Classic Seychelles with the Comoros & Zanzibar

Itinerary

Days 1-2: USA / Europe

Depart the USA and arrive in Europe, continuing to Mahé on your independent overnight flight to the Seychelles.

Day 3: Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles

Arrive Mahé, transfer to your hotel for brunch, and enjoy a day at leisure to relax. Gather this evening for a welcome dinner and briefing.

Day 4: Sainte Anne Marine Reserve / Embark Clipper Odyssey

Enjoy a day of snorkeling in Sainte Anne Marine National Park—a wonderful introduction to the Seychelles. This group of six islands, off the coast of Mahé, was the first marine park to be founded in the Indian Ocean, over 30 years ago. Its history evokes tales of maritime lore from centuries past. Enjoy a traditional Creole lunch in the park before returning to Victoria to embark the Clipper Odyssey.

Day 5: La Digue

Famed biologist Sir Julian Huxley once described the Seychelles as akin to Hawaii and Tahiti in the 1700s, an untouched Garden of Eden, and no island could be more deserving of this description than La Digue. Giant pink granite boulders and swaying palms offset postcard-perfect white beaches. Travel like the local inhabitants and walk or bike along picturesque, sandy roads. Pass quaint balconied houses and shops, a vanilla plantation, and a copra factory to reach the small Veuve Nature Reserve, where you may observe the endangered Seychelles paradise flycatcher in its native habitat. Also, watch for the yellow bittern, Seychelles swiftlet, and comman waxbill. Spend time on one of the worldÂ’s most breathtakingly beautiful beaches, Anse La Source dÂ’Argent, where you can beachcomb.

Day 6: Praslin

Praslin Island’s enchanting Vallée de Mai National Park is a World Heritage Site. Investigate the high-canopied primeval palm forest, home to 6,000 coco-de-mer palms with mammoth fan-shaped fronds. These astonishing trees grow over 100 feet tall and live 800 – 1,000 years. The palm bears the world’s largest nut, weighing 20 – 40 pounds. Several other endemic palm species, as well as the Seychelles flying fox, populate this magical valley. You may spot a rare Seychelles black parrot and other birds of notable interest, including the Seychelles blue pigeon, Seychelles swiftlet, and Seychelles bulbul. Hikers have their choice of walks permitting viewing of not only birds overhead, but several other unique animals, such as bronze and green day geckos, the Seychelles skink, and two forms of endemic snail. While Praslin is the second largest of the Seychelles islands after Mahé, it remains a tiny outpost of tranquility where life is slow-paced and relaxed.

Day 7: Amirante Island Group

The Amirante Islands are named in honor of Portuguese admiral Vasco da GamaÂ’s 1501 visit. During an expedition stop at Poivre Island, you take Zodiacs ashore for beachcombing, nature walks, birding, and a visit to the Poivre copra plantation. Snorkel or dive over coral gardens inhabited by brilliantly colored tropical fish as manta rays glide through the waters below and black-naped terns soar in the skies above.

Day 8: At Sea

Spend a relaxing day at sea and attend lectures recapping your experiences thus far.

Day 9: Astove Atoll

Land by Zodiac on this deserted islandÂ’s sandy beach. Part of the Aldabra Group, this island was formerly inhabited by African slaves who escaped a Portuguese ship in 1760. A former copra plantation, the islandÂ’s houses, drying sheds, and other buildings are in various states of disrepair since being abandoned in the 1980s. Ashore, mature casuarina and Indian almond trees host the finely woven pendant nests of the local sunbird. Snorkelers and divers delight in the crystal clear waters and undisturbed reefs populated by turtles, groupers, clouds of tropical fishes, and underwater arches encrusted with colorful corals.

Days 10-11: Aldabra Atoll

Spend two full days at magnificent Aldabra, a World Heritage Site, and a highlight of your adventures. With a perimeter of 70 miles, Aldabra is one of the largest atolls in the world, comprising four major islands separated by channels. Because of the atoll’s extreme isolation, many of Aldabra’s species are endemics. Giant Indian Ocean tortoises—estimated to number over 100,000—roam wild over the island. Tide permitting, take Zodiacs through the narrow pass to skim through a landscape of fascinating eroded limestone topography. The tides have sculpted small islets into fantastical formations known as champignons, or “mushrooms.” Hundreds of lesser and great frigatebirds soar overhead as you search for the rare Aldabra white-throated rail, the only flightless bird found on any Indian Ocean island. Robber crabs, whose claws are strong enough to crack coconuts, scamper across the turf. Enjoy a drift snorkel through the pass, where you may spot coral gardens teeming with life, into a lagoon populated by turtles and eagle rays. Visit the small scientific research station on Picard Island and photograph the mighty tortoises of this magical, isolated island that few travelers ever have the opportunity to see.

Day 12: Assumption

Assumption Island is renowned for the clarity of its waters and its profuse undersea life. These qualities led Jacques Cousteau to film much of his documentary The Silent World at Assumption. Snorkel and dive among the corals, with excellent views of undersea life such as clams, nudibranchs, and well over 100 species of fish, including black lionfish, blue-ribbon eels, black-streak surgeonfish, and Indian Ocean steephead parrotfish. Assumption is also home to about 100 giant tortoises introduced to the island from Aldabra.

Day 13: Mayotte, Comoros Islands

Mayotte is an overseas territory of France, yet geographically it remains part of the Comoros group. Stroll Dzaoudzi on Petite Terre, where women dressed in dazzlingly colored chiromanis, sari-like wraps, shop in the markets and relax in shady public gardens. Ascend a hillside by coach for a nature hike to a magnificent viewpoint overlooking a crater lake, or visit the town of Mamoudzou across the bay. While the French colonial legacy endures in town, a drive in the countryside reveals the traditional bangas, or bachelor’s houses, each unique in style. Sleepy fishing villages adorn both golden and black sandy beaches backed by swaying bamboo groves in this tranquil setting that the islanders describe as au bout du monde—at the end of the world.

Day 14: Grande Comore

Ruggedly beautiful, Grande ComoreÂ’s landscape is dominated by the worldÂ’s largest active volcano, Mount Karthala. Disembark in Iconi, one of the oldest settlements on the island, and take a short drive to view the ruins of an 18th-century palace. Continue through scenic countryside to a plantation where you learn about the cultivation of ylang-ylang and exotic spices. Your tour ends in Moroni where you will visit the small museum, the medina, and colorful market with a wide array of fruit, spices, and handicrafts. This afternoon, snorkel or dive off the coast and admire the numerous coral species that thrive here.

Day 15: At Sea

Enjoy the soft Indian Ocean breezes as you cruise toward the coast of Africa. Lecturers prepare you for the natural and cultural wonders ahead.

Day 16: Pemba Island, Tanzania

Pemba IslandÂ’s rolling landscape is a mosaic of forests, swamps, and mangroves, interspersed with plantations that collec-tively produce more cloves than Zanzibar. Explore Ngezi Forest, the largest area of moist forest surviving on Pemba, where you hope to spot the endemic Pemba flying fox, as well as red colobus and vervet monkeys. Also, visit the ruins of Qanbalu, a Muslim settlement dating back to the 11th century, where the remains of a large mosque can still be seen. Your tour ends in the town of Chake Chake, where you browse the market and enjoy impressive views of the bay. Snorkeling and diving is also superb off the west coast, with excellent visibility and a host of colorful reef fish and large pelagics.

Day 17: Zanzibar / Dar es Salaam

Zanzibar lives up to its storied Arabian Nights reputation—a lush palm-fringed island, often referred to as the Bali of East Africa. In the morning, explore the nature trails of Jozani Natural Forest Reserve to spot the red colobus monkey. Photographers will have a field day photographing this colorful, frisky primate as it roams throughout the park and leaps through the canopy. Other species you may spot include Skye’s monkeys, small buck, and bush pigs. In the afternoon, explore the labyrinthine alleyways of old Stone Town, with its fascinating fort, souks, cathedrals, mosques, and sultans’ palaces. The museum contains memorabilia from explorer David Livingstone’s travels. Set sail for Dar es Salaam this evening where you overnight pierside.

Day 18: Dar es Salaam / Disembark / USA

Disembark the Clipper Odyssey early this morning and transfer to the airport for homeward flights, arriving in the USA the same day.