Zanzibar and the Seychelles 2026

Photo by Andy Coleman

February 11-28

Names like the Congo…..Timbuktu….Mozambique….Khartoum….conjure up visions of faraway places…. 27 grueling hours after leaving home finds me landing at Abeid Amani Karume airport in Zanzibar…..numerous visa and travel insurance checks and rechecks…thankfully all paperwork in hand and breezed through customs…luggage arrived quickly and best of all ……a blissfully short drive to Park Hyatt hotel….well situated ocean side…was once a British Embassy…public spaces beautiful white plaster with dark wood beams and ceilings….enormous Moroccan metal lights and sconces adorn the lobby….every single wooden door is a tribute to beautiful craftsmanship…..crisp white sheets…oblivion

Day one

A lovely breakfast on the large patio that wraps around the front of the hotel…watching fishing boats…..dhows…sightseeing boats…compete with freighters…and even a few swimmers….perfect temperature in the low 80’s….wander through Stone Town ….twists and turns…narrow alleys…occasional motorcycles toot their horns coming around the corners so you know to step aside….enterprising shop owners trying to garner your attention……lunch and a short nap…strolled along the beach…watching a lot of Northern European/Americans unload from boat trips to nearby by beaches… very red in the face and sweating profusely ….a massage rounded out the afternoon…seemed like a civilized way to ease into the current time zone…there is a massive 200 year old Mango tree in one of courtyards of the hotel….gifted by the Sultan of Zanzibar….it is listed on UNESCO heritage site ……cats are EVERYWHERE…haven’t seen a single dog…just cats cats and more cats

Day two

Call to prayer at 5am….6 am church bells tolling….the sunrise looked promising….decided to go out and take some pictures…..plenty of people out …sweeping the streets etc ……the entire city is very clean….sadly cannot say the same for the beaches….an invasive bird called the Indian House Crow is a major annoyance….the call is a dreadful combination of a loud duck and the caw of a crow…imagine if a Magpie and a Raven had babies…it would probably produce the House Crow…..meet Mau my guide for a trip to the central market then a cooking class….the market was cheek to jowl on this Friday morning….the further in we walked ….the less air there seemed to be……enter the fish market….overpowered by the smell….the floor awash with mud..blood and fish parts…90 degrees isn’t helping….holding my skirt to avoid being splashed or hung up on a fish tail…..the fish auction house adjoins the market….lots of activity as well ….fish being hurled about….collect some produce then dive into the spice section….feels like a sauna under a canopy of red plastic tarps……get my fan out but it did little to cool the air….collect necessary items….the guide informs that we will be driving out of the city to a house in the countryside….bouncing along amidst tuktuks…ox carts..small buses….and plenty of motorcycles … Mau’s sister is the chef….helping her will be 2 more of Mau’s sisters….kitchen is the size of a king sized bed….tiny washing machine and refrigerator in one wall….we all sit on the floor….cleaning rice…grating coconut….peeling shrimp….marinating fish….there is a small open flame cooker in the corner and a one burner propane cooker under the sink…..one dish at time ….things are assembled…peeling garlic..dicing ginger…..aroma of spices heavy in the air……stirring large pot on an open flame gives me pause since there a breeze…imagining my skirt going up in flames….gather a handful of fabric and hope for the best…the youngest sister periodically sweeps the floor to clear the debris……3 children return from school….giving me curious stares as they slip around me….more grating…grinding and chopping….seems to only be one serviceable knife….it exchanges hands frequently ….…with 5 people in the kitchen…plus 2 open flame stoves…I am one of those red faced sweaty people….pop over to visit the guides wife children and mother a few houses over while rice finishes cooking…..return to lunch being set up in the living area….the food, the guide and sisters all settle on the floor …the guide tells me sit on the sofa…..after serving myself….plate balanced on my knees no utensils in sight…..he finally realizes that I am waiting so he hands me one of the large serving spoons since they are all eating with their hands…..the food was excellent but grateful I had my large spoon to eat with….spent the next couple hours cooling down before meeting everyone for the welcome dinner

Day three

Ship can accommodate 185 …..tour had limit of 145 but there are only 90 of us….not sure why people go to the tropics (90 degrees and high humidity) then get cranky when they get hot and sweaty….about half of group do the walking tour in Stone Town….had already checked it out so opted to drive to Jozani National Park to look for the endemic Red Colobus monkeys….drive had some decent sections of well paved highway but the majority was bumpy and very dusty….spill out of bus….trekking through the jungle…terrain very uneven….see a troupe of Blue Backed monkeys ……trail crosses the highway several times….seems like we are walking in circles….spy a couple of large male Red Colobus draped over branches…a bit further a group of 15-20 females…several with babies….we were told not to feed or touch the monkeys….they are completely fearless and we are able to get quite close…quick stop to walk through a large Mangrove forest…..back to town for lunch and eventually head to the ship late afternoon ….get through all the obligatory safety drills…then a well deserved shower

Day four and five

Ingested something that set off a total revolt with my stomach…….languishing on the ship all day seemed like a good idea…..otherwise I would have seen Kilwa Kisiwanit UNESCO site….a main shipping port for gold, slaves and ivory in East Africa from 6th - 9th century…..don’t think I am sorry to have missed a 2 mile walk around the ruins in the heat of the afternoon

Next day and night at sea

Day six

Arrive early morning at Assumption Island …first official stop in the Seychelles …...pristine beach….a fair sized yacht anchored nearby….spent some time walking the beach…crabs have excavated a mountain range at the high water line…trying to find a spot to sit and not be over run by crabs was challenging…..admiring the water that starts as a deep cobalt…azure….turquoise ..aquamarine…stunning….sunlight sparkling off the water is hypnotic…very warm ….not enough shade on the beach later in the day so skip the afternoon trip….seas very calm so dreaded Zodiac ride was actually quite pleasant

Day seven

Aldabra Atoll…the world largest raised coral atoll….UNESCO heritage site…..Jacques Cousteau filmed his first undersea documentary, The Silent World here 70 years ago …home to over 150,000 giant tortoises ….more people have climbed Mt. Everest than have visited this remote atoll….snorkeling platforms set up off shore….variety of fish but quite a rip tide that caused people to come back early….did a complete circumnavigation of the atoll in the late afternoon ending with the sunset cocktails….Frigate birds and Boobies circling the ship like they were on a carousel…catching the thermals from the ship then spiraling down the water and back again

Day eight

Early Zodiac trip to go explore the Orange Footed Boobie and Frigate bird nesting sights…..hundreds if not thousands of birds over head….swooping low over the Zodiacs….a bit early in the season but did some several nests occupied…several pairs of White Fairy Terns…they seem so delicate after watching the Boobies and Frigates….hard not to compare the surroundings to a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’ s The Birds….imagine a snow globe full of birds…limestone cliffs….took the Zodiac to the ranger station later in the afternoon ….30 or so intrepid young people stay for 3-6 months at a time…..studying all aspects of the atoll…flora…fauna…and of coarse the many birds…they are all very dedicated and enthusiastic about their jobs and especially their environment…one of the naturalists on board spent 3 months working on a documentary…and 2 full days sitting by a Aldabra White throated Rail nest waiting for chicks to hatch…such dedication is admirable…..the tide was coming in ….the wet landing was indeed very wet…dragged up the beach…giant tortoise pair mating in front of the living quarters……I had planned on a quick turn around to ship ..but conditions had changed so we all had to walk to the back channel for return to ship…..cloud cover made for a pleasant walk…coconut crabs…hermit crabs all scurrying underfoot….numerous Tortoises..some inscribed with names…board Zodiac to head back to ship….confluence on large channel and incoming tide made for some large waves….several dousing the front of the Zodiac…..the woman next me felt compelled to announce “Oh this wave is really big!”……PLEASE keep that information to yourself…the ocean and I will never be friends

Day nine

Sailed all night…arrived Cosmoledo Atoll….in the pre dawn light I can see a plethora of Boobies circling the ship…..ornithologist had to rescue over a dozen birds since several hit the windows in the ship…..it was a rainy …..foggy morning…birds became disoriented…..I am on the top floor which offers great views but happens to be situated under the zodiac storage area…..gears grinding…hydraulics whining…..occasional loud thump…sounds like being inside of an out of balance washing machine …….forego morning Zodiac ride…Brown and Masked Boobies join the birds circling the ship………afternoons snorkel at Astove Atoll….main feature of the area is a wide shelf from the beach that drops off suddenly into the abyss …expedition leader encouraged everyone to go look over the edge….sounded terrifying …the captain surprised everyone by hydrofoil surfing between the snorkel platform and the ship…..very fun to watch

Day ten

Farquhar Atoll is barely visible on the horizon….a few trees but mostly sand….a lovely lagoon in the interior….pretty quite day…one gorgeous sunset

Day eleven

These atolls are so remote from each other as well as from land…we have only seen 1 other boat….today is first day water is predominantly white caps…rainy windy….thankfully midday brought sunshine….arrive at Bijoutier Atoll ….not our originally scheduled stop…but wind and tide conditions not favorable at original landing locations….sand spits surround a slightly higher bit of land that is home to a handful of palm trees and lower shrubs…..tide is out when we arrived by the time we are ready to depart near sunset…the island is engulfed in water…sand spits have disappeared….I hate being in the ocean but love watching it’s many mood and movements

Day twelve

Sunrise ….many sizable islets on the horizon….Poive Atoll…..water a bit choppy for me so skip the morning …..atoll not terribly big so don’t feel like I missed a lot….a quick stop at nearby D’Arros Island for snorkeling….many turtles and a black tipped shark were spotted…the world’s largest seed , the Coco de Mer can be found on nearby islands…some of the seeds can weigh up to 50+ pounds…..too heavy to float until after the seed had deteriorated

Day thirteen

Finally ….sizable granitic islands with several hundred feet elevation surround the ship when we anchor just off Aride Island which is a nature preserve….quick zodiac ride …met by one of the rangers…who is barefooted…off we march on a wide path….many White Fairy terns…these birds lay their eggs at a junction of a branch…the egg hatches and chick will remain on the branch for several weeks until it is able to fly….swooping overhead…lovely birds to watch …especially after seeing the Boobies and Frigate birds for so many days….in the alcoves of tree roots are the White Tailed Tropicbirds…some adults..some juveniles and even a few chicks…sleeping peacefully in the morning heat….short segment along a very rocky beach then we start the climb…straight up and rocky ….covered with sticks and an abundance of tripping hazards….everyone sweating and scrambling up as best they can…lots of crimson cheeks when we get to the summit for the view of the back side of the island…thankfully a friend handed me a walking stick …..which I was very happy to have as we slipped down the slope…collapse into the shade of the ranger station…grab a life jacket….just settled onto my spot in the zodiac when a big wave drenches us all…last couple of folks skid into place and back to the ship for a cold drink and a shower….after lunch ……a crazy phenomenon of a circular rainbow was visible midday….short motor over to Anse Lazio….lovely beach littered with enormous granite boulders….lots of people come for the day or are staying in several hotels dotted along the beach…very modern with clever driftwood light fixtures and art….very nice beach walk

Day fourteen

Valle de Mei on Praslin Island….grateful for a dry landing…short ride from marina to the national park and UNESCO Heritage Site….LOTS of people …break into groups ….very nice paved trails…lots of steps …spot the raucous Black parrot ….canopy quite high…trees are massive…Stilt and Latanier Palms …leaves are the size of a dining table…..huge tree of the Coco de Mer …signs warning not to stand under these trees….giant coconuts would certainly kill you if you were hit by one….tasted a mushrooms that grows on the Allspice tree…nice mix of nutmeg…cinnamon..cloves and pepper…one of our group accidentally got on another bus…our poor guide had several frantic minutes trying to locate them….eventually decided that we had waited long enough and none of our group was in the visitor center so headed to marina for trip back to boat……cool down…lunch…short motor to La Digue Island….zipped through town in what the locals call Le Truck… an open sided small bus with 2 long bench seats on either side…..beach area had huge bicycle parking area….seems everyone on the island finds it more convenient to ride a bike…not many cars about..a few tuktuks…..beach is stunning …..huge granite boulders piled along the shore….undeniably the most photographed beach in the Seychelles …not a bad way to end out cruise….tonight dock at Mahe

Day fifteen

Disembark by 9 am…..quick shuttle to Eden Bleu hotel….spend a couple hours by the pool waiting for room to be ready…..lucked out with room on top floor with a wonderful view of the one of the many marinas…..luxury yacht on top of luxury yacht….catamarans seemed to be much in favor…plenty of smaller fishing about boats mixed in…..nice to have a quiet evening

Day sixteen

Flight home not until 11pm…so have plenty of time for some sightseeing…..catch a taxi into Victoria….interesting clock tower built in 1903…many ornate wrought iron balconies ….extremely humid….need some AC…National History Museum seemed to fill the bill nicely….extensive collection historical artifacts mixed with contemporary art depicting early life in the Seychelles …..a trip to Botanical Garden seemed like a nice way to round out the morning…..several dozen school children scattered throughout the gardens……an art competition between several schools…..the children were very engaging and happy to talk…taking pride in their work…….what a perfect end to an enjoyable trip..Seychelles are truly spectacular..astonishingly beautiful beaches and crystal clear water