Tahiti vs Seychelles

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. That comes from 130 entries by 16 contributors over twelve months, so read it as indicative.

French Polynesia is not covered by the cost-of-living dataset this directory uses, so there are no sourced figures for it and none are offered here. It prices in CFP francs, and anything beyond Tahiti — the territory's only international gateway — adds a domestic flight or ferry.

Getting there

Tahiti: Faa'a, French Polynesia's only international gateway. French and EU citizens need no visa for French Polynesia; many other nationalities are exempt for tourist stays under three months, with a valid passport required in every case.

Seychelles: Seychelles International on Mahé, then domestic flight or ferry to Praslin and La Digue. No visa — but an Electronic Travel Authorisation is mandatory and must be obtained BEFORE departure, for every traveller including anyone arriving by sea. That trips people up precisely because there is no visa to remind them. A Visitor's Permit then follows on arrival for up to three months, extendable in three-month blocks to twelve, against a return ticket, confirmed accommodation and sufficient funds.

The beaches

Seychelles has the stronger, more specific case: granite formations on sand, on three islands reachable in one trip.

For Tahiti we stay quiet. There is no sourced characterisation of the island's own beaches, and the thing most often repeated about them is unverified here. What is sourced for the territory is the lagoon — 27-29°C, warmest November to April, clearest May to October.

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

In the water

French Polynesia's lagoon runs 27-29°C depending on season, warmest November to April, with air temperatures of 20-30°C year-round. Humpback whales migrate through between August and November with guided excursions.

Seychelles is warm year-round and swimmable every month, with no sourced monthly figures here.

When to go

Nearly opposite, which usually settles it.

French Polynesia's Season of Renewal runs May to October: dry, cooler at 21-27°C, lower humidity, and the clearest conditions for diving and snorkelling. The Season of Abundance, November to April, is humid with tropical showers heaviest December to February — generally brief and followed by clear skies — and the lagoon is at its warmest then.

Seychelles' inner islands are dry December to April and wet June to October, with the difference mainly wind and rainfall rather than temperature.

A February trip is Seychelles. A July trip is Tahiti. The shoulders are narrow.

Beyond the beach

Seychelles gives you three genuinely different islands and a capital on Mahé inside a week.

Tahiti's argument is what it connects to — Moorea, the Tuamotus for diving year-round, the Marquesas as a year-round cultural destination. As a hub it is unavoidable and excellent; as a standalone week it asks more of you than Seychelles does.