Passage through the Seychelles - An Island Hopping Adventure from Zanzibar to Mahe

Fly by scheduled indirect flight.

Arrive and transfer to the MS Island Sky. Enjoy welcome drinks and dinner as we moor overnight.

Zanzibar’s harbour, crowded with dhows, very much sets the scene for our visit to this Arab-style city with its long narrow streets, bazaars, houses with overhanging balconies and intricately carved doorways. During our morning walking tour, soak up the timeless atmosphere of Stone Town including Livingstone House, Sultan’s Palace, the slave market and the Old Fort. After lunch on board, you can choose to join a tour to a spice farm to experience the various fruits and spices cultivated on the island. Alternatively, travel to Jozani Forest which sustains a variety of wildlife and birds, including the rare red colobus monkey, indigenous to the island.

Today we are in the hands of our Captain and Expedition Leader as we explore the islands off the coast of Tanzania. We hope to use the Zodiacs to land on one of the beaches and offer nature walks or swimming opportunities in the clear waters.

Anchor this morning off Kilwa Kisiwani, a site of exceptional historical interest, where the atmospheric ruins represent a wide sweep of East African coastal history, from the heights of the Swahili and Shirazi trading civilisation to the darker days of slavery and the uprisings against German rule. Once one of Africa’s wealthiest towns, Kilwa Kisiwani is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains the world’s most extensive and best-preserved Swahili ruins. We will spend the morning on a walking tour and see the prominent fort and the Great Mosque which stood at the heart of this ancient city which was once the largest in East Africa. This afternoon we hope to find a local beach to offer the chance to swim, snorkel or take a stroll.

Spend the day at sea as we sail to the Seychelles. Maybe watch for wildlife on deck or join a lecture.

Arriving in the Outer Seychelles we have three days to enjoy the remarkable Aldabra group of islands. Our itinerary will be in the hands of our Expedition Leader and Captain, who will monitor the local conditions to ensure we maximise our time here. Whilst our itinerary is flexible, we hope to call at the island of Assumption which was ruthlessly plundered for its vast deposits of guano in the early 20th century. Happily, peace has returned, and the wildlife of rare birds and green turtles are once again in abundance. Our time here will be spent beachcombing, on nature walks or snorkelling. We will also plan time on Aldabra, the island referred to by Sir Julian Huxley as “One of nature’s treasures and should belong to the whole world”. Aldabra is truly unique, and every time we call at what is believed to be the world’s largest atoll we find something new of interest. Sightings have included the extremely rare white throated rail, while the atoll is also home to the world’s second largest colony of frigate birds and the largest crab, the coconut crab. Whilst exploring by Zodiac it is difficult to know in which direction to look first. The clear blue seas abound with life, the skies are alive with varied birdlife and ashore giant land tortoises forage as they have done for millions of years. We hope to explore Picard Island with a short walk to see some of the numerous tortoises and robber crabs or swim in the lagoon, a vast 17 mile stretch of shallow clear water. From our Zodiacs we can watch the ever-changing undersea world and snorkel in colourful coral waters. Meanwhile at Cosmoledo a huge ring of twelve islands circles a lagoon. Many of the atolls are still to be surveyed and we will explore some of them by Zodiac. This is an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area with all three species of booby found in the Seychelles including the last breeding site for the brown booby. We also hope to spot sooty terns and great frigate birds on land and have the opportunity to see turtles as we swim and snorkel in the lagoon.

Continuing our journey through the Seychelles we arrive at lunchtime in the Farquhar Group which consists of ten islands and atolls which cover an area of 370 square kilometres. We hope to land on Providence Atoll where our team will lead a nature walk to the old settlement and plantation house which once housed a thriving copra industry or enjoy a chance to swim or snorkel.

There are three islands in the Alphonse group and as we approach them you will understand why they are regarded by many to be the most beautiful of the 115 islands in the Seychelles archipelago. Arriving this afternoon our time will be directed by sea and weather conditions but we hope to call at the tiny and idyllic island of Bijoutier which, rarely visited, is a haven for a variety of seabirds. There will be the opportunity to swim and maybe snorkel in the crystal clear waters. Bijoutier sits between two larger atolls so the ocean current flows passing Bijoutier replenish the coral reefs and make them especially rich in biodiversity.

Today we arrive at the 28 islands in the Amirante Group which were discovered by Vasco de Gama in 1501 and are considered to be some of the most pristine and untouched islands in the world. If conditions permit we will visit Poivre Atoll which is made up of three islands. In the past the islands were used for vanilla, nuts, maize, cattle and pig farming but in recent years, the atolls’ landscapes have become a popular nesting ground for bird species like Chinese and blue heron, whimbrels, fodies, noddies and greater frigate birds. The sandy shores are also important nesting grounds for hawksbill and green turtles.

Spend the morning on Aride, one of the finest and most important seabird islands in the Indian Ocean. Over one million seabirds breed on the island including tropical shearwater, lesser noddy, frigatebirds and roseate tern and also five species unique to the Seychelles such as the Seychelles warbler and Seychelles magpie robin. The island is largely covered in native woodland including the endemic Wright’s gardenia, a shrub with beautifully scented flowers found nowhere else in the world. Over lunch we sail the short distance to Curieuse, a rugged island that was once home to a leper colony and now houses an eco-museum and visitor centre. The island is an important nesting site for hawksbill turtles and boasts endemic vines and mangroves which we will explore during our island walk.

Disembark this morning and transfer to the airport for our scheduled indirect flight to London or Manchester. Arrive this evening.

Itineraries are subject to change.