, together with a firm lecture and possibly a fine. You’d think this would be explained in the 20-page information packet, but it is not even mentioned.

5. There is an excellent shipyard in Victoria, Taylor Smith Shipyard, which has been in operation for about 4 years. It’s run very professionally, management and most of the skilled tradesmen have been hired from outside Seychelles and quality work, though expensive, can be expected. The yard has a 150-ton Travelift, plans to buy a larger one, and can lift just about anything, including large catamarans.

6. We are sorry to report that security is a problem in Seychelles. Our yacht was burglarized during the night while we were asleep at anchor, our own fault for leaving the companionway open in the hot weather. We know of three or four other yachts that were burglarized in the same way in recent months. Thefts occur at multiple locations. The thief approached our yacht in a stolen sailing dinghy.