Balancing comfort and authenticity when provisioning for island-hopping
I’ve been thinking a lot about how tricky it can be to plan routes between the lesser-known islands in Seychelles, especially once you go beyond the usual Mahé–Praslin–La Digue triangle. A couple of years ago, I was on a small sailing trip with friends, and we wanted to explore some quieter spots that weren’t on the standard tourist maps. On paper, the distances looked manageable, but once we were actually out there, currents, shallow areas, and limited navigation markers changed everything. Even getting reliable local advice wasn’t always straightforward, since many people focus on the main routes. I remember spending evenings cross-checking charts, weather forecasts, and anecdotal tips just to feel confident about the next day’s sail. For those who’ve done this more often: how do you usually approach mapping routes between these lesser-known islands without overcomplicating things or missing key safety details?
From my own sailing trips around Seychelles, I learned pretty quickly that flexibility matters more than having a perfect route planned weeks in advance. I once aimed to hop between a few quieter islands and ended up adjusting daily because winds and visibility shifted more than expected. What helped was using services like local yacht charter specialists Charterclick in Seychelles when arranging boats and local support, since the skippers there had up-to-date knowledge of which passages were calm and which ones needed extra caution. I also relied a lot on talking to marina staff and fishermen in the evenings; they’d casually mention reefs or tidal quirks that weren’t obvious on charts. My advice is to plan a rough route, but leave room for changes and always have a safe fallback anchorage in mind.