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Diving the Seychelles

13 March 2024
The 115 islands that make up the Seychelles are scattered far out in the Indian Ocean, between the Maldives and East Africa.

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When to dive the Seychelles

The best time to dive the Seychelles is April, October or November when the seas are calm and boats can reach the more remote spots where you will often dive with sharks and manta rays. The weather is cooler and more humid during the southeast monsoon season of late May to September. During this period the visibility is lower, however the presence of lots of plankton brings in the whale sharks. The warmest weather is during the northwest monsoon from December to March. The water is always warm, from 25 to 29 oC.

Whale Shark
Whale shark. Photo: Tim Nicholson

Best dive sites

Some of the best dive sites are Aldabra Atoll, Shark Bank and the Ennerdale wreck.

Where are the Diving Islands in the Seychelles?

The main diving islands are Mahé, La Digue and Praslin - part of the inner island group. There are also dive centres on outer islands like Alphonse. Plus, you can dive the Seychelles by liveaboard.

Reefsharks in the Seychelles
Seychelles Islands. Oleg Znamenskiy/DepositPhotos

What you need to know

Medical facilities in Seychelles are limited, especially on the more remote islands where doctors are often unavailable. Take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance before you travel. If you need an ambulance dial 999.

Sun screen and insect repellent are expensive in the Seychelles: bring your own supplies with you.

The currency is Seychelles rupees. Other currencies are rarely accepted but some hotels may take Euros or US dollars. Credit and debit cards are widely accepted.

No-one needs a visa to enter the Seychelles, just a valid passport and a return ticket.

The Seychelles has agreed to designate 210,000 square kilometres of its ocean as Marine Protected Areas, limiting their use to research and regulated tourism while prohibiting harmful activities like dredging and oil prospecting. The protected areas will be rolled out in two phases. The first phase will cover the remote Aldabra Group in the outer islands. The second phase will protect 135,000 square km of deep water.

Despite being scattered across more than a million square kilometres, new research has revealed that remote coral reefs across the Seychelles are closely related. A network of ocean currents scatter significant numbers of larvae between these distant islands, acting as a "coral superhighway".

Reefsharks in the Seychelles
Reef sharks and soldierfish in the Seychelles. Jag_cz/DepositPhotos

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Dive Sites of the Seychelles Seychelles Diving Operators & Liveaboards Your Comments Specialist Diving Travel Insurance


Dive Sites of the Seychelles

"Each site has many small reef fish in abundance: oriental sweetlips, butterflies, moorish idols, little glassies, schools of fusiliers. The pelagics include tuna, barracuda and the trevally families: giant trevally, bluefin, bigeye and yellow spotted. Large schools of bumphead parrotfish are found on many sites. Schools of eagle rays, bat rays and large individual stingrays are seen often. Many encounters with Whalesharks have been logged during the migrating season in November. Individuals have also been encountered in April and December. There are also many sightings of green turtles and hawksbill turtles, both of which breed and nest in Seychelles. Reef sharks are a common sight at most divesites: black tip, white tip, grey reef and nurse sharks. Moray eels, geometric eels, ribbon eels, octopuses and scorpionfish are common sights."
Illusions Liveaboards

Aldabra Atoll

Reviews: 5 stars

"Pristine coral reefs, mantas, octopus and tritons. Outstandingly clear water."
Deb
Manta Ray
Manta ray. DepositPhotos
Ennerdale wreck
Mahe North

A British Royal Navy Fleet motor tanker. She was loaded with 40,500 tons of oil when she sank in 1970 after hitting an uncharted rock, badly holing her starboard side. She now lies in 3 sections at 30 m. The stern section is relatively intact, with the wheelhouse and propeller easily accessible.

Aldebaran wreck
Mahe North

After being confiscated for illegal fishing, the Alderbaran was scuttled in 2008 for an artificial reef as part of the Festival of the Sea. She lies between 30 and 40 m. The wreck now has lots of life, including sharks

Shark Bank
Mahe

8 km northwest of Mahe. A granite plateau with massive boulders it is rich in marine life and coral. Many different tropical reef fish, grey stingrays, white tip reef sharks, schools of barracuda, Jack fish, humphead and parrotfish as well as turtles and whale sharks.

Dredger Wreck
Mahe

A short distance from Mahe Island. The wreck lies on its side at the depth of around 25 m. It is covered by different species of corals and a plethora of fish including large shoals of yellow Snapper, pepper and snowflake morays, stone and scorpion fish.

Snowflake moray
Photo credit: Tim Nicholson

Fisherman's Cove Reef
Mahe

An easy dive near the Beau Vallon dive centre. A gently sloping reef with coral formations interspersed with sand.

Marianne island
La Digue

Diving with large numbers of grey reef sharks. You'll also see large shoals of snappers, turtles and moray eels.


The Seychelles Diving Operators and Liveaboards

If you own or manage a dive centre: get yourself added to our directory. Have you dived in the Seychelles? Let us know about the diving centre you used.

Sea Pearl
Liveaboard

A beautiful old ship built in 1915 but recently refurbished. One of the main destinations is La Digue for the reef sharks and the coral. Also visits Mahe for eagle rays, whale sharks and nurse sharks.

Seychelles Sea Bird liveaboard

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Galatea
Liveaboard

Galatea is a 30 meter long, 6.2 meter wide Turkish steel schooner, it was built in 1987 in Bodrum, Turkey. In 2010 this yacht was bought by Blue Sea Divers - a team full of Professional Divers, established in the Seychelles since 2002, transferring from Europe and chasing their dreams. The boat was fully renovated during 2012 to 2013. Galatea is able to accommodate 12 guests in her 7 cabins.

Galatea liveaboard

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Sea Bird
Liveaboard

A modern 42m long custom built yacht with 9 air-conditioned cabins all with en-suite bathrooms.

Seychelles Sea Bird liveaboard

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Atoll Divers
Mahe

Atoll Divers
Coral Strand Rd
Beau Vallon Bay
Mahe
Seychelles
70112
Tel: +2482557409
atolldivers.seychelles@gmail.com

"Thanks for giving scuba diving in Seychelles some visibility. We are a dive center that open one years ago on Beau Vallon bay"
Arthur Anglade, June 2022

Blue Sea Divers
Mahe

Blue Sea Divers
Beau Vallon Beach
Mahe
Seychelles

Big Blue Divers
Mahe

Big Blue Divers
Beau Vallon Beach
Mahe
Seychelles
Tel: +248 426 1106
Mobile: +248 251 1103
bigblue@seychelles.net

Dive Seychelles Underwater Centre
Mahe

Dive Seychelles
Mahe
Seychelles
Tel: + (248) 4247165
Mobile: +248 251 1103
diveseychelles@gmail.com

Dive Resort Seychelles
Mahe

Dive Resort Seychelles
Anse La-Mouche
Mahe
Seychelles
Tel: +248 4372057
divereso@seychelles.net

UDive Centre
Mahe & Praslin

UDive Centre Mahe: based at Constance Ephelia
UDive Centre Praslin: based at Constance Lemuria
neils.akc@gmail.con

Octopus Diving Center
Praslin

Octopus Diving Center
Berjaya Praslin Beach Hotel
Anse Volbert
Cote d’Or
Praslin
Seychelles
Tel: (+248) 423 26 02
Mob: (+248) 271 54 41
octopus.seychelles@gmail.com

Hawksbill dive center
Praslin

Hawksbill Dive Center
Baie Sainte Anne
Praslin
Victoria
4044 Seychelles
Tel: 248-271-9150
Mobile: +248 251 1103
hawksbilldivecenter@yahoo.com

Whitetip Divers
Praslin

Whitetip Divers
Paradise Sun Hotel
Anse Volbert
Praslin
Seychelles
Tel: +(248) 423 22 82
Mobile: +(248) 251 42 82
info@whitetipdivers.com

Trek Divers
La Digue

Marcus Valentin & Natacha Ardouin
La passe
La Digue
Seychelles
Tel: (00248) 2523585

Azzurra Pro Dive
La Digue

La Digue Island Lodge
La Digue
Seychelles
Tel: +248 429 2525

Alphonse Dive Centre
Alphonse Island

Diving on one of the outer islands.

Alphonse Island Resort
Seychelles
Tel: +27 82 496 4570
bookings@alphonse-island.com


Comments

Please send us your comments on the Seychelles. Do you want to recommend a diving centre or dive site? Let us know. If you own a dive centre get yourself added.