Seychelles vs Maldives

Cost

Seychelles, checked 16 July 2026: an inexpensive restaurant meal SCR265; a three-course dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant SCR1,305; a pint of domestic draught SCR110. From 130 entries by 16 contributors — the same caveat applies.

For the Maldives we have no usable figure. Resort-island pricing is a closed market and diverges sharply from national averages, so a Malé restaurant price does not describe a resort meal and this page will not pretend otherwise.

So this is a comparison where only one side can be given a number, and it is not because the Maldives is cheap.

Getting there

Seychelles International on Mahé is the gateway, with Praslin and La Digue reached by domestic flight or ferry. Seychelles requires 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 in three-month blocks to twelve, against a return ticket, confirmed accommodation and sufficient funds.

Everything international routes through Velana at Malé. Speedboat is the norm for resorts near the airport; anything further out is a seaplane or one of the several daily domestic flights to twelve regional airports, then a speedboat. The Maldives gives a free 30-day visa on arrival to every nationality except Israeli passport holders, but the conditions are enforced: a machine-readable passport valid at least a month, a confirmed onward ticket, a prepaid booking at a registered resort or hotel, and either proof of funds — US$100 plus $50 per day — or that reservation. A Traveller Declaration must be submitted online within 96 hours before arrival.

The beaches

Both are famous for sand and they are famous for different sand.

Seychelles' granite formations are unlike anything in the Maldives, and being able to walk between beaches on La Digue is a freedom the resort model removes entirely. The Maldives' case is the house reef: on a good island you step off the beach into it.

We have no sourced beach-level data for either yet, so this page describes the shape of the difference rather than ranking individual beaches.

In this directory: Seychelles has 2 beaches listed, 1 rated calm for swimming. Maldives has 10, 10 calm.

In the water

The Maldives sits around 28.3°C to 30°C across the year, warmest in April, and never drops below a comfortable swimming temperature.

Seychelles is warm year-round and swimmable every month, though we have no sourced monthly figures for it. The Maldives is the warmer of the two on the evidence we have, and it does not have a cool season at all.

When to go

The Seychelles inner islands are dry December to April and wet June to October, and the difference between the two is mainly wind and rainfall rather than temperature.

The Maldives runs on the north-east monsoon, November to April, which is the generally sunny dry season; the meteorological service dates the true dry season more narrowly, January to March. The south-west monsoon, mid-May to November, is wetter and windier — but most days in it are still sunny, prices fall, and it is when Hanifaru Bay in Baa Atoll draws manta rays.

December to April suits both, which is unusual and makes this a rare pair where dates do not force the decision.

Beyond the beach

Seychelles has a capital on Mahé, three islands to move between, and the moving as part of the trip.

A Maldives resort island has what the resort has. That is not a criticism — it is what people are buying — but anyone who wants a country behind the beach should read it as a real limitation. The guesthouse islands are where Maldivian life is actually visible.