A morning at anchor off Curieuse Island
When Jess from our BugBitten team stepped off the swim ladder at six in the morning, the water was so clear she could see her own shadow on the sand four metres below. The granite boulders rose behind her in enormous rounded walls, turning pale orange as the sun came up behind Praslin. A hawksbill turtle surfaced not three metres from the stern, regarded the boat with apparent indifference, and disappeared again into the blue. There was one other vessel in the anchorage — a catamaran on a mooring ball, its crew still asleep. The VHF was silent. The only sound was a fairy tern calling from somewhere above the treeline.
That morning set the tone for everything that followed. Sailing the Seychelles inner islands is not a loud or frenetic experience. It rewards patience and timing, careful passage planning, and a genuine willingness to sit still in extraordinary places. It also rewards the kind of traveller who does their homework, because the archipelago is precise in what it offers and when — and it doesn't apologise for its weather patterns or its permit requirements. Come at the right time in the right frame of mind, and a chartered vessel here is one of the most satisfying ways to travel anywhere in the Indian Ocean.
What makes this spot worth your time
There are cruising grounds that are technically impressive and cruising grounds that are genuinely beautiful. The Seychelles inner islands manage to be both simultaneously, and the combination is rarer than it sounds.
The geography is the first thing. The inner archipelago — roughly the triangle formed by Mahé, Praslin, and La Digue — is made up of ancient Precambrian granite, which makes it unlike almost anything else in the Indian Ocean. While the Maldives and the outer atolls are coral constructions sitting low on the water, the inner Seychelles islands are mountainous remnants of the Gondwana supercontinent, draped in tropical vegetation and rimmed with white sand. The boulders that tumble into the shallows aren't just photogenic — they create complex underwater topography that concentrates marine life: nurse sharks rest under ledges, parrotfish chew at coral outcrops, and enormous schools of fusiliers hang in the current over granite shelves.
Crucially, the crossings between islands are manageable. Mahé to Praslin is roughly 45 nautical miles — a four-hour sail in a decent breeze, or a relaxed motor-sail on a lighter day. Praslin to La Digue is barely four nautical miles. This compactness means you're not spending your trip doing overnight passages or white-knuckling through ocean swells. You move, you anchor, you explore, you move again. A fortnight gives you enough time to visit every significant anchorage in the inner group without feeling rushed, and without repeating yourself.
The marine park system also matters. Protected areas like Curieuse Marine National Park and the waters around St Anne Island are actively managed, and the difference shows. Coral cover is noticeably better in protected zones. The fish are larger, more varied, and less skittish. It does mean permits, moorings fees, and anchoring restrictions — but these are minor logistics, not obstacles, and the ecosystems they protect are worth every bit of the paperwork.
How the area feels
The Seychelles inner islands operate at two speeds: the pace of the resort beaches, which are busy, polished, and expensive; and the pace of the anchorages, which are quiet, unhurried, and occasionally extraordinary. On a charter vessel, you get to live almost entirely in the second category.
The culture of the islands is Creole — a mix of African, French, Indian, and British influences that produced a genuinely distinct cuisine, a musical tradition, and an approach to daily life that doesn't particularly hustle. On La Digue, there are still more bicycles than cars. On Curieuse, the main human inhabitants are the rangers who manage the giant tortoise population. The interaction between visiting sailors and local communities is courteous and low-key; most provisioning happens at Mahé or Praslin, and the smaller islands aren't market towns.
Praslin's Baie Sainte Anne is the exception — a working small-craft harbour with fuel, basic supplies, and a ferry terminal. It has none of the groomed atmosphere of a marina resort, which is exactly what makes it useful. You can pull alongside the jetty, sort out water and diesel, pick up bread and cold drinks from the shop behind the harbour, and be back at anchor by lunchtime. It's also a good place to position yourself mid-trip if you want to use it as a base for day sails to the northern bays of Praslin and across to La Digue.
The Vallée de Mai on Praslin — the forest reserve that produces the coco de mer, the world's largest seed — is worth a half-day ashore. It's a legitimate wonder: a primary palm forest that has changed almost nothing since it was first documented by European explorers, and it now appears on the UNESCO World Heritage List alongside places like the Galápagos and the Great Barrier Reef. Walking through it feels genuinely ancient in a way that most tropical forests don't quite manage.
What to actually do here
Sailing and passage-making
The southeast trade winds blow May through October at 15–25 knots, and the island axis is roughly aligned to take advantage of them on a southeast-to-northwest routing. If you're timing your trip for the transition windows — April to May or October to November — expect lighter and more variable conditions. You'll motorsail more, but you'll also encounter far fewer charter boats, have your pick of anchorages, and deal with significantly calmer seas. For most charterers, this trade-off is worth making.
Bareboat operators cluster around Eden Island marina on Mahé's east coast. The marina has solid provisioning, multiple charter companies, and good facilities for checking in and out. If you're not qualified or confident for a bareboat, skippered charters are widely available and worth the premium — a local skipper's knowledge of the tides, the permit processes, and the anchorage conditions is worth a considerable amount.
Snorkelling and diving
You don't need to be a diver to get a great deal from the Seychelles underwater world. The snorkelling off Curieuse, around the granite outcrops at Anse Lazio, and in the shallows off Félicité is genuinely excellent. Nurse sharks are common and calm. Hawksbill turtles appear at most anchorages. Visibility in the transition months can reach 25–30 metres.
For scuba, there are dive operators on Mahé and Praslin. The sites around Shark Bank — a seamount about eight nautical miles northwest of Mahé — are worth the trip for experienced divers: schooling hammerheads are possible between May and September, though sightings are not guaranteed.
Wildlife ashore
Curieuse Island is managed as a giant Aldabra tortoise reserve, and the animals wander freely across the beach and through the coastal scrub. They're enormous, completely unafraid of people, and faintly ridiculous. The mangrove-lined bay on the south side of the island is also good for birds — crab plovers and grey herons work the shoreline at low tide. For those thinking about extending their wildlife ambitions beyond the inner islands, the Seychelles (Outer Islands) offer a considerably more remote and ecologically significant experience — Aldabra Atoll is effectively another world entirely.
When to go (and when not to)
April to May and October to November are the windows the BugBitten team recommends most strongly for charter. Winds are lighter and variable — typically 8–15 knots with flat seas — which is comfortable for less experienced sailors and makes snorkelling conditions generally excellent. The anchorages are noticeably quieter. Provisioning is easier because the marinas are less congested. Prices may be marginally lower than the peak southern-hemisphere winter period.
May through October (the southeast trade season) is the most popular period and with good reason — consistent wind, dry conditions, lower humidity. Anchorages will be busier, particularly around La Digue and Anse Lazio. Book charter boats well in advance if you're targeting July or August.
December through February is the northwest monsoon season and is best avoided unless you have genuine bluewater experience and a tolerance for unpredictable squalls, reduced visibility, and generally unsettled conditions. It can be done, but it's not where you want to learn.
How to get there and nearby stops
Getting to Mahé
International flights serve Seychelles International Airport on Mahé from Dubai (Emirates), Paris (Air France and Air Seychelles), Nairobi, and a handful of other hubs. There are no direct flights from Australia at time of writing; most Australians connect through Dubai or Doha. The airport is roughly 15 minutes from Eden Island marina by taxi.
Charter check-in paperwork at Eden Island is relatively straightforward by regional standards. You'll need to ensure landing permits and marine park fees are sorted for protected areas before you depart the marina — the charter operators will generally walk you through this.
Nearby extensions
If you're sailing into the broader Indian Ocean and want to compare cruising grounds, the Maldives (Southern Atolls) offer a completely different but equally compelling sailing environment — coral atolls, pass diving, and a lower-key charter scene than the northern Maldives. You can also browse more places in Indian Ocean if you're building a longer regional itinerary.
The not-so-good bits
It's only fair to be straight about the rough edges. The Seychelles is not a budget destination — charter rates are among the highest in the Indian Ocean region, provisioning at Eden Island is expensive (imported goods carry significant mark-ups), and eating ashore in the resort-adjacent restaurants adds up quickly. A two-week bareboat for two people, provisioned comfortably, will cost substantially more than equivalent arrangements in Croatia or Thailand.
The marine park permit system, while worthwhile, requires advance attention. If you arrive at a protected anchorage without the correct paperwork, you'll be turned away — rangers do check, and the rules are enforced. This isn't a criticism of the system, which serves the ecosystems well, but it means you need to do homework before departure rather than winging it on arrival.
Jellyfish can be a significant problem in certain months — particularly around the transition periods when planktonic blooms move through anchorages. This is a genuine deterrent to swimming on some days and in some locations. Ask the charter operator about current conditions before you set off.
Finally: the inner islands are beautiful but they are not undiscovered. Peak season at the popular anchorages can feel crowded, and Anse Lazio on a July afternoon looks rather different from a March dawn. Timing your visit for the shoulder seasons genuinely changes the experience. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre notes that the Vallée de Mai on Praslin — one of only two sites on land in the Seychelles with World Heritage status — manages significant visitor pressure; plan your ashore time early in the morning if possible.
Final word from the BugBitten team
The inner Seychelles islands are not for everyone. They require logistical preparation, a reasonable sailing budget, and a willingness to engage with permit systems and weather windows on the archipelago's own terms. But for sailors who do that preparation — who come in April or October with their paperwork sorted and their expectations calibrated — this is among the finest charter sailing in the Indian Ocean, and possibly the most visually striking cruising ground that most people will ever anchor in.
The granite boulders, the turquoise water, the hawksbill turtles at dawn — these are not marketing fabrications. They are genuinely there, waiting in the quiet of the anchorages, entirely indifferent to how spectacular they are. That indifference, somehow, makes the whole thing better.
