We're often asked “When is the best time to go to go on a Seychelles beach holiday?”, and the answer is often complex. It will depend on many things including your interests, exactly where you want to visit and why you're travelling. However, often a concern about the climate / weather underlies the question of 'the best time to go'.

So below is a broad guide to the climate of the Seychelles. Please remember that these tropical islands have a completely different climate pattern than the rest of Africa, and that these notes on the weather come from our records and experience, not from a crystal ball. Weather patterns across Africa, and indeed the globe, are becoming increasingly unpredictable, probably due to global warming; we're seeing downpours in the middle of deserts and damaging droughts when rains should be falling.

Lying 4°-11° south of the Equator, in the western Indian Ocean, Seychelles has a tropical climate: warm and humid with strong maritime influences. The temperature is consistently 24-32°C, there is no distinct dry season and there is some humidity at all times.

Many of the granitic Inner Islands have dramatic terrain; Mahe boasting hills rising to 900m. The rainfall increases with altitude, though it is the trade winds that really dictate the islands' climate and name its seasons.

From May to October the south-east trade winds (Southeast Monsoon) bring a relatively dry period. Reaching its peak in July/August, there is little precipitation and temperatures average 27°C, though seas can be a little choppy.

By November (pre-Northwest Monsoon), the winds start to change, bringing light, warmer winds and the start of the main rainy season. During December to March (Northwest Monsoon), Seychelles gets extremely wet, especially in December and January, though the vegetation is lush, the winds generally light and the sun at its warmest. This is also the cyclone season, though only the most remote southern islands are within the cyclone belt.

This period is followed by the calmest, warmest month, April (Pre-Southeast Monsoon), as the winds die down and start to change direction.


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