Seychelles Accommodations for Divers
Seychelles accommodations range from family-run guesthouses to private island resorts. For divers, the right choice is mostly about location: stay close to the dive boats, and choose the coast that stays calm in your travel month.
Types of places to stay
- Guesthouses: small, often Seychellois-owned places with a handful of rooms, sometimes with breakfast or a Creole dinner. Good value and a good way to meet locals.
- Self-catering apartments and villas: popular with divers on longer trips. You get a kitchen, space to dry your gear, and you can eat at the takeaways and markets.
- Small and mid-size hotels: many have a dive centre on site or a partner nearby, so you can walk to the boat.
- Large resorts: beachfront resorts on Mahé and Praslin with pools, spas and restaurants, often with an in-house dive centre.
- Private island resorts: exclusive resorts on islands such as those in the Amirantes and the Inner Islands, with their own reefs and dive teams. Expensive, and usually all-inclusive.
- Liveaboards: the way to reach the remote outer atolls, with your cabin, meals and dives in one booking.
The government grades tourism properties and promotes small Seychellois-run establishments, so even the budget end is generally clean and safe. Prices are high by regional standards, and they climb around Christmas, New Year and Easter.
Where to stay on Mahé
Beau Vallon and the north-west is the best base for divers. The long beach has the largest number of dive centres, and the boats reach Shark Bank, L'Ilot and the Twin Barges quickly. There are restaurants, takeaways and a weekly evening market within walking distance. In the south-east trade wind months, this coast is usually sheltered.
The west coast, around the marine parks of Baie Ternay and Port Launay, is quieter, with resorts and villas close to sheltered reefs. The south and east of Mahé are good for beaches and nature, but check where your dive centre launches before you book.
Where to stay on Praslin
Anse Volbert (Côte d'Or) on the north coast has most of Praslin's dive centres, a long sheltered beach and a good spread of guesthouses, apartments and hotels. Nearby Anse Lazio is one of the most famous beaches in the Seychelles. Grand Anse on the west coast has more local life and value, but is more exposed in the trade wind season. Praslin is also where you'll find the Vallée de Mai, a UNESCO-listed palm forest and home of the coco de mer.
Where to stay on La Digue
La Digue is small, car-free in spirit and slow-paced. Most guesthouses and small hotels are around La Passe, near the jetty, so you can walk or cycle to the dive centre and the ferry to Praslin. Stay at least two nights to see Anse Source d'Argent at different tides.
Outer island resorts and liveaboards
A handful of outer islands have a single resort with its own dive centre and charter flights from Mahé. They offer remote reefs with few other divers, at a premium price. For the far south-western atolls, including Aldabra, Astove and Cosmoledo, a specialist liveaboard on a fixed expedition date is the usual route. Read the outer island section of our Seychelles dive sites guide before you choose.
What divers should look for
- Walking distance to your dive centre, or a centre that picks you up.
- Somewhere to rinse and dry gear, and a safe place to store it.
- Early breakfast, or a kitchen, so you are ready for morning boats.
- Air conditioning, which helps camera housings and computers as much as you.
- A flexible cancellation policy if the weather may move your island plans.
Eating out is a big part of the budget in the Seychelles. Our Seychelles restaurants guide explains where to find Creole food and good-value takeaways near each base, and the Seychelles dive travel page covers ferries and flights between the islands.
Hungry after your dives?
Creole curries, grilled fish and beach cafés: what to eat and where.