Seychelles - Facts

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Seychelles Facts for Sailors

  • Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, off East Africa.
  • Under French rule in the 1700s followed by Britain at the end of the century it’s not surprising that both French and English are spoken here. Seychelles gained its independence in 1976 but still retains much of its French influence.
  • Having been uninhabited by man until 200 years ago, the islands are rich in unique wildlife, such as the giant land tortoise, many species of birds, strange plants such as the giant Coco de Mer, and untouched forests.
  • The main large island of Mahé houses the capital Victoria where over a quarter of the population live (total population approx. 96,000).
  • Seychelles Inner Islands lie NE of Mahé on Seychelles Bank, the largest island being Praslin along with La Digue and Curieuse. All are granite islands with wonderful rock formations.
  • Seychelles Outer Islands are remote lying more than 100 miles SW of Mahé. Aldabra is a world heritage site and permission to visit it must be obtained in Mahé.
  • The most widely spoken language is Seychelles Creole. About half the population speak French and about 40% speak English.
  • The currency is the Seychelles Rupee. See General Info for specifics.
  • The Time Zone is UTC +4.
  • Seychelles enjoy a tropical and equable climate with a rainy season from December to March. See Weather below for more details.
  • The best anchorages are on Mahé. The outlying island anchorages are very exposed and subject to uncomfortable cross-swell conditions. The anchorages at La Digue and Praslin Islands are particularly striking and one of the chief attractions on the latter is Baie St Anne, with its thousands of Coco de Mer palms, some of them reputedly 800 years old.
  • With the increase in the number of cruising yachts visiting Seychelles and also because some charter boats are based there, facilities are steadily improving.
  • All repair services are concentrated in Victoria, where there are several boatyards with slipways. Two new marinas have opened on Mahé, as bases for charter operations but with facilities available to visiting yachts. There are also limited facilities on Praslin and La Digue. For more information on supplies and services, see Yachting Essentials.

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Seychelles was last updated 7 months ago.

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  1. September 9, 2024 at 4:25 PM
    profile photo
    Sue Richards says:

    From Jane Halling, posted on Taylor Smith Shipyard business listing:
    We can highly recommend TS Naval in the Seychelles. We were lifted out, had some gel coat repairs, antifouled, did electrical work and had some engine repairs done. We are a 55ft monohull lifted in August 2024. We cannot recommend their team highly enough – everyone did a great job. The work came in on time and on budget. Overall costs were broadly comparable to the UK with the exception of prop speed which is very expensive due to import costs. Rajen, the boss is extremely knowledgable and helpful in all aspects including finding the cheapest/quickest way to source parts.

  2. August 23, 2023 at 5:25 AM
    Tim Hansing says:

    We had a fabulous 5 month stay here in Seychelles and used Eden Island Marina as a base. We also left the boat herer whilst we had a 3 week trip. I cannot praise the team at the marina enough. Always happy and super friendly and helpful. There was a very good level of security and we were very confident leaving our boat here.

  3. September 16, 2021 at 9:18 AM
    svgeorgia says:

    Left our yacht at the Eden Island Marina, Seychelles for two months while we were back in the US. Had other yachties keep an eye on it. When we returned we found it had been broken into. Stole cameras, lenses, cash, liquor, etc. Police were quick to investigate and take a report.

  4. June 9, 2018 at 3:14 AM
    Data Entry2 says:

    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.