Are the Seychelles Expensive?

For sailors planning on coming to the Seychelles I thought I would give you an update on current expenses you can incur.

The Seychelles can be expensive not only for the food but for all the additional costs a foreign yacht can incur during a three month stay. There are ways around some of these costs but some cannot be avoided. Here is a list of probable costs a yacht can incur.

1 – visits to anchorages located in National Parks – 250 rupees (Cdn $25) /night- avoidable if you stay out of the area of the national parks. As long as one is anchored more than 200 metres from the shoreline of a national park then no fee is applicable unless you go ashore. In some areas there is also a fee of 200 rupees ($20/person) for going ashore
2 – initial clearance fee with the Harbour Master = 300 rupees (Cdn $30) – unavoidable
3 – Seychelles Yacht Club – fee for the use of their dinghy dock, showers and temporary membership = 125rupees/week (Cdn $12.50/week). One can avoid this fee if you are willing to tie up your dinghy elsewhere and not use the SYC facilities.
4 – La Digue – 150 rupees (Cdn$15) for water. One ties med style in the small harbour and a hose is obtainable from the harbour master and this can be used to fill up water tanks, doing laundry and/or washing off the boat. This is a one time use fee and is to be paid on a per use basis
5 – Clearance fees. These are unavoidable. The costs below are for yachts of less than 20 gross tons:

For a visit of between;
0 to 120 hours = 75 rupees/day
120 – 240 hours = 60 rupees/day
more than 240 hours = 50 rupees/day

For our boat 12 metre sailboat, Sage, a Wauquiez 38, and a three month visit, the total cost is 11,220 rupees or Cdn $1,112. These charges really call into question whether the Seychelles wants itinerant cruisers to visit. These charges, in our experience, are, next to the Maldives, the most expensive we’ve encountered. Is it worth it? Come and decide for youselves!

Broke but enjoying ourselves.