Planning a Seychelles Yacht Charter Itinerary

About this guide

The Seychelles is the most forgiving of the Indian Ocean grounds and the one most often recommended for a first charter east of Suez. Granite boulders on white sand, water that photographs like a rendering, and — unlike the Maldives — actual islands to walk on, with towns, restaurants and a landscape that changes.

A Seychelles yacht charter usually starts on Mahé and covers Praslin and La Digue, with the outer islands for longer, more remote trips.

It is also two very different cruising propositions in one country. This guide covers both, the season, and where Guest Trip removes the spreadsheet stage.

When to go and what to expect

The Seychelles lies outside the cyclone belt, which makes it unusual among tropical charter grounds: there is no season when it cannot be cruised, only two seasons that feel different. From October to March the north-west trades give light winds of 8 to 12 knots and calm seas, with January and February the wettest months. From May to September the south-east trades bring drier, cooler weather and livelier conditions at 10 to 20 knots, felt most on the south-eastern coasts.

April and October are the transitional months and are often the best of the year: light winds, warm water and settled conditions between the two systems. For diving and visibility, the calmer months either side of the changeover are the ones to aim for.

Inner islands or outer — the decision that shapes everything

What they are. 41 granite islands around Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. 74 coral atolls, including the Amirantes, Farquhar and Aldabra. Distance. Short hops, mostly under two hours. 130 to 420 nautical miles south-west of Mahé. Infrastructure. Victoria for supply, fuel and technical support; resorts and restaurants. Effectively none; full autonomy required. Suits. First-time Indian Ocean charters, families, one-week bookings. Experienced crews, longer charters, guests wanting genuine remoteness. Character. Beaches, granite, towns, walking, easy anchorages. Atolls, diving, wildlife, nobody else

Almost every one-week charter is an inner-islands charter, and that is the right call — the outer islands need two weeks minimum simply to reach and return. Aldabra, the world's largest raised coral atoll and a UNESCO World Heritage site, sits around 700 nautical miles from Mahé and is an expedition in its own right with its own access arrangements. Treat it as a separate proposition entirely.

In Guest Trip: custom saved locations with draggable pins let the crew keep their own library of Seychelles anchorages, which matters most in the outer islands where published pilotage is thin.

Six steps to planning the charter

1. Clear at Victoria and settle the paperwork early

Victoria on Mahé is the capital, the main port and the practical entry point, with the international airport alongside. Clearance, provisioning, fuel and technical support all happen here. Confirm the current charter licensing position for a foreign-flagged yacht with a local agent before marketing a charter — the Seychelles has an established charter fleet in the inner islands, but the requirements for a visiting foreign-flagged vessel are a country-specific question worth getting in writing rather than assuming.

2. Build the inner-island week around three islands

Mahé, Praslin and La Digue are the anchors. Mahé has 44 miles of coastline and over 65 beaches, the capital and the airport. Praslin has the Vallée de Mai, the UNESCO palm forest where the coco de mer grows, and Anse Lazio. La Digue is the postcard: Anse Source d'Argent, granite boulders, bicycles instead of cars. Around them sit Curieuse with its giant tortoises, Cousin and Aride as bird reserves, and Ste Anne Marine National Park off Victoria.

3. Respect the marine parks

Several of the best inner-island anchorages sit inside marine national parks — Ste Anne off Mahé, Curieuse and Cousin near Praslin, Aride to the north — which charge entry fees and restrict anchoring, fishing and access. Rates and rules are set by the Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority and change; confirm the current schedule with the agent and build the fees into the APA conversation before the charter rather than presenting them afterwards.

In Guest Trip: park fees and permitted anchorages sit on the day they belong to, so the cost and the constraint are visible at planning stage.

4. Plan the wildlife as the programme

The Seychelles wildlife is genuinely accessible and it is what guests remember: giant tortoises on Curieuse, nesting seabirds on Aride and Cousin, whale sharks off Mahé from roughly August to October, and reef diving throughout. Add the Vallée de Mai and the beaches and the week has a real shape beyond swimming.

5. Provision at Victoria and plan for the gap

Victoria is the only place with real supply. Praslin and La Digue can cover basics and restaurants; anywhere beyond the inner group cannot. For an outer-island charter, provision fully at Victoria for the whole trip plus a margin and treat everything past the Amirantes as unsupplied.

6. Publish it as a live page

An inner-island week is stable, but wind direction moves anchorages between the north-west and south-east seasons, and outer-island plans move for weather. Publish the itinerary as a guest site the crew can edit rather than a PDF.

A sample one-week structure (inner islands, from Victoria)

Day 1. Embark Victoria; short run to Ste Anne Marine Park; swim and dinner aboard. Under 1 hour. Day 2. North around Mahé: Beau Vallon, Baie Ternay; snorkelling and beach time. About 2 hours. Day 3. Crossing to Praslin; Anse Lazio for the afternoon; night at anchor. About 3 hours. Day 4. Praslin: Vallée de Mai ashore; Curieuse for the giant tortoises. Short hops. Day 5. La Digue: Anse Source d'Argent, bicycles ashore, evening at anchor. About 1 hour. Day 6. Aride or Cousin bird reserves; diving on the outer reefs; last night at anchor. About 1 to 2 hours. Day 7. Return to Mahé; disembarkation brief. About 3 hours

Total steaming is around 80 nautical miles. Two weeks allows the Amirantes — Desroches, Poivre, Alphonse — which is where the Seychelles becomes genuine expedition cruising.

Mistakes worth avoiding

• Selling the outer islands on a one-week charter; the transit alone consumes it.
• Leaving marine park fees out of the APA conversation.
• Marketing a charter before the foreign-flag licensing position is confirmed with an agent.
• Provisioning as though Praslin or La Digue can supply a full charter.
• Planning anchorages without accounting for the seasonal wind reversal.

Frequently asked questions

Where the tooling helps

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Build your Seychelles itinerary in Guest Trip

Hold park fees and clearance against the day, pin the anchorages that work in each season, and publish a guest-ready site.