Hawaii vs Seychelles

Cost

Both have sourced restaurant prices and they are closer than the destinations' reputations suggest.

Honolulu, checked July 2026: an inexpensive restaurant meal $28; a three-course dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant $140; a pint of domestic draught $10.

Seychelles, checked 16 July 2026: an inexpensive meal SCR265; the same mid-range dinner for two SCR1,305; a pint SCR110. That dataset is thin — 130 entries from 16 contributors in twelve months — so treat it as indicative.

We have no sourced accommodation rates for either, so this page does not tell you what a week costs. What it can tell you is that eating out is expensive in both, which is not true of every destination in this directory.

Getting there

Hawaii: Honolulu takes non-stop mainland service from Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Newark, New York, Oakland, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle-Tacoma. Kahului on Maui adds Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento. Entry is US entry — ESTA for Visa Waiver nationals, a visa otherwise, and nothing extra for Hawaii itself.

Seychelles: one gateway, Seychelles International on Mahé. There is no visa, but an Electronic Travel Authorisation is mandatory and must be obtained before departure — every traveller, including anyone arriving by sea. A Visitor's Permit follows on arrival for up to three months, extendable to twelve, against a return ticket, confirmed accommodation and proof of funds.

The beaches

These are close to opposite propositions.

Seychelles' inner islands give you granite on sand, publicly accessible, on three islands you can reach in a week. The seasonal variation is wind and rain, not danger.

Hawaii gives you range and a rulebook. In winter, north shores take consistent huge and dangerous swells — the state's ocean safety service says novice swimmers of any skill level should stay out of the water at those beaches — while south shores go flat-to-small. In summer it inverts and south shores see large swells frequently. East shores are rough in both seasons from the trades.

Hawaii always has a swimmable coast; you have to know which one and drive to it. Seychelles asks less of you.

In this directory: Hawaii has 2 beaches listed, 1 rated calm for swimming. Seychelles has 2, 1 calm.

In the water

Hawaii averages 23.3°C, rising to about 26.7°C in summer, and the striking thing is how little it moves — ocean temperature is near-constant year-round and it is the waves that change drastically, not the water.

Seychelles is warm year-round and swimmable every month. We do not have sourced month-by-month figures, so no numbers are claimed here, but it sits closer to the equator than Hawaii and does not have Hawaii's cool season.

When to go

Almost no overlap, which makes the decision unusually clean.

Hawaii is best May to October: summer, averaging 29.4°C in the daytime at sea level against 25.6°C in winter, and the months when north-shore waves subside enough for general swimming. November to March is the wettest stretch, though rainfall is highly localised and the leeward coast is usually dry when the windward side is not.

Seychelles' inner islands are dry December to April and wet June to October.

A July trip is Hawaii. A February trip is Seychelles. Only a narrow shoulder suits both.

Beyond the beach

Hawaii's non-beach case is landscape and Hawaiian cultural sites, spread across six islands, and reaching most of it means the rental car and an early start.

Seychelles' is smaller and more concentrated: three islands, a capital on Mahé, and the moving between them by ferry or domestic flight as part of the trip rather than an excursion from it.