The Seychelles is the one Indian Ocean destination that charters like the Caribbean. The inner islands, Mahe, Praslin and La Digue with a scatter of granite islets around them, sit inside thirty miles of each other in water that is deep, clear and almost free of coral hazard, which is why bareboats work here and do not in the Maldives.
What a boat costs
Read on 11 September 2026, Sailo lists 193 boats in the Seychelles at an average of 845 EUR a day, from 560 to 1,399, and Click and Boat lists 171 at an average of 1,524 EUR a day, from 639. The two averages describe different slices of the same fleet, with Click and Boat weighted towards the larger crewed catamarans that dominate this market.
The inner islands
Mahe holds the airport and the main base at Eden Island. Praslin is twenty five miles north east and has the Vallee de Mai, the palm forest where the coco de mer grows. La Digue is four miles from Praslin and has the granite boulder beaches every photograph of the country shows. Around them sit Curieuse, Cousin, Aride and St Pierre, all within an hour of each other. A week does not need to leave that circle.
The outer islands, which are a different trip
Aldabra and the Amirantes lie two hundred to seven hundred miles south west and are among the least visited places on earth. They are not a charter destination in the normal sense: they need a permit, a self sufficient boat and a crew willing to be days from help, and the handful of vessels that go are expedition charters rather than bareboats.
The season
Two monsoons and two transitions. April to May and October to November are the calm changeover months and the best sailing. May to September brings the south east trade, which is reliable and fresh and pushes weed onto the south east beaches. December to March brings the north west monsoon, wetter and lighter. Nothing here is dangerous; the country sits outside the cyclone belt.
Questions people ask about sailing Seychelles
How much is a Seychelles charter?
Sailo lists 193 boats averaging 845 EUR a day, from 560 to 1,399, and Click and Boat lists 171 averaging 1,524 EUR, read on 11 September 2026.
Can you bareboat there?
Yes, unusually for the Indian Ocean. The inner islands sit within thirty miles of each other in deep clear water with little coral hazard, which is why bareboats work here and not in the Maldives.
When should you go?
April to May or October to November, the changeover months between the two monsoons, which are the calmest sailing. The country sits outside the cyclone belt, so nothing here is a storm season.