Best time to visit Seychelles: weather and seasons by month

Seychelles sits outside the main cyclone belt, so the deciding factor is wind and sea state rather than rainfall. The north-west monsoon runs December–March with humid showers and calm water on south-east coasts; the south-east trades run May–September with drier air, wind and choppy seas. Two calm transitions sit between them.

Use the table to match a month to what you plan to do. If your trip is mostly resort time on one island, the trade-wind months are workable. If it depends on ferries, diving or boat trips, the transitions are worth paying more for.

Start with the activity, not the weather chart. Diving and snorkelling are best in the calm transitions of April–May and October–November, when visibility peaks. Hiking on Mahé and Praslin is most comfortable in September as the trades ease. Beach time works almost any month if you pick the sheltered side: north-west-facing beaches in the trade-wind season, south-east-facing beaches during the north-west monsoon.

Seychelles has no true low season, but February and June usually carry the softest rates outside holiday weeks, and they are the months when you are most likely to find availability at short notice. Christmas–New Year, August and Easter week are the peaks: flights, hotels and ferries all cost more and sell out earlier.

The trade-wind months are not automatically cheap. July and August combine high European demand with the roughest seas, so you pay peak prices for the least reliable boat conditions. The calm transitions in April–May and October–November sit mid-to-high on price but give the best conditions for the money.

Seychelles lies outside the main cyclone belt, so the inner granitic islands rarely see storms. The Aldabra group in the far south-west is different: it sits in the cyclone belt from January to March and is reached by expedition ship only. If Aldabra is on your list, aim for April–May or September–November.

Public holidays move crowds even in quiet months. The La Digue Festival on 15 August is the one to watch: it draws a pilgrimage to La Digue and ferries sell out. Festival Kreol in late October fills Victoria, and Carnaval International de Victoria has been held irregularly in late April or May, so confirm dates before booking around it.

Whale sharks are reported off Mahé mainly in the calmer months around October–November, but sightings vary year to year and should be treated as a possibility rather than a plan.

This page is built from the site's Seychelles country data and official tourism and meteorological sources. Month verdicts, crowd and price bands follow that country data; anything we could not confirm is marked check. We last reviewed this page in September 2026.