Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
350km²
Area
90km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
16m
Highest point
29°C
Warmest sea
March
625km
To the mainland
When to go to Aldabra
Best for the beach from June to October.
The sea is warmest in March (29 °C) and coolest in August (24 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Atoll
Aldabra is an atoll in Seychelles. It covers 350 km², with 90 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 16 m. The nearest mainland is 625 km away. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there
- Ouani Airport (AJN)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 372 km in a straight lineCar hire at SEZ airport (Victoria)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 625 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Aldabra.
- 7beaches
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 1 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 135 | 97 | 107 | 101 | 48 | 25 | 22 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 37 | 103 |
| Wet days | 20 | 18 | 21 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 14 |
| Sun h/day | 7.6 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 9.3 | 9.8 | 10.0 | 9.8 | 8.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 15 | 14 | 14 | 20 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 26 | 20 | 13 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.3 |
| 2021 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.5 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | +0.6 | ±0.0 |
| 2022 | +0.5 | −0.2 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | −0.5 | −0.7 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.5 | −0.4 | −0.1 |
| 2023 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +1.0 |
| 2024 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.




Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q272768) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

