Indian Ocean · Seychelles
Outer Seychelles — Alphonse
An atoll wall dropping into open ocean, 400 km from the nearest island
Photo: Bennet Gevers · CC BY-SA 4.0
Alphonse Atoll lies 400 km south-west of Mahé, far outside the granitic inner Seychelles and reached by charter flight to a single lodge. The atoll wall drops from the reef edge into open Indian Ocean, and because the outer islands have never carried a resident fishing fleet, the fish are large and unwary — Napoleon wrasse, big groupers and grey reef sharks in numbers. Manta rays visit the flats, and the neighbouring St François lagoon is a vast shallow sand system.
About diving in Outer Seychelles — Alphonse
The island works as a single property, and the diving inherits the rhythm of the saltwater fly-fishing programme it grew up alongside. Divers go out in small boats after breakfast, usually two dives with the interval aboard or on a sand cay, then come back for a long lunch before an optional afternoon dive. With one dive operator and no other dive boats around, sites are picked on the morning for wind and swell rather than booked ahead.
The diving splits cleanly in two. Alphonse itself is a compact atoll with a narrow reef flat, and its northern edge is the serious half: the top of the wall sits shallow, so how deep the dive goes is a decision the diver makes rather than one the site imposes. Across the channel is the other half — sand flats, scattered coral heads and tidal cuts between the islands, dived in softer conditions and usually kinder for photography.
Tide does most of the work on the flats. Water floods across the sand with rays, sharks and trevally following it in, then drains back through the channels on the ebb, so the crossing gets timed to catch one state or the other rather than fitted in wherever it lands. Out on the wall the practical consequence of so little fishing pressure is framing distance: subjects tend not to retreat, which rewards wide angle and a slow approach over trying to close the gap.
This suits divers who would rather have one very good place than a varied itinerary, and who can absorb a charter flight on top of single-property island rates. It works well for pairs where one dives and one fishes, since both programmes run from the same lodge. It is a poor fit for anyone after wrecks, evening life ashore, or the option of writing off a bad day and finding another boat — there is not another boat. Dates are set by the lodge's own calendar, which does not run right through the year.
Best time to dive Outer Seychelles — Alphonse
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Good |
| Sea surface | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 26°C79°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F |
| Daytime high | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F |
| Rain | 213 mm8.4 in | 172 mm6.8 in | 148 mm5.8 in | 112 mm4.4 in | 104 mm4.1 in | 56 mm2.2 in | 40 mm1.6 in | 33 mm1.3 in | 34 mm1.3 in | 82 mm3.2 in | 130 mm5.1 in | 155 mm6.1 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 27°C81°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 213 mm8.4 in | 172 mm6.8 in | 148 mm5.8 in | 112 mm4.4 in | 104 mm4.1 in | 56 mm2.2 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Good |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 26°C79°F | 26°C79°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 40 mm1.6 in | 33 mm1.3 in | 34 mm1.3 in | 82 mm3.2 in | 130 mm5.1 in | 155 mm6.1 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
Oct–May is the season with Mar–Apr and Oct–Nov calmest between the monsoons; the lodge closes for part of the year.
Best months: March, April, October, November
Alphonse Atoll water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface runs from 26 °C (79 °F) in August to 30 °C (86 °F) in April. Most rain falls from November to April, peaking at about 210 mm (8.3 in) in January; it stays largely dry from June to September. Daytime highs reach 30 °C (86 °F) in April and drop to 26 °C (79 °F) in August. The coldest water here is about 26 °C (79 °F), so pack a 3 mm full suit.
Dive types & marine life
Grey reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse and heavy grouper hold along the drop-offs, with barracuda and trevally working the channels. Mantas appear over the flats and the reef edge, most dependably in the calm inter-monsoon spells of March–April and October–November, which are also the steadiest months. Whale sharks pass occasionally rather than reliably; turtles and eagle rays are year-round.
- Wall
- Reef
- Drift
- Coral garden
- Pelagic & blue water
- Manta rays
- Reef sharks
- Sea turtles
- Napoleon wrasse
- Trevally & jacks
- Pristine corals
- Eagle rays
- Barracuda
- Whale sharks
Best dive sites in Outer Seychelles — Alphonse
Reef
Deep crevices at 16 to 30 m with hammerheads on the drop-off
Pinnacle
Three pinnacles topping out at 15 m beside an open drop-off
Reef
Schooling snapper, jacks and barracuda off Bijoutier
Reef
A cleaning station at 13 m working the eastern end
Pelagic & blue water
The area's best odds on manta rays and green turtles
Wall
Alphonse's macro wall, all of it inside 16 m
The Abyss
Atoll wall falling from 12 m into open ocean, the signature dive.
Bijoutier
Sand islet between the atolls with shallow coral and easy conditions.
St François Atoll
Vast shallow lagoon and flats, with rays and reef sharks in the channels.
Alphonse Drop-off
Northern reef edge with grey reef sharks and Napoleon wrasse.
How to get to Outer Seychelles — Alphonse
Access is by light-aircraft charter from Mahé across open ocean, booked as part of the stay, so arrival and departure days are fixed to the lodge's flight days and to the months it stays open. The lodge is the only base and holds the dive centre; all diving is day-boat, with St François and the islets between reached by boat from there.
Photos from Outer Seychelles — Alphonse
Bennet Gevers · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Seychelles diving - Alphonse · Shark Bay Films on YouTube
Diving in Alphonse | Original Diving · Original Diving on YouTube
Photo credits
- Pod of spinner dolphins swimming at the surface near Alphonse Atoll in the Seychelles by Bennet Gevers, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A spinner dolphin leaping clear of the water in the open Indian Ocean off Alphonse Atoll by Bennet Gevers, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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