Bareboat Charter Seychelles

Bareboat charter in the Seychelles

A bareboat charter in the Seychelles puts a sailing catamaran entirely in your hands for a week or more. You set the course, choose the anchorages and run the days as you please, sailing the granite Inner Islands at your own pace. Our bareboat fleet leaves from Eden Island Marina on Mahé and is built around Lagoon and Bali catamarans from 42 to 46 feet — boats chosen for steady handling, shade and room, sleeping eight to ten guests across four cabins.

The Seychelles is one of the more approachable places in the world to take a bareboat charter. The main islands sit close together in protected water, passages between anchorages are short, and you are rarely far from a sheltered bay. For an experienced crew, it is a manageable, rewarding cruising ground; for those who want support, every yacht can be booked with a skipper, and most can add a cook, a deckhand or a hostess.

What a bareboat charter means

Bareboat means you charter the yacht without a crew or skipper and skipper it yourself. You are the captain for the week: you plan the route, handle the sailing, set the watch and pick where to drop anchor each afternoon. It suits sailors who want independence and the freedom to change plans on a whim — a longer lunch stop here, an extra night at a quiet anchorage there.

That independence does not have to be all-or-nothing. If you would like to learn the waters before taking full charge, we can place a skipper aboard for the first day and hand the boat over once you are comfortable. If you would rather not sail at all and enjoy the islands, the same catamarans can be booked with a full crew. The choice is yours, and you can decide as late as the enquiry stage.

Is the Seychelles good for bareboat sailing?

For most charterers, yes. The Inner Islands — Mahé, Praslin, La Digue and the smaller islands around them — are granitic and close-set, so navigation is largely by sight from one island to the next. Distances are short: the longest common passage, Mahé to Praslin, is around 25 nautical miles, and most hops take an hour or two. Commercial traffic is light, the holding in the main bays is good, and there is little tidal complication compared with many cruising areas.

What does call for attention is the wind and the season (covered below), the coral, which means careful anchoring and reading the water, and the marine-park rules around the protected islands. We cover all of this in your handover briefing at the marina, and we will talk through a route that matches your experience when you enquire.

The bareboat fleet

These are modern, well-equipped catamarans. The Lagoon 42 and Lagoon 46 are among the most chartered cruising catamarans in the world — stable at anchor, easy to handle short-handed, and comfortable for a family or two couples sharing. The Bali 4.3 offers a more open layout, with a tilting garage door between cockpit and saloon and a solid foredeck in place of a trampoline. The Lagoon 450 S adds a flybridge helm. All are SMSA-licensed and maintained to survey. If your group is larger or you would prefer everything taken care of, our crewed catamarans run from 48 to 77 feet.

Where you’ll sail

Most bareboat charters work a loop through the Inner Islands. A representative week looks like this.

Sainte Anne Marine Park: A short sail from Eden Island, the marine park takes in Cerf, Round, Moyenne and Long islands — easy snorkelling, calm anchorages and a gentle start while you settle into the boat.

North and west Mahé: Beau Vallon bay, Baie Ternay and Port Launay on the west coast offer sheltered overnight anchorages and good snorkelling, with Thérèse and Conception islands close by.

The crossing to Praslin: The open-water passage to Praslin is the one stretch of real sailing in a typical week. Praslin’s Côte d’Or and Anse Lazio are favourites, and the Vallée de Mai — home of the coco de mer palm — is a short trip ashore.

Curieuse, Cousin and Aride: These protected islands sit just off Praslin. Curieuse is known for its giant tortoises, Cousin and Aride for seabirds. Landing and mooring rules apply, which we explain in your briefing.

La Digue: Anchor off La Passe and go ashore by bicycle to Anse Source d’Argent, one of the most photographed beaches anywhere, with its granite boulders and shallow, clear water.

Félicité, Grande Soeur and the Sister Islands: Quiet anchorages east of La Digue, good for a final couple of nights before the sail back to Mahé.

We will tailor the route to your dates, the season and your crew’s experience, and suggest a sensible distance to cover so the week stays relaxed rather than rushed.

A sample one-week route

A comfortable seven-day bareboat itinerary might run as follows. It is a starting point, not a fixed plan — the appeal of bareboating is that you can change it as you go.

• Day 1 — Eden Island to Sainte Anne Marine Park. Collect the boat after your briefing, sail the short distance to the marine park, and anchor off Cerf or Moyenne for the first night. An easy shakedown while you learn the boat.
• Day 2 — West Mahé. Round to Baie Ternay or Port Launay for snorkelling in protected water, with Thérèse Island close by.
• Day 3 — Crossing to Praslin. The main passage of the week is around 25 nautical miles. Anchor off Côte d’Or or Anse Lazio.
• Day 4 — Praslin and Curieuse. A short hop to Curieuse for the giant tortoises and a walk ashore, returning to a Praslin anchorage for the night.
• Day 5 — La Digue. Sail across and anchor off La Passe; ashore by bicycle to Anse Source d’Argent.
• Day 6 — Félicité and the Sister Islands. Quiet anchorages east of La Digue for a slower day on the water.
• Day 7 — Return to Mahé. Sail back, with a final stop in the marine park before handing the boat back at Eden Island.

Shorter charters work the western islands and Sainte Anne without the Praslin crossing; longer charters add more time around the outer Inner Islands.

Provisioning and stocking the boat

You can provision the boat yourself or have it done for you. Eden Island has a supermarket a short walk from the marina, and Victoria’s market is close by for fresh produce, so self-provisioning is straightforward. Alternatively, send us a shopping list with your enquiry and we will arrange to have the boat stocked before you arrive, so you can sail on the day you board. If you add a cook to your charter, they will handle provisioning and meals around your preferences and any dietary needs.

Best Time for a Yacht Charter in Seychelles

What you need to charter bareboat

Bareboat charter calls for sailing experience rather than, necessarily, a particular certificate. When you enquire, send us a short sailing CV — the boats you have skippered, the waters you have sailed and any qualifications such as an ICC or RYA Day Skipper. We will confirm whether you are cleared to take the helm.

If your experience is a little light for the conditions, there are two easy options: book a skipper for the first day to learn the boat and the area, then take over; or keep a skipper aboard for the whole charter. Neither commits you to anything until you decide.

A refundable security deposit applies — between €4,000 and €8,000 depending on the yacht — held against the boat and returned after a clean handover. Every charter begins with a thorough briefing at Eden Island covering the boat’s systems, the cruising area, the marine-park rules and the weather outlook.

Anchoring, mooring and the reef

The Inner Islands anchor well, but coral means a little more care than a sandy cruising ground. You anchor in sand patches rather than over reef, both to hold securely and to protect the coral, and several of the protected islands have mooring buoys you pick up instead of anchoring. The marine parks charge a fee and have rules on where you may land and snorkel. None of this is difficult, but it is worth knowing in advance — your handover briefing covers the anchorages on your route, the mooring areas and the park boundaries, and the skipper’s notes aboard list the recommended spots.

What to bring, and what to expect

Pack light and soft-sided — locker space is generous but not unlimited. Bring reef-safe sun protection, polarised sunglasses for reading the water, a light layer for evening passages in the trade-wind season, and any personal snorkelling gear you prefer, though masks and fins are aboard. The boats run on 12-volt and shore power at the marina, with USB charging aboard; mobile coverage is good around the main islands and patchier in the far anchorages, which most charterers come to appreciate. Water is tanked and topped up at the marina, so you sail with a full supply.

Included: the catamaran and all its equipment, the dinghy and outboard, safety gear, charts and chart-plotter, and the handover briefing.

Quoted separately, so you can see every line: fuel for your cruising area, provisioning, marine-park and mooring fees, end-of-charter cleaning, and any optional skipper, cook, deckhand or hostess. We set these out clearly rather than rolling them into a single figure, so you know exactly what you are paying for.

How pricing works

Rates start lower for the smaller yachts and increase for the larger and newer yachts, before the optional crew and the running costs above. These are low-season “from” prices; each yacht carries period-forecast pricing that lifts the rate in the busier weeks, so the figure we quote is the real price for your dates. Ask us for a quote and you will have the exact number, not a range. 

Booking, the way we do it

There is no automated checkout here. Send an enquiry and a member of our team replies by WhatsApp, email or phone — whichever suits you. We check live availability, prepare a quote for your dates, talk through the boat, the route and the crew options, and answer everything before you commit. When you are ready, payment is by secure link. From the first message to the day you sail, you deal with a person.

Why charter with Chartercraft

We are a Seychelles charter broker working with an SMSA-licensed fleet of independently owned catamarans that berth at Eden Island Marina on Mahé. Because we are not tied to a single operator’s boats, we can match you to the right yacht for your group and budget rather than the one we happen to own. And because the sale is handled by a person from start to finish, the details, the route, the provisioning, the crew, and the questions a first-time bareboater always has are dealt with properly.

Enquire about a bareboat charter

Use the Private Charters menu to browse the category pages on the site.
Find the craft you like. Send the booking request. Date, group size, and what you want to do.
1️⃣ View our fleet.
2️⃣ Click or tap on the yacht you like.
3️⃣ Submit the Booking Request form.
We send a quote with terms within twenty-four hours.
Sign the terms, pay the deposit. We confirm.
You get a final reservation email with the berth or helipad, the time, and the crew contact.

Message us on WhatsApp at +248 277 9832, call +248 442 2901, or email bookings@chartercraft.sc.

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