Seychelles For Digital Nomads: Here’s Our Personal Experience

From The Authors: Gaelle was born and raised in the Seychelles while Viktor is a recovering digital nomad who has lived here for over a year. If you have any questions, we respond quickly to comments!

The Seychelles are a collection of beautiful islands, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. While they’re a no-brainer for any paradise-seeking traveler, working remotely from these islands can be a challenge.

Viktor would certainly know. He spent the previous 3 years, prior to moving to the Seychelles, as a digital nomad across multiple continents.

In this guide, we’ll detail what to expect when working online from the Seychelles, where to possibly work, and what visa options you have.

👉 Life as a DN in the Seychelles | Where To Work | Cost of Living for DNs | Visa Options

Life As A Digital Nomad In The Seychelles: What To Expect

The harsh reality first: the Seychelles, being a rather small set of 115 islands out in the Indian ocean, is naturally not equipped with city-level infrastructure.

So, if you’re coming here and expect to stream movies at 500 Mbps or be able to order food and taxis online, then you need to reset your expectations.

While the Seychelles have greatly modernized in the last few years, they still lack many of the conveniences Western nomads are used to.

For example, internet speeds remain painfully slow. We are currently subscribed to the most expensive Cable & Wireless plan, paying the equivalent of US$160 per month for around 60 Mbps of download speed.

And since Starlink won’t arrive anytime soon, I wouldn’t expect major improvements in the coming years (especially since the two local ISPs are government-supported).

Electricity can be another deterrent. You’ll have cutoffs whenever there’s a maintenance, which does occur at least once or twice a month where we live – sometimes right before a meeting Viktor has.

You also shouldn’t expect too many ongoing events on platforms like Meetup.com or via Facebook groups, so it can be tough making long-lasting connections (Viktor has been lucky enough to be able to tap into Gaelle’s social circle).

Debit/credit cards are accepted almost everywhere. That said, it’s advisable to keep some cash with you as not all shops and activities accept card payments.

Still keen on spending some time in the Seychelles? Great – in spite of the above-mentioned shortcomings, these islands remain a great destination for digital nomads wanting to enjoy beach life and oceanic nature.

Now, let’s get you prepped on where you should possibly stay, spots to work from, what all of this may cost, and the various visa options that exist.

Where To Work Remotely From The Seychelles

As we wrote before, the Seychelles is an archipelago that is comprised of 115 islands. However, most of them are not inhabited by people.

The majority of people either live on Mahé, Praslin, or La Digue, with Mahé being by far the biggest and busiest of the three.

So, as a digital nomad in need of the fastest possible internet and social connections, we do recommend that you base yourself on Mahé for the duration of your stay.

Area-wise, we do recommend to stay as close to Victoria as possible, especially if you don’t intend to rent a car and instead take the bus.

Do make sure to follow up with your host (e.g., if you choose Airbnb) prior to booking an accommodation. Many homes do rely on Wireless Broadband (via an LTE mobile network) connections.

If you stay in a wooden area and/or if it rains, the signal strength likely won’t be good enough to have online calls, let alone do data-intense work.

As far as co-working spaces, cafes, and other venues are concerned, there aren’t too many opportunities unfortunately. <