Things you need to know before moving to Seychelles 

Last Updated on September 25, 2024 by Roslin Dwivedi

Things you need to know before moving to the Seychelles – will give you an idea of what to expect and probably help you make up your mind. Our life in the Seychelles has been one of the best times of our life. I love the quiet environment, a house in the mountain, clouds flowing across our home during the rainy days and wearing jackets on our balcony in July. Though we are in some dream place, we still miss the city life, especially when I have to wait for a month or two only to set an appointment for my facial. You think, why is that! Well, you will read about it below.

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The beautiful beaches, quiet island life had won many hearts. And Seychelles is becoming one of the favourites for working expats. However, every place has it’s good and bad. It’s always up to us which one we want to have weightage over the other. But when we were moving here, we had no idea about many things about this place.

I am breaking down a few points about what you need to know before moving to Seychelles :

#1 Local Currency in the Seychelles

Seychelles currency is called SCR (Seychelles Rupees). The foreign currency the country mainly accepts is EURO’s.

Most of the shops also accepts USD AND GBP. You can also do shopping in foreign currency but if you are moving here so surely your day today life is going to be dealt in SCR. Being expats we me and my husband were paid in USD and EUR but to spend the money we always get it exchanged from Cash Plus. On your arrival in Seychelles you can first check all the exchange shops we have here and then continue exchange with your trusted place.

#2 Beaches in the Seychelles

Seychelles is a popular destination for many things but mainly famous for its Beaches. 

Pros: The Beaches in Seychelles are open to everyone, even if you are a tourist. Whether you find any attractive beach and it falls in the area of anyone’s residence or is a front for any hotel or resort, you can still access it because it is legally allowed by the government of Seychelles.

The beaches you will find here are generally clean. Communities are doing this job, and also many times schools or offices conduct cleaning activities.

Book a trip to Seychelles here.

Cons – 1. A few beaches have coral close to the shore, so you may find that a turn off. But corals are spread in patches and not all over the beach, so you can still enjoy swimming at the beach.

            2. Seagrass or seaweeds are the other saddening factors, but that is also seasonal and depends on which side of the beach you choose to go during that time. 

Diving, snorkelling, swimming, water sports and other activities you will find easily. Motor activities, especially in the Beau Vallon area.

Book a hotel in Seychelles here

# 3 Weather and Temperature in Seychelles

Seychelles has only two seasons like any other tropical place: a wet season and Dry season. But you will keep having rain throughout the year. 

From May to October, the season in Seychelles is soothing, so you will enjoy the cold breeze more than heat waves, especially if you get a house in the hills. 

From November to April, Seychelles is very hot, and most of the time, it is not windy, making the weather very hot and sticky.

#4 Dangerous Animals in Seychelles

So the other day, my sister saw our hiking video and asked, what if you met with any dangerous animal in the jungle. 

Pros: So yes, there are no dangerous creatures here, but you will find Millipede, centipedes and small non-venomous snakes and friendly giant spiders who are also not harmful.

Cons: Though, I had an experience with dogs around here. So you may want to watch out for them while walking out on the road.

#5 Everything is expensive  in Seychelles

The cost of living in Seychelles is pretty high. You name it, and that thing will be expensive. 

Restaurants – a locally-made bottle of Seybrew beer is cheap in supermarkets or stores. But in restaurants it costs double.

If you want to enjoy and become a tourist and stay in a hotel, you will find it difficult to get a cheap hotel room in Seychelles. 

House rents are very high if you stay close to victoria (town/capital) or inside victoria. But if you get the house outside the Town in any other district, you are okay paying the rent, but again, you will have to have a car or spend on taxies.

It would help if you had a budgeted month regarding groceries or any extra expense you have the particular month. 

Ps: If you are lucky to get a house from your workplace, you will save a ton on house rent.

Fruits and veggies: 

The tropical fruits are good, and most seasonal ones are reasonably priced. You will find Avocado, papaya, banana, jack fruits, mangoes during the season that starts Mid December. Mandarine, tangerine, watermelons are expensive, and sometimes you will feel betrayed if you bought them for 500 SCR, and when you cut them, it is terrible inside. Trust me, and it’s a ughhhh feeling. And please, please, please, the avocado season starts end of January and stays until three months, so enjoy local avocados during that time. It will be cheap and incredible in size and taste.

Cons: The imported veggies and fruits like apples, tomatoes, and onions are expensive in all seasons. Imported yoghurt is one big bill on your grocery budget. And honestly, I could never make curd or yoghurt, and maybe because of the temperature or packed milk, I am not sure. So buying curd has always been one immense amount on our shopping bill.

Buying water was one of the cultural shocks for me, being an Indian. We don’t buy water, and we get it for free. At home, our filters and boring well at home, in the office’s employees provided with water coolers. Here, you have to buy those 20 litres bottles or something if you have a family at home. In my office, I used to buy 5 litres and keep it under my desk.

#6 Transport and Everything is far in Seychelles

If you live or got a house away from the Town of Victoria, you will face difficulty getting to the city now and then. Even though the distance shown on the map is not much, you will end up driving for long and exhausted due to the winding roads. And if you are stuck in the traffic, then even worse. Buying a second-hand car is also expensive, but it’s convenient to have one.

If you want to eat out, you have to go to the Town or any restaurant nearby. Or else cancel the plan if it is even a bit late, like 7 pm due to its distance. And please do not take risks driving at night on winding roads. So this is one fact that no one gets to know until you move in here. 

There’s not much to do in the evening, but if you live close to the Town, you have some restaurants open until late (book before hands because after covid restaurants are closing pretty early), bars, or around Eden island. Otherwise, you have to make your own fun in the evening. There are no cafes around the Island, so you have to go to Eden or Town for that. 

Also, the public buses frequency is not swift, and primarily people living in the hills face this problem to walk down to the bus stop to get the bus.

Also, the office pickups don’t come to your doorsteps. The solution for this is to buy a car and learn to drive. 

Ps: I am still struggling with that. I mean driving. 

There are private taxis, but that’s also expensive if you have to travel every day. The solution for this is to make the taxi driver your friend, and he may give you a discount then.

#7 Traffic Hours in the Seychelles

Yes, this is an island, and yes, you will face traffic over here. The troubling hours are the morning hours between 7 am to 9 am. You will have to watch out for the traffic going towards Victoria, the capital. The maximum population of Mahe island works there. And the evening trouble hours start at 4 pm to 6 pm max—when offices close.

Plus, honking culture is none here. Traffic occurs on the Island because there are only a few ways to reach the Town. If it was a city, you have many roads going to the same place, and you can conveniently choose the empty streets, which is not the case over here. Getting stuck in traffic means your half an hour or more is gone straight away. 

Due to two-lane roads, you can not overtake, so you have to be patient while driving. Even though the car in front of you sometimes goes very slow, you have to move slowly behind.

#8 Heath care and Medicals in Seychelles

Health care for locals is free, and for expats, it’s payable. But if something happens, at least you have basic aid done on you, and you will know the reason and how they will treat you further. A good thing over here is that the medics inform you of everything they will do, the side effects, and personal care.

After getting the first check-up, it’s up to you to go to your hometown and get it fixed. Or trust the medicals here. That’s fine from my perspective. Of course, if there is nothing much serious health problem. So again, it depends on what the condition is, severe or non-severe. I had my child born here, and they did the baby delivery. I faced no complications. The midwives are very knowledgeable and helpful. 

#9 Work Environment in Seychelles

So I can not talk about everyone, but for me, the work culture was friendly. 

I felt like an expat. When there were any announcements, they always used their language and not English. Sometimes you won’t know something has changed, especially if you are the only expat around.  

As an expat you also have to open up to them, and they will open up to you very-very slowly because, of course, you are not from the same country.

Local and expat benefits are different. Also, if the company has to promote the employee, the priority is given to the locals. 

So you have to be patient.

#10 Embassy’s in Seychelles

Bad news for travel lovers. The passport of Seychelles is strong. So the country does not have any embassies here. If you are a UK, US or Schengen passport holder, it is good to travel anywhere. But if your passport is not strong like an Indian passport, you have a problem getting a visa to travel anywhere of your choice. Or else you have to travel to Kenya, Mauritius or Dubai.

#11 Domestic help, Daycares, Nannies or handymen – 

Getting domestic help and handypersons is not easy. If you have a rented house, it is better to talk to the house owner about the maintenance work. 

Nannies: Are a bit easier to find over here. Many girls and women offer their services as a nanny. But the price could be higher.

Daycares: Almost every district in Seychelles has good daycares. So working parents and single moms have this benefit.

#12 Schools in Seychelles

You have to get the admission or enquiry done through the Ministry of Seychelles for all the public schools.

The benefit of studying in public schools in Seychelles is that the schools compulsory have french, creole, and English as subjects to learn these languages. Government schools are free of cost, even to the expats. But other private schools like International schools or french schools are higher on their fee structure.

#13 Tourist price vs Resident price in Seychelles

A few tourist places have a discounted prices for residents. This is where expats become equal to locals and can enjoy the low price benefit. So if you become a resident (after getting GOP), you may get lucky with some discounted prices for tourist places like Spas and Hotels or other places. Just don’t forget to check. 

#14 Documents you need to live in the Seychelles 

Apart from your passport, you will need a National Id number NIN – you can get that done in its office in Victoria. All the valid driving licences work over here. You don’t have to get a new driving license. But in case you do have to make one. It’s a quick process here. 

Things run pretty quickly, except for the public lines in the hospitals, banks, and Butchers grill. 

Butchers grill is a Seychelles version of McDonald’s, which leads to the next point. 

#15 There’s no McDonald’s or Burger King and KFC in the Seychelles

Wait, there is one in the airport when you get inside after immigration. 

So if you like burgers, you can enjoy them at the restaurants which are the same, but it’s a restaurant burger, you know what I mean.

#16 You won’t find anything on weekends or Public holidays in Seychelles

Public holidays are taken very seriously over here. And on weekends the shops and offices are open for half a day, but that is also not all.

#17 – Shopping and Shops in Seychelles

Get a local debit card to ease the shopping process. Or keep enough cash. You can get the money exchanged in many of the exchange stores here. We trust Cashplus in here. 

Clothing, shoes, and other better quality stuff are not available here; there are not many branded stores. You can either get things from your own country when you go on a holiday or get it from another destination you are on holiday to or order online. But we didn’t find many options here, but currently, we can order from Zara and Asos. 

Also, join the public groups on Facebook to find the items you may like and has better quality. 

To find more about seychelles life check this blog here Life in the Seychelles

Or check this video to see it more in person

#18 Crime in Seychelles

If you are not living in any confined building or house, you should always check your locks before leaving the house as slight thefts happen over here. And police also support locals first, then expats. So choose your priorities wisely. 

Conclusion –  

Overall, if we see the best parts, know that you will live a simple, mostly mentally peaceful life. 

What I love about this country is you will have a quieter life. You can live close to the beach. Get farm-fresh veggies, find vast lush greenery everywhere you go and no dangerous creatures. There are excellent schools and daycares.

Yes, health care could be a concern. And if you don’t like hot places, then this could be a bit of a challenge. There are clear roads without pollution, and I am talking about after traffic hours.

Other than that, Seychelles is a safe place to live. Especially for the single women or single moms – unless you don’t test that by going out in the middle of the night alone. 

I hope this blog is helpful for you.

Save it for later and comment below if you have any questions or suggestions.

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