Tahiti or Seychelles for Jan / Feb 19?

[Duster]

I have not posted in this section before, but thought that there may be some knowledge here.

I am mainly a motor / sport fishing boater but have previously enjoyed "By the cabin charters" in the Caribbean on 60ft Motor / sailing Cats.

Being early retired with zero responsibilities, I spend a lot of my time adventure travelling, fishing particularly for bill fish, hunting and snowmobile / dog sled touring. I plan 4 or 5 long haul trips. booked up to a year in advance......... so looking / booking for early '19 now. Will be travelling alone.

Christmas / New Year this year in the UK had me climbing the walls with boredom, so looking for possibles for early Jan 19.

I was offered three possibles, Tahiti, Seychelles and the Maldives. I dismissed Maldives as too muslim for me, so left to choose between Tahiti - rather exotic and I have fished Christmas Island / Kiribati previously.......... or the Seychelles - easy / cheap to get to.

I realise that Jan is not the best month for weather in either place - rather wet, Feb is only slightly better.

SO QUESTIONS

Just how good / bad is the weather there in Jan?
Would you recommend one place over the other?
Do you know anything about the fishing in either place? This will be secondary to touring / snorkeling / maybe some shallow diving?
Is the food any better in one or the other?

Any ideas gratefully received, thanks in anticipation.........Mike

 

[dansaskip]

Can only speak of Tahiti and have only been there June to July. In Jan it is of course hurricane/cyclone season in the Pacific but they do say that Tahiti rarely gets hit by hurricanes..! Can personally speak of the rain but I find the rain in the tropics not such a problem because it is warm and it doesn't seem to matter so much getting wet.
That aside I really enjoyed Tahiti, the people are friendly and the food is good and you can buy there anything that you can buy in France such as baguettes, cheese and wine. Judging by the offerings in the restaurants there are plenty of fish especially tuna. The water is warm and generally very good visibility so the snorkelling is good if you pick the spot well. If you get to Moorea yo can get to snorkel with sting rays and white tipped sharks (small ones!) for an unforgettable experience

 

[temptress]

I have not posted in this section before, but thought that there may be some knowledge here.

I am mainly a motor / sport fishing boater but have previously enjoyed "By the cabin charters" in the Caribbean on 60ft Motor / sailing Cats.

Being early retired with zero responsibilities, I spend a lot of my time adventure travelling, fishing particularly for bill fish, hunting and snowmobile / dog sled touring. I plan 4 or 5 long haul trips. booked up to a year in advance......... so looking / booking for early '19 now. Will be travelling alone.

Christmas / New Year this year in the UK had me climbing the walls with boredom, so looking for possibles for early Jan 19.

I was offered three possibles, Tahiti, Seychelles and the Maldives. I dismissed Maldives as too muslim for me, so left to choose between Tahiti - rather exotic and I have fished Christmas Island / Kiribati previously.......... or the Seychelles - easy / cheap to get to.

I realise that Jan is not the best month for weather in either place - rather wet, Feb is only slightly better.

SO QUESTIONS

Just how good / bad is the weather there in Jan?
Would you recommend one place over the other?
Do you know anything about the fishing in either place? This will be secondary to touring / snorkeling / maybe some shallow diving?
Is the food any better in one or the other?

Any ideas gratefully received, thanks in anticipation.........Mike

Mike - Jan/Feb is still in the Pacific Cyclone season. While Tahiti is on the outskirts of the belt it is not impossible and any Cyclone in say a thousand miles or so will make the weather very wet and the seas very rough offshore.

When we were in Tahiti last year there were some large Game boats operating out of Papatee. So I would go for the

Seychelles or the Maldives. Don't discount the Maldives - I've been hearing good things from people that have been there recently. Also French Polynesia is a VERY expensive place especially for Beer, Wine and Food. Although that said the quality is first class and the food very influenced by the French we very much enjoyed the few months we spent there.​

 

[coenvanwyk]

Our experience in the South Pacific was in November. It was lovely weather, the people were fantastic, the diving incredible. We only spent a few days in transit in Tahiti and we fould it too developed and urban, but then that was Papeete itself.

Seychelles is equally beautiful and diverse. The diving is superb, the snorkelling as well. Seychelles is above the normal cyclone belt, but you may have high humidity and cloud cover. December is high season and prices may be higher, but if you book now you may get good value. Either way, enjoy!

 

[capnsensible]

Was sailing through French Polynesia and Tahiti april last year. It honked with rain nearly every day. Deluge style. Very French and very enjoyable despite the rain.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Not been to Seychelles but know people that have and the Bonefish on fly is reported as being spectacular and equivalent to the Keys. Diving and snorkelling are both good.

 

[Duster]

Thank you ALL for taking the time to help.........So much to consider!

It looks as if I might need to have a rethink, especially re timing

Having studied the climate tables for both places, Jan does not look like a great idea - very wet - high rainfall and many wet days - have seen similar when fishing out of David on the pacific side of Panama in early October - It hosed it down most days!

Feb / March certainly look better but I was rather desperate to find somewhere for early Jan! Maybe look at NW Australia for fishing in Jan and go Boating in Feb / March? Or Cuba or Belize - although I have seen much of the Caribbean I have not yet been to either of those places yet.

I was rather turned off the Maldives with it being Muslim.

Thanks for the heads up re French food, the French food is a bit of a negative for me, not the end of the world if the place is nice enough but, I did not enjoy the food this year in mainland France or last in Quebec...........Seemed to be a triumph of presentation over substance and very small portions.

I have a lot of time before I need to decide so will do a bit more research..............I am at a Travel Show at Olympia on Friday so might get a few ideas there?

Will research the fishing - that may be a decider.

Thanks again for all of your kind help.
Mike

 

[KellysEye]

We used a fishing rod in the Seychelles with a swimming lure and every time we put it out we caught a Tuna. We went in September between the rainy season and possible typhoons.

 

[Duster]

We used a fishing rod in the Seychelles with a swimming lure and every time we put it out we caught a Tuna. We went in September between the rainy season and possible typhoons.

Thank you.

Seychelles is certainly the easier / cheaper to get to. Costs for the boat are both similar.

I was desperately looking for somewhere for Jan 19 but neither look very good for weather much before late Feb / March........... I will certainly go to one of them, maybe one next year and the other in 2020..........Just need to rethink my timing and keep looking at ideas for Jan.

 

[capnsensible]

How about Bocas del Toro islands in Panama? Not been but met an old friend last year who keeps his boat in Panama and reckons those islands are the best place he had ever been.

http://panamayachtandfishingcharters.com/yacht-cruising-and-sport-fishing-vacations/bocas-del-toro/

 

[Neeves]

We were in Papeete in Jan 2017. They had a severe weather event. A state of emergency was declared. The town was in lock down, port closed - only emergency services were moving. Roads closed with landslides, houses destroyed. I don't recall if there were any loss of life (lots of dead chicken in the sea). Power was down in some places.

We have been there later, around March (and no evidence of the early disaster) and also June and September. Delightful place if you appreciate good food and especially seafood.

 

[Duster]

How about Bocas del Toro islands in Panama? Not been but met an old friend last year who keeps his boat in Panama and reckons those islands are the best place he had ever been.

http://panamayachtandfishingcharters.com/yacht-cruising-and-sport-fishing-vacations/bocas-del-toro/

Wow, that does look good - thank you.

I have fished the Pacific side a couple of times near David and loved country. Will be travelling through Panama to Guatemala in April / May so will make sure that I see that area with thoughts of a longer visit this time next year.

 

[KellysEye]

>http://panamayachtandfishingcharters...ocas-del-toro/

Wow that is not cheap.

 

[Duster]

>http://panamayachtandfishingcharters...ocas-del-toro/

Wow that is not cheap.

I do quite a lot of marlin fishing and sadly it is not cheap at any level, but that one is very "High end" and includes all of the accommodation, food and fishing for quite a few people.

 

[Canopy Locked]

For January how about Malindi in Kenya? It's at least 30 years since I was there, but I remember the fishing as being excellent. Not sure about how safe it is, but worth some research.

I can't remember the name of the business I fished with but this company has a boat named Snow Goose, which was the name of the boat I was on. http://www.kenyasportfishing.net

 

[anajoy38]

I have not posted in this section before, but thought that there may be some knowledge here.

I am mainly a motor / sport fishing boater but have previously enjoyed "By the cabin charters" in the Caribbean on 60ft Motor / sailing Cats.

Being early retired with zero responsibilities, I spend a lot of my time adventure travelling, fishing particularly for bill fish, hunting and snowmobile / dog sled touring. I plan 4 or 5 long haul trips. booked up to a year in advance......... so looking / booking for early '19 now. Will be travelling alone.

Christmas / New Year this year in the UK had me climbing the walls with boredom, so looking for possibles for early Jan 19.

I was offered three possibles, Tahiti, Seychelles and the Maldives. I dismissed Maldives as too muslim for me, so left to choose between Tahiti - rather exotic and I have fished Christmas Island / Kiribati previously.......... or the Seychelles - easy / cheap to get to.

I realise that Jan is not the best month for weather in either place - rather wet, Feb is only slightly better.

SO QUESTIONS

Just how good / bad is the weather there in Jan?
Would you recommend one place over the other?
Do you know anything about the fishing in either place? This will be secondary to touring / snorkeling / maybe some shallow diving?
Is the food any better in one or the other?

Any ideas gratefully received, thanks in anticipation.........Mike

The climate in Tahiti is sunny and nice. RBasically there are 2 sseasons, from September to May the weather is warm and humid, April to August is cool and dry.
Most of the rain falls during the warm season, but there are many sunny days too during these months with refreshing trade winds.
Seychelles, the entire area is subject to currents that develop due to monsoon season.
If it was me, i'd take Tahiti, it is the most beautiful place in the world.