Frequently asked questions regarding Seychelles ferries:
I want to go from Mahé to La Digue (or vice versa).
Are there only the indicated direct connections or can I also go at other timings?
Apart from the direct ferries, there are also connections via Praslin. The ferries are generally coordinated, but at times you may have to wait on Praslin for your onward connection.
If you arrive from Mahé and wish to continue to La Digue, 15 minutes transfer time will be sufficient. The Cat Rose ferry will wait for all connecting passengers.
For details of all connections please see the timetables of Cat Cocos and Cat Rose ferries.
When should I book?
Please do yourself a favor and book as early as possible, but only when you are sure that you can and will travel.
Short-term bookings are possible, but for organizational reasons we can not 100 % guarantee that the seats are really available if booked on very short notice.
Ferries are often fully booked or the desired booking class is no longer available. This wouldn't be a good start for your Seychelles holidays, right? So please book as far in advance as possible!
Our tickets may be cancelled or modified up to 72 hours before departure, according to our terms&conditions.
How do I book? And can I book several ferries at the same time and pay only once?
We have an easy shopping cart system. So you start by choosing the first ferry (for example, Mahe-Praslin). Click on "Book now" and then you enter the travel date, select the departure time and on the next page the class and the number of passengers. You will then see this ferry trip in the shopping cart.
Next, do not click on "Pay", but instead you select the following trip (for example, Praslin-La Digue) from the "Online Booking" menu on top of the web page.
Click on "Book now", again select departure date/time and on the next page the class and the number of passengers.
As a result, you will see the two selected trips (Mahe-Praslin and Praslin-La Digue) in the shopping cart.
Then select the next trip (for example, La Digue-Mahe) in the "Online Booking" menu and proceed as before.
You may always make changes to the individual journeys directly in the shopping cart by clicking on the pencil symbol. To delete a trip from the shopping cart click the cross. If all ferry trips in the shopping cart are correct, then tick the box "Accept our terms and conditions" and click "Pay" to enter your credit card information in the next step. As an alternative, please give us a call to pay by bank transfer at this stage.
The online booking system is not accepting my credit card!
In most cases, the reason is that your bank does not provide the 3D Secure code for a credit card payment or that 3D Secure is not activated. In this case, please contact your bank to solve the problem for other online payments as well.
If the problem persists and you are unable to book, we also offer the possibility of making a bank transfer to our account in Germany as a payment method. In this case, please send us an email with all the necessary information to make your booking: Date / Time / Trip / Class / Full name of passengers and date of birth of children / Mobile number where you can be reached in Seychelles.
If you also wish to book a shuttle bus to/from the airport, we will need your arrival and/or departure flight details on Mahé.
We will then make the reservation for you and send you the bank details to make the transfer.
How long does the crossing from Mahé to Praslin and La Digue take?
The ferries generally leave very punctually. Expect the following crossing times :
Mahé - Praslin or vice versa, with Cat Cocos fast ferry: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Mahé - La Digue or vice versa, with Cat Cocos fast ferry: 1 hour and 45 minutes ( 15 minutes stop over on Praslin)
Praslin - La Digue or vice versa, with Cat Rose fast ferry: 15-20 minutes
I will arrive at the airport at X o'clock. Can I reach the ferry at Y o'clock?
Calculate with 45 to 60 minutes for immigration procedures and baggage delivery, then about 20-30 minutes by taxi to the port, traffic permitting.
You should be at the ferry jetty at least 30 minutes before departure to allow for luggage check-in and collection of the pre-printed tickets. The check-in of the ferry ends 15 minutes before departure.
So this means, for example, if you arrive with Emirates flight EK705 at 06:50, you will not be able to catch the ferry at 08:00.
The very earliest you will be through immigration and baggage claim is 07:30 and there will be heavy traffic in the morning, which means congestion on the road to the port. Therefore, please book the next ferry and stroll into the city centre (e.g. to the market) and / or have a relaxing coffee at the harbour.
See also: Luggage storage
If you arrive with Qatar flight QR678 at 08:30 and plan to take the ferry at 10:30 to Praslin or La Digue, there is a good chance that you will make it. Whether you take a taxi to the airport or use our shuttle bus transfer doesn’t make much difference.
Please note however that if you miss your ferry trip (for whatever reason like a flight delay, heavy traffic etc.) then you will usually be booked on the following available ferry. If the afternoon ferry is full, then you’ll have a problem. Also note that there is no entitlement to a free change to the next ferry. It is subject to availability and ferry company approval.
To play it really safe, book the afternoon ferry. You may deposit your luggage at the ferry jetty and hang out on Mahé until your afternoon ferry leaves. You could – for example – take a taxi or public bus to Beau Vallon beach and back.
Other examples:
EY622 at 05:35 -> Catching the 08:00 (or 08:30) ferry? There is a very good chance you’ll make it despite morning traffic (except Sundays)
ET879 at 14:20 -> Catching the 16:30 ferry? There is a very good chance you’ll make it
EK707 at 13:35 -> Catching the 16:30 ferry? You’ll easily make it.
We would like to take the shuttle bus to the port. When does the bus leave?
The shuttle bus service needs to be booked in advance and is scheduled to be in connection with arrival / departure of international flights.
When booking your ferry and shuttle bus service online please do not forget to mark your arrival/departure flight details as requested so that we know on which flight you will be arriving/departing.
From the jetty to the airport, the bus leaves after ferry arrival, once all passengers have received their luggage.
This service is only bookable in connection with an international flight
Approximate travel time between the airport and the jetty is 20-30 minutes, depending on traffic.
I have not received my ticket vouchers yet!
You have received your vouchers immediately after the successful payment. Please check your spam folder. If your vouchers are not even in your spam folder, you might have entered a wrong email address by mistake; please contact us.
My flight is delayed. What do I do now?
In case of delayed/cancelled flights, any request to modify a ferry reservation must be received within 2 hours from the time the airline issues notice of flight delay/cancellation.
This means that if you know before takeoff, you must inform us by sending an email to delay@seyferry.com, with your new flight details.
If your flight is delayed and you inform us before ferry departure, you will usually be put on the next available ferry, without surcharge. Over the years, this has been handled by the ferry companies without any problems, subject to availability. However, there is no legal entitlement to a free change.
If you fail to inform us by sending an email to above mail address at least 2 hrs before ferry departure time (Seychelles local time) you will be considered a no-show by the ferry company, with a 100 % cancellation fee.
Do I have to print the vouchers?
For Cat Cocos tickets, it's generally sufficient to show the voucher on your mobile phone. For the Cat Rose ferry between Praslin and La Digue we recommend a printout.
I am planning to fly from Praslin back to Mahe. When do I have to leave La Digue to get to Praslin airport in time?
You must check-in at Praslin Airport at least 1 hour before departure. This means that you should leave La Digue about 2 hours before, because you have to take a taxi (about 15-20 minutes, 30 Euros) from the Praslin jetty to the airport.
If you take the ferry from Praslin to Mahe instead of the flight, you will save time and money.
My flight departs from Seychelles at X o'clock? Can i book a ferry from La Digue (or from Praslin) at Y o'clock?
You have to consider that the ferry trip from La Digue to Mahé takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes. From Praslin to Mahé the trip is about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Normally ferries are on time. However, they could be slightly delayed in case of bad weather and very rough sea.
Once you arrive at the jetty on Mahé you will have between 5 to 30 minute waiting time for your luggage to be delivered from the ferry (depending on whether you are booked in business or economy class), then a car/bus drive of about 20-30 minutes to reach the airport, depending on traffic.
Note: If you are in a hurry and have booked business class, we suggest that you take a taxi instead of our airport shuttle bus. If you travel in business class, your luggage is unloaded with priority from the ferry and if you book the shuttle bus, you will lose this time advantage since you will still have to wait for all passengers (even those booked in economy) to receive their bags before the shuttle bus leaves to the airport.
Check-in for international flights usually closes 60 minutes before flight departure.
Please confirm this with your airline.
One example:
If your flight departure time is at 17:20 and you want to take the ferry from La Digue at 13:30 (or from Praslin at 14:00), this is the timing you need to consider before booking your ferry:
>From La Digue to Mahé ferry takes approximately 1h45min, from Praslin to Mahé 1h15min. So whether you're departing from La Digue or from Praslin, in both cases your arrival to Mahé is around 15:15.
+ from 5 to 30 minutes waiting time for luggage
+ from 20 to 30 minutes by car/bus to the airport
This means that your arrival time at the airport is between 15:40 and 16:15.
So even if everything goes well and there are no delays, unforeseen events or heavy traffic on the way to the airport, timing is very tight and you could miss your international flight.
Under no circumstances can we be held responsible if you miss your international flight
I do not have a credit card or wish to pay by bank transfer. What do I do?
If you wish to pay by bank transfer, please send us an e-mail with all information about your trip: date, route, time, class and full names of all passengers (with date of birth for children).
We will then send you the detailed offer, along with our bank account details.
What are the luggage allowances when I book with you?
These are the luggage allowances if you book your ferry tickets on this website:
Economy class: 25 kg free allowance + 15 kgs extra for special sports equipment *).
Business class: 30 kg free allowance + 15 kgs extra for special sports equipment *).
Excess luggage is payable on site at 3€ per kg.
Multiple pieces are permitted for checked luggage as long as the total weight of all pieces does not exceed the maximum allowance for the booked class.
Additionally, 1 piece of cabin luggage with dimensions not exceeding 50x30x20 cm and weight of 7Kilos is allowed.
The above applies to all ticket categories, even to free babies’ tickets.
*) Note: The special sports equipment allowance does not apply to bags (e.g. golf and diving) but to sport equipment like surf boards, SUP or canoe / kayak and sails only!
For bicycles the price is 100 SCR per bike and trip, payable on site.
Luggage regulations are subject to change.
Are there luggage facilities where we can put our luggage while waiting for the boat to leave?
At the Mahé ferry jetty, you will find a luggage storage facility by the Port Authorities office where you can leave your luggage for the day. It is open daily from 07:00 to 19:00 and is at cost. Prices depend on duration of storage (0-4 hours 5 Euro; 4-8 hours 10 Euro; 8-12 hours 15 Euro). Overnight storage is not allowed.
Please confirm the opening hours and rates on site, as they may be subject to change without notice.
Alternatively, you can request to check in your baggage directly, which will be boarded by Cat Cocos staff, prior to departure. At International Airport, the police station has free luggage storage (only for lockable luggage) at first come first served basis; while the Payanke Lounge in the domestic terminal has paid storage. On Praslin and La Digue, there is no luggage storage at the jetty. One possibility on Praslin would be at the Vallée de Mai National Park visitor center.
Do we need to present a PCR test before embarking ferries?
No, a PCR test is not necessary to travel to Seychelles as from 1st December 2022.
Ferry rules
– Following Covid19 on board service (food/drinks) is still temporarily suspended also in Business Class.
– Wearing facial masks is no longer compulsory.
– A proper attire is required on board the ferry and clients not fully clothed (ex swimming suit) will not be accepted.