Seychelles · diving
Diving from a yacht in the Seychelles: why one dive centre will not cover it
Diving during a yacht week looks like a simple line in a programme until you try to assemble it. Then it turns out the licence required is not the one people assume, that dive centre ranges do not overlap, and that the cost depends less on the number of dives than on the number of times a boat comes out to the yacht. Below is the machinery that usually stays off the page.
Who licenses what
The key fork: dives run from the dive centre’s own boat, or from the yacht itself. The answer decides whose licence is required and who carries responsibility for safety.
| Arrangement | Whose licence is needed | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| The centre comes out to the yacht on its own boat | The centre’s only | The workable arrangement: the yacht needs no dive licence of its own |
| Diving directly off the yacht | Required from the yacht operator | Sharply narrows the choice of vessels and is often unavailable |
| Guests travel to a shore-based centre | The centre’s only | Simple, but costs a day and the privacy of the charter |
Why one centre will not cover a week
Dive centres work within their usual range from base and generally do not go beyond it. The ranges of the two key areas do not overlap.
| Area of the route | Who operates | What matters |
|---|---|---|
| North-west Mahe | A centre based on Mahe | They decline to run to Praslin and La Digue: an hour and a half or more each way, sea-dependent |
| La Digue area, Felicite, Coco, Sisters | A centre based in that area | Collects guests directly from the yacht |
| Praslin and Curieuse | A boundary zone | Confirmed case by case, depending on the centre and the weather |
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The licence belongs to whoever runs the dive, not to the yacht
A common assumption: if people dive from a yacht, the yacht must hold a dive licence. In practice the workable arrangement is different. A licensed dive centre runs the dives from its own boat: their licence, their instructors, their responsibility. The yacht at that moment is a floating base, not a dive platform.
Two separate centres confirmed this to us independently while we were working the structure out. The practical consequence is simple: if a seller promises diving straight off the yacht, ask whose licence covers it and whether it covers those waters. The answer can be uncomfortable.
The week’s route decides how many centres you need
The classic Seychelles route runs from Mahe through Praslin and La Digue to Curieuse. Those are different waters, served by different centres. A centre based on north-west Mahe will say plainly that it will not run to La Digue: an hour and a half or more each way, entirely dependent on the state of the sea.
Hence a layout that looks arbitrary until you know why: the Mahe dive day is placed at the start or the end of the week, when the yacht is there anyway, while the La Digue area is covered by a second centre. One centre for the whole week is a sign that either the route is not what it says, or the diving in it is decorative.
What is counted is rendezvous, not dives
The pricing logic here is not the one you expect. On top of a per-diver price there is a surcharge for bringing the boat out to the yacht, and it applies each time the boat comes. Two dive days in a week means two surcharges, not one.
That changes the arithmetic noticeably, and it is the line worth isolating in a quotation. The surcharge is usually negotiable if a day outing is added on the same day: one long day suits the centre better than two short ones.
The centre’s licence and the boat’s licence expire on different dates
A dive centre holds its own licence, and each of its boats holds another. The dates do not coincide. We came across a case where the centre’s licence had years left while the licence of one particular boat expired the following January, and the centre volunteered this before we asked.
And the reverse: a centre whose operating licence runs out days before the travel dates. That is almost certainly a routine renewal, but a programme cannot be built on it until there is a letter. Both dates need checking, not one.
What to ask before booking
Whose licence covers the diving and in which waters it is valid. How many centres your route involves and why that number. How the rendezvous surcharge is calculated and how many rendezvous the quotation assumes.
The expiry dates of both the centre’s licence and the specific boat’s. What certification level guests need and what happens to those without it. And what happens if the sea does not allow the planned day to run: reschedule, refund, or loss.
Common questions
- Does the yacht need its own dive licence?
- No, provided a licensed dive centre runs the dives from its own boat. In that arrangement the yacht is a floating base. The licence belongs to whoever actually conducts the diving.
- Why can one dive centre not cover the week?
- Because centre ranges do not overlap. A Mahe-based centre generally will not run to La Digue, an hour and a half or more each way and dependent on the sea. A Mahe to Praslin to La Digue route is covered by two centres.
- What makes up the cost of diving?
- A per-diver price plus a surcharge for bringing the boat out to the yacht. The surcharge applies to each rendezvous, so two dive days cost two surcharges. It belongs on its own line in a quotation.
- What should be checked in the centre’s paperwork?
- Two dates rather than one: the validity of the centre’s own operating licence and that of the particular boat coming to you. They do not coincide.
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