Top 10 Dive Sites in The Seychelles
The Seychelles archipelago spreads across a stretch of the western Indian Ocean that has no mainland equivalent. Granite boulders the size of houses tumble from the hilltops of the inner islands into the sea, creating a labyrinthine underwater topography of channels, overhangs and swim-throughs that is entirely unlike the coral walls of the Maldives or the Red Sea. Beyond the granitic inner islands, the outer atolls — Alphonse, Farquhar, Cosmoledo, and the extraordinary Aldabra — rise from the deep ocean floor as classic coral atolls, their passes swept by currents that attract sharks, rays and pelagics in numbers that few protected areas on earth can match. Water temperatures remain between 26 and 30 °C year-round, and a 3 mm wetsuit is adequate in all but the coolest months. Open the map to explore the full spread of Seychellois dive sites across both inner and outer islands.
1. Aldabra Atoll, Outer Islands
Aldabra is the crown jewel of Indian Ocean diving and one of the most remote and pristine marine environments accessible to recreational divers. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this raised coral atoll 1,100 kilometres southwest of Mahé has no permanent dive tourism infrastructure; access is via specialist liveaboard or research vessel. The lagoon and the passes through the reef wall host Napoleon wrasse, schools of bumphead parrotfish, enormous colonies of giant clams, and hammerhead sharks patrolling the outer drop-offs. Visibility frequently exceeds 30 metres. Advanced Open Water certification is required given the currents in the passes, and the remoteness demands self-sufficiency with equipment. Only a handful of boats visit each year; booking a berth requires planning a year or more in advance.
2. Shark Bank, Mahé
Shark Bank is a submerged granite plateau lying about eight kilometres north-west of Mahé in open water at depths of 25 to 35 metres, and its name is no exaggeration. Nurse sharks rest in crevices between the boulders, whitetip reef sharks patrol the plateau edges, and grey reef sharks circle in open water above. The granite structure itself is draped with sea fans and encrusted with anthias-clouded hard coral. Currents can be significant when the tide runs, making this an Advanced-level site; day boats from Mahé operators reach it in about 30 minutes. Best season is April through May and October through November, during the inter-monsoon calms when conditions are most predictable.
3. Brissare Rocks, Mahé
The Brissare Rocks sit off the northern tip of Mahé, a cluster of submerged granite boulders scattered between 15 and 35 metres. The granitic substrate is entirely different from anything a coral-reef diver encounters: massive rounded boulders with deep crevices between them, thickly colonised by sea fans, whip corals, and orange cup corals. Dogtooth tuna pass through open water above the site, and large grouper occupy the deeper boulder gaps. Current runs strongly on the ebb, turning the site into a productive drift dive. The best light penetrates the crevices in the morning, making it a photogenic site in the early-day. Advanced certification recommended.
4. Aride Island, Inner Islands
Aride Island is a nature reserve north of Praslin whose waters are protected from fishing, and the results are visible underwater. Schools of snapper and jobfish in numbers rarely seen around the main islands gather over the granite reefs that descend to 25 metres on the western side. Olive ridley and hawksbill turtles are frequent. The coral encrusting the granite is in better condition than comparable sites near Mahé, and visibility averages 15–20 metres. The site is best dived during the north-west monsoon season (November through April), when the northern coast of Aride is sheltered and accessible to day boats from Praslin.
5. Desroches Drop, Amirantes Group
Desroches is a flat coral island in the Amirantes group, and the Desroches Drop is the outer edge of its reef platform — a vertical wall that begins at about 10 metres and plunges to beyond 40. The wall is textbook Indian Ocean reef: hard coral tables above, sea fans and black coral below, surgeonfish and angelfish through the water column. Eagle rays glide along the wall face during the morning, and hammerhead sharks have been sighted from the deeper sections of the drop-off. The island has an eco-resort and dive centre, making it one of the more accessible outer-island destinations. Advanced certification recommended for the wall. Best season: April through November.
6. Beau Vallon Bay Wrecks, Mahé
Beau Vallon Bay on the north-west coast of Mahé has several deliberately sunk vessels and structures forming an accessible wreck trail in depths of 15 to 30 metres. The most popular is a small cargo vessel that has been underwater long enough to be thoroughly encrusted with corals, sea fans and wire corals. Lionfish circle the superstructure, and schools of glassfish pour from open hatches. The sheltered bay conditions and moderate depth make this an appropriate site for Open Water divers wanting their first wreck experience. Night dives here are productive — octopus hunt across the hull after dark, and Spanish dancer nudibranchs appear on the coral faces.
7. The Aquarium, Ste Anne Marine National Park
The Ste Anne Marine National Park lies just offshore from Mahé's capital Victoria, and the Aquarium dive site earns its informal name. Coral gardens at 8 to 20 metres shelter parrotfish, surgeonfish, hawksbill turtles, and an improbable density of coral bommies that create natural viewing alcoves. The protected status of the park has allowed the reef to recover from bleaching events that damaged the outer reefs in 1998. Visibility averages 12–18 metres in calm conditions. This is the site most frequently used for Open Water checkout dives, and it offers an excellent first impression of Seychellois marine life.
8. Conception Island Wall, Inner Islands
Conception is an uninhabited granite island south of Mahé whose outer wall is among the more dramatic in the inner islands. The reef begins at 3 metres and drops steeply to 40-plus metres, with large sea fans and barrel sponges from 20 metres downward. Spotted eagle rays are reliable sightings at mid-depth, and on calm days the currents around the island concentrate plankton that draws feeding nurse sharks into the shallows. The island is uninhabited and undeveloped; access is by day boat from Mahé operators approximately 45 minutes away. Best conditions during the north-west monsoon. Advanced certification beneficial.
9. North Point, Silhouette Island
Silhouette is the third-largest of the Seychelles islands, its mountainous interior largely protected as a national park. North Point on Silhouette's exposed northern coast is a series of granite pinnacles and ridges swept by the open ocean swell, providing habitat for a different species mix than the sheltered sites closer to Mahé. Whale sharks pass seasonally — most reliably between July and September — and dogtooth tuna and rainbow runners patrol the deeper water between the pinnacles. Depths range from 10 to beyond 40 metres. The exposed conditions mean this site is dependent on sea state and is not always diveable; Advanced certification and a comfort with open ocean swells is required.
10. South Point, Mahé
South Point marks the southern extremity of Mahé where the plateau edge drops sharply and the island's lee shelters the site from the prevailing north-east swell. Depths on the reef run from 10 to 35 metres, with bommies encrusted in soft coral at around 20 metres providing exceptional macro photography opportunities. Sea moths, ghost pipefish and robust ghost pipefish have all been found here. The site also produces occasional tiger shark sightings on the outer slope — Seychelles has a resident population of these large sharks that rarely appears in dive literature focused on the more photogenic sites. Advanced certification recommended for the deeper sections.
Planning Your Seychelles Dive Trip
The Seychelles has two main diving seasons driven by the monsoon cycle. The north-west monsoon from October through April generally brings calmer conditions to the west coasts of the inner islands; the south-east monsoon from May through September opens the eastern and southern exposures while grounding dive operations on the western coasts. The inter-monsoon periods in April–May and October–November are often cited as the finest overall diving windows. Mahé is the main hub for international arrivals and has the greatest concentration of dive operators; Praslin and La Digue have smaller operations. For the outer islands and Aldabra, liveaboard access is the only realistic option, and itineraries should be researched carefully for current permit availability. Open the map to locate dive centres, entry points and the outer island atolls.