With 115 islands to explore 41 granite and 74 coral islands, the Seychelles archipelago is an ideal place for a trip in the Indian Ocean! Among so many diving sites, it is certainly hard to make a choice but each local diving centre will do its best to guarantee you unforgettable dives.
Diving in Mahé
The island of Mahé is an essential place for diving in the Seychelles. In addition to beautiful beaches, you will have the choice between about thirty different diving sites, each one more incredible than the others. Here is an overview of those you must not miss:
Fisherman’s Cove Reef
If you are a beginner in scuba diving or if you have only a few dives on your counter, this is the diving site you should not miss. Near the coast, Fisherman’s Cove Reef offers a beautiful sample of hard coral species in excellent health and very colourful. This sloping coral reef also has sand patches that makes it an ideal spot for underwater macro-photographers. Visits by hawksbill turtles feeding on the reef makes it one of the most popular dives on the island.
Dredger Wreck
At a short distance from the island of Mahé. This small dredger wreck rests on its side at a depth of about 25 meters and this dive is reserved for experienced divers. The wreck is covered with different species of corals and a large number of fishes including morays, scorpion fish, lionfish, stonefish, nudibranchs and lobsters. Around the wreck, shoals of yellow snappers, batfish, jacks, riflemen and sometimes large black groupers will accompany you during your visit.
Shark Bank
This granitic plateau, open to the tide, is located 8 km to the northwest halfway between Mahé and the Silhouette Island. The Shark Bank diving site is located on the shallowest part of a marine area that extends for hundreds of kilometres and is a natural home for marine life. The site consists of large rocks forming small pinnacles that are hiding places for a population of reef fish and invertebrates.
Renowned for its rich fauna and flora, Shark Bank is also a passage for pelagic fish. You can see grey skates, white-tip sharks, schools of barracudas, schools of jacks, sea turtles and even whale sharks between October and December.
Diving in Praslin and at the Digue
The seabed around Praslin and the Digue consists of granite blocks, coral gardens, sloping reefs and some vertical walls. Most sites are easily accessible in five minutes by boat, but some are further away and require up to 45 minutes of travel. Among the popular diving sites in Praslin, we can cite:
Ave Maria
Avé Maria is a small island located between Praslin and the atoll of Soeur Island. It’s a strange islet with only one tree. The diving spot of the same name is suitable for everyone; the maximum depth is 20 meters. Massive granitic rocks form large canyons covered with corals where the fauna can be quietly explored. It is not uncommon to encounter a white or black tip shark or a turtle around a rock. Ave Maria is a site where you can observe a wide variety of reef species: butterfly fish, clownfish, parrot-fish, trunk fish, lobsters, octopus but also, from time to time, eagle rays, platax and barracudas.
Channel Rocks
These rock formations can be found outcropping at the water surface between Praslin and La Digue. This diving site, unlike the others, awaits, in priority, experienced divers. In a canal formed by large granitic rocks, you can admire eagle rays, reef sharks and whale sharks during summer and autumn attracted by the abundance of plankton present there.
Whitebank
Located near the Digue, this impressive diving site consists of a beautiful rock formation of tunnels and small canyons. It is an ideal place to discover the endemic marine life of the Seychelles: this site is, in fact, shallow with warm water and good visibility. You will see all kinds of reef fish in the open water, on the sand or hidden in the interstices of granitic rocks. There are job snappers, antenaries, octopuses, jacks, riflemen, eagle rays…. With a little luck, you may even meet a shark or two during your immersion.
South Marianne
Located behind the Digue at about 40 minutes by boat, this diving spot is absolutely superb but it is only accessible in case of favourable weather. At a depth of 25 metres, an underwater landscape of granitic rocks forms pinnacles, canyons and labyrinths that we are eager to explore. There are many grey sharks and a beautiful tropical fauna, pretty schools of platax, turtles and morays.
Amoujie Mamon
It is probably the most challenging diving site on the inland islands. This is why only experienced divers can venture there. This fascinating dive features a row of granite pinnacles. The maximum depth varies between 25 and 30 meters, we recommend that you stay between the rocks, at a depth of 20 meters, to avoid forcing your luck by finding yourself in labyrinths or currents.
In addition to the smallest species, the site features nurse sharks, dog-toothed tunas, and large triggerfish, snappers, barracudas, royal fish, sharks, eagle rays and swordfish. Rock formations are separated by large sandy areas that must be crossed. In these areas, it is important to be vigilant so that you don’t get lost. That is why you must be accompanied by an experienced guide.
The outer Islands
Aldabra Atoll
For those with more time and resources, diving cruises are an excellent way to visit the diving sites on the outer islands. In addition to the superb white sandy beaches, the Aldabra Archipelago is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This region can also be discovered underwater: coral reefs, drop offs, caves, water of incredible clarity, giant morays, scorpion fish, schools of parrot fish, jacksacks, barracudas, groupers, reef sharks, manta rays, eagle rays and huge marine turtles, the largest in the world….
Desroches Island
On this island of 6 km long by 1 km wide with lush vegetation, everything is calm and friendly: relaxing by the water, snorkeling among the colorful fishes of the Seychelles or diving into the kingdom of sharks and manta rays… It has listed about 18 sites near the island including the superb spot of “Madame Zabre”. Unlike other diving sites in the Seychelles, here, there are no granite blocks but coral reefs and drop offs.
