Both are Indian Ocean archipelagos of white sand and warm water, and both carry a reputation for high prices and honeymoons. Beyond that they have surprisingly little in common. The choice comes down to geography, season and one simple question: do you want to stay put, or to explore?
Coral atolls or granite islands
The Maldives is a nation of roughly 1,200 small coral islands grouped into 26 atolls, almost all of them only a metre or two above the sea. There are no hills; the landscape is the lagoon, and the drama is underwater. Most resorts occupy an island of their own, so the resort effectively is the destination, and the overwater villa is the signature.
The Seychelles are more varied. The inner islands, including Mahé, Praslin, La Digue and Silhouette, are granite, rising to forested peaks and ending in the smooth, sculpted boulders that frame the most photographed beaches. They are among the very few mid-ocean islands made of granite rather than coral or volcanic rock. There is rainforest to walk in, endemic wildlife such as the coco de mer palm and giant tortoises, and island life beyond the hotel. Further out, the coral islands of the outer Seychelles are flat, remote and much closer in character to the Maldives.
Getting there and getting about
From Britain, both usually involve a connection, most often through a Gulf hub. In the Maldives, everyone lands at Velana International Airport beside Malé, and the resort transfer shapes the arrival. Islands in the North and South Malé atolls are reached by speedboat; more distant atolls by seaplane, which flies only in daylight; the furthest by a domestic flight and a boat.
That makes The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands a practical choice: it is a speedboat ride from the airport, so late arrivals are painless, and it shares a small marina village of shops, cafés and a beach club, giving guests somewhere to stroll after dinner, an unusual freedom in the Maldives. Indicative rates start around USD 1,500 a night. At the other extreme, Six Senses Laamu has Laamu Atoll to itself, far to the south and reached by domestic flight and speedboat. It is built largely of reclaimed timber and thatch, and guests can sit in on the reef and seagrass research of its resident marine biologists. Rates start around USD 1,100 a night.
In the Seychelles, international flights land on Mahé, and the islands are linked by short domestic flights, ferries and helicopters, so combining two or three is straightforward. Four Seasons Resort Seychelles makes a good Mahé base, with villas on stilts in a jungle amphitheatre above Petite Anse and the trails of Morne Seychellois National Park within reach. It is around 45 minutes by road from the airport, from around USD 900 a night.
Photographs: Wikimedia Commons contributors — select to enlarge for full credits.
Seasons
The Maldives follows the monsoon. The north-east monsoon, roughly December to April, is the dry season: calmer seas, long sunny spells and peak prices. The south-west monsoon, roughly May to November, brings more rain, wind and swell, and lower rates, but also the plankton that draws manta rays and whale sharks into Hanifaru Bay in Baa Atoll. Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru sits within the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, runs manta research and coral restoration through its Marine Discovery Centre, and takes guests on monitored snorkelling trips to the feeding gatherings. Its villas are spread far apart among banyan trees, bicycles are the way around, and a large children's club makes it an easy family choice, from around USD 1,600 a night.
The Seychelles lie close to the equator, are warm all year and sit largely outside the Indian Ocean cyclone belt. The north-west trade winds, roughly December to March, bring hotter, more humid and wetter weather; the south-east trades, roughly May to September, are cooler, drier and breezier, with choppier seas on exposed coasts. The transitional months, around April and from October to November, tend to bring the calmest water and clearest visibility, and are prized by divers and snorkellers.
What kind of stay each suits
The Maldives rewards staying still. Swimming from the villa, snorkelling a house reef, long lunches and the spa set the rhythm, and the best resorts can make a week pass without a single decision. Soneva Jani, in the remote Noonu Atoll, distils the idea: overwater villas with private pools, bedroom roofs that retract for sleeping under the stars, slides from some upper decks straight into the lagoon, and shoes collected on arrival. Rates start around EUR 2,400 a night.
The Seychelles reward curiosity. On Praslin, Constance Lemuria controls access to three beaches, including the celebrated Anse Georgette, has the country's only 18-hole golf course, and is close to the Vallée de Mai, the UNESCO-listed palm forest that is home to the wild coco de mer. Rates start around USD 700 a night. On La Digue, where most people get about by bicycle, Le Domaine de L'Orangeraie Resort & Spa climbs a hillside garden of frangipani and orange trees a short ride from Anse Source d'Argent, from around USD 450 a night.
For complete privacy, North Island, a Luxury Collection Resort, Seychelles has eleven vast villas on a 201-hectare island rehabilitated from a failing plantation, where giant tortoises roam the paths. Access is by helicopter, and rates, from around USD 6,500 a night, are largely all-inclusive. For Maldivian flatness in a Seychelles setting, Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island occupies a coral island in the Amirantes ringed by some fourteen kilometres of beach, explored by bicycle, with a conservation centre for turtles and giant tortoises. Flights run on a fixed schedule, which can constrain travel days; rates start around USD 1,100 a night.
The short answer
Choose the Maldives for water, simplicity and the house reef, ideally between December and April or, for mantas, during the south-west monsoon. Choose the Seychelles for landscape, walking and variety, and consider splitting a stay between a granite island and a coral one. All prices above are indicative starting rates per night, and what they include varies from resort to resort.
