With clear turquoise waters and great balmy temperatures, Seychelles is probably one of the best places for diving around the world. With an extremely vast array of marine life, Seychelles also has a large variety of topographies ranging from large reefs, drops, canyons, shipwrecks, pinnacles and gorges. It's easy to understand why it is so popular.
Mahe is the biggest and most populated island in the country, having the capital and the government buildings. With an impressive number of around 75 accessible dive sites, it is probably one of the most versatile and amazing places to go diving in Seychelles. Due to the excellent conservation programmes run by Seychelles' government, the feared bleaching of the reef in 1998 due to the El Nino effect has been repaired. One can find and spot some of the rarest marine life here. With a large number of diving spots, there's something on offer for everyone, whether you're a beginner or a pro!
Best Time for Diving in Mahe
With dive sites from 8 meters to 30 meters deep, there are options for both beginners and advanced divers. The best season to go diving is from March to May and September to November. This is the best time as the waters are calm and the visibility goes upto a staggering 30 meters! Around this time, the water has a temperature of around 29 degrees Celcius making it the perfect temperature to go diving. Calm waters also mean that one can access sites more easily without much trouble.
The time between June to August has rougher winds making some sites rather inaccessible. The waters also drop down a few degrees, hovering near the 25 degrees Celcius mark. As a result of the colder waters, the water is richer in plankton due to which visibility under-water reduces. As a consequence, however, there are a larger number of sharks. Thus, a dive during this time would enable one to see these magnificent creatures.
Where to go Diving in Mahe?
Mahe island offers a whopping amount of versatility when it comes to dive sites. With around 75 dive sites, there are some that are more famous than the others, each offering something special of their own.
1. Port Launay
White sands, turquoise waters, with shady areas to lounge, the Port Launay beach is the ideal beach for snorkelling. Located inside the Port Launay Marine National Park, it is situated on the northwest part of the Mahe island. With jungle clad mountains and hills to one side, the beach is in the form of a horse-shoe. The naturally formed harbor has deep yet calm waters. Protected as a national park, the site offers an amazing range of marine and aquatic life. In the season where there is plankton, one can spot whale sharks feeding off the plankton here.
If one is entering by boat, then they need to pay an entry fee of SRC 200. The beach is free to access, however, and can be accessed through the Constance Ephelia resort behind the beach. One can also enjoy the corals through the glass bottomed boats here without getting wet.
Timings: 09:00AM - 05:00PM
2. Shark Bank
Remember the scenes in the book 'Twenty thousand Leagues under the sea - by Jules Verne'? If you?'e looking for that kind of experience, Shark Bank is the place you should be! Located approximately around 8 kilometres north-west of the island of Mahe, Shark Bank is a granitic plateau underwater, interspersed with granitic boulders. Considered one of the most popular diving sites of Mahe and Seychelles, the plateau and rocks along with the dazzling marine life will leave one mesmerised. Swimming amidst fish of all colors and sizes, one feels like they've stepped into a kaleidoscope!
Renown for the grey stingrays found here, visibility here is generally good. One can find an extremely large array of colorful tropical fish such as the cowfish, lionfish, pufferfish, jack fish, red snappers, lobsters, batfish, frog fish and other fish leaving one truly mesmerized. The melange of reds, blues, yellows and other colors truly give one a dreamlike experience that cannot be forgotten ever. Apart from that, one can also find turtles, reef sharks, whale sharks, octopus and share this paradise with them. No other experience in the world can replace the one you have here!
3. Aldebaran
A diving excursion with a twist, the Aldebaran is a vessel that was sunk in July 2008. The shipwreck is now home to a lot of creatures and makes for an amazing diving trip. Located around 28-40 meters deep, the area can sometimes experience strong currents. Here, one can see exotic marine life such as sweet silver tips, moray eels, lionfish, groupers, mackerel, batfish, scorpion fish, yellow snappers etc. Depending on the season one may even get lucky and spot a guitar shark, giant groupers or stingrays also!
4. Brissare Rocks
Lying around 5 kilometres north of Mahe, the Brissare rocks are an extremely great place for someone who has experience diving. Due to the high currents here, there are a lot of bigger fish that can be spotted here apart from the colorful corals. If lucky one can spot smaller sharks and barracudas too!
Popular Diving Centres
Although there are many popular diving centres, these are the most popular ones, most regularly used by tourists.
1. Big Blue Divers
Located on a stretch of the Beau Vallon Bay, the Big Blue Divers are a PADI 5* accredited organization. With a great team, they offer a variety of diving courses and packages. They have courses for everyone, children, beginners, intermediate divers and even advanced divers!
Prices starting from: EUR 95-100
2. Blue Sea Divers
Established in 2002, Blue Sea Divers is a well-known dive centre with a team of extremely passionate people. With a diverse team of people, they aim to give people an extremely high-quality experience emphasizing fun, conservation and learning. They offer a wide variety of options ranging from a single dive to a multitude of courses.
Single Dive Starting from: EUR 50
3. Dive Resort Seychelles
Located on the South West of the Mahe Island, Dive Resort Seychelles is a PADI 5* accredited centre. Situated near the beautiful Anse la Mouche, the centre offers courses for everyone from the ages of 10 years and above catering to all levels!
With so many options and such beauty, what's stopping from experiencing the realms of the Sea Lord Poseidon?