Apr & May
The best window of the year
The turn from the north-west monsoon to the south-east trades. The wind drops away, the sea goes flat and visibility underwater is at its best of the year. Everything runs.
Timing
The best time for a Moyenne Island tour: April, May, October and November
The Seychelles sit four degrees south of the equator, so there is no summer and no winter in any useful sense. What there is instead is two monsoons and the two turns between them, and the turns are when the sea goes flat.
Quick answer
The best time for a Moyenne Island tour is April, May, October and November. These are the changeovers between the two monsoons: the wind drops, the sea flattens and underwater visibility is at its best. Trips run all year and the temperature barely moves; what changes is the water.
Month by month
The year in the Seychelles
No seasons in the European sense. Two monsoons and two turns between them.
Oct & Nov
The other turn, and just as good
The same changeover in reverse. Flat water, clear visibility and slightly warmer than April. Usually a little quieter than the spring turn.
Jun – Sep
The south-east trades
Cooler, breezier and drier. Crossings are choppier and visibility drops, but everything still runs and prices are at their lowest.
Dec – Mar
The north-west monsoon
Warm, humid and the wettest months — short heavy showers rather than all-day rain. Calmer seas than the trade-wind months, and the busiest weeks are over Christmas.
Timing, at a glance
- Best months
- April, May, October, Novemberthe monsoon turns
- Best visibility
- The same four monthsthe sea goes flat
- Breeziest
- June to Septemberthe south-east trades
- Wettest
- December to Marchshort showers, not all-day rain
- Busiest
- Christmas and New Yearbook about a week ahead
- Cheapest
- June to Septemberand everything still runs
- Temperature
- Barely moveshigh twenties all year
- Trips run
- All yearweather permitting
- Best time of day
- Morningthe breeze builds by afternoon
- Latitude
- 4° southwhich is why there is no season
Why the turns are better than the monsoons
It is about wind, not rain
Wind makes the crossing and the visibility. Rain mostly does not matter.
Wind makes the crossing. Sainte Anne Marine National Park is close to shore, but on a trade-wind morning the sea between Victoria and the islands is choppy. During the turns it can be glass.
Wind also makes the visibility. Chop stirs sediment, and sediment is what you are looking through when you snorkel. The difference between April and July underwater is obvious.
Rain is not really the issue. The wet months bring short heavy showers rather than grey days, and a shower on a boat in the Indian Ocean is not the event it would be elsewhere.
Which is why a Moyenne Island tour in the monsoon turns is a different trip from the same booking in August, at roughly the same price.
Whatever the month, book the morning departure. The breeze in the Seychelles builds through the day, which is why almost every trip here is back by mid-afternoon.
Tickets and booking→Book direct
Through the year
All four run all year; the turns are when the water is clearest.
Our top pick568 reviews
7 hMahé: Saint-Anne Marine Park and Moyenne Island Cruise
★ 4.6 · 568 reviews
- Our top pick, and the one that lands on Moyenne
- Seven hours in Sainte Anne Marine Park with a stop on the island
- 568 reviews at 4.6
- Lunch included
$163$0.39 / hour
Check availability→ 
Rated 4.9Half day
4 hMahe Island: St. Anne Marine Park Snorkeling Trip
★ 4.9 · 76 reviews
- The best rated trip here
- Four hours of snorkelling in Sainte Anne Marine Park
- 76 reviews at 4.9
- Half day
$154$0.64 / hour
Check availability→ 
1,139 reviewsMoyenne + Cerf
6 hSt. Anne Marine Park, Moyenne & Cerf Island Tour with Lunch
★ 4.2 · 1,139 reviews
- The most reviewed listing in the whole niche
- Six hours to Moyenne and Cerf Island with lunch on a beach
- 1,139 reviews at 4.2
- Lunch included
$87$0.22 / hour
Check availability→ 
CheapestGlass-bottom
Full dayGlassbottom boat & Crystalkayak SteAnneMarinePark Snorkeling
★ 4.5 · 49 reviews
- The cheapest trip on this page
- Glass-bottom boat and a crystal kayak in the marine park
- 49 reviews at 4.5
- No swimming needed
$83$0.20 / hour
Check availability→ Common questions
Timing, answered plainly
When is the best time for a Moyenne Island tour?
April, May, October and November — the turns between the two monsoons, when the wind drops and visibility underwater is at its best.
Is there a rainy season?
December to March is the wettest, but it brings short heavy showers rather than all-day rain. Trips still run.
When is it cheapest?
June to September, during the south-east trades. Everything still runs; the sea is just choppier.
Does the temperature change?
Barely. The Seychelles are four degrees from the equator and sit in the high twenties all year.
What time of day should I book?
Morning. The breeze builds through the day, which is why almost every trip is back by mid-afternoon.
When is it busiest?
Christmas and New Year, and the two monsoon turns. Book about a week ahead in those weeks.
Go deeper
More on Moyenne Island and the marine park
The island
Who made this island
One man, 16,000 trees and forty years. The story behind the park.
CostWhat it costs
From $83, and the park fee nobody mentions.
The parkSainte Anne Marine Park
Protected since 1973, and the first marine park in the Indian Ocean.
The verdictWhich trip is best
Fourteen listings, and the four worth your day.
TortoisesThe giant tortoises
Around fifty of them, and how they got there.
SnorkellingSnorkelling the reef
What you actually see, and which trips put you in the water.
