Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, about 925 kilometers to the northeast of Madagascar. This 455 square kilometers Island is the second smallest country of Africa. Its capital Victoria City is in the Mahe Islands here. This archipelago has two groups of Islands – the granite rock islands that include Mahe, Prasilin, La Digue, Silhouette, Fregate and the North islands with hilly interiors that rise up to 900 meters and the coral islands to the south of Mahe group. Seychelles lay en route South Africa, 1600 kilometers off the coast of East Africa, and Asia and hence has a strategic location. When to go Seychelles has a tropical climate that’s hot and humid, moderated by the cool sea breeze. It lies outside the Hurricane Belt and hence unaffected by  [...]

Lamu Island is a part of the Lamu archipelago, off the east coast of Kenya in the Indian Ocean. The archipelago has seven islands and many small inlets. The Island is part of the ancient Arab trade route and the Lamu Port is said to date back to 1000 years. When to visit This is a tropical Island. While you can plan a trip to this Island all throughout the year, January to March is good, especially if snorkeling interests you. The months of June and July are good for sailing as they are windy. Most of the rains occur from late March to May. How to reach The closes airport to Lamu Island is in the Manda Island of the Lamu archipelago. It’s is juts across the channel and a boat trip between the Manda Island and the Lamu town takes about 10 minutes. There are daily flights from  [...]

The Island of Mauritius is in the Indian Ocean, about 2000 kilometers to the southeast coast of Africa and to the east of the Island of Madagascar. The Island was officially discovered by Pedro Mascarenhas, Portuguese navigator in 1505. The Dutch, French and The British ruled over it successively, before it became an independent republic on March 12, 1968. When to go Mauritius has a tropical climate, which means there is not much difference between the two seasons here. Winters here are dry with the day temperatures being around 20 to 26 degree Celsius. The summer months of November to April have temperatures ranging between 26 and 32 degree Celsius. This season also brings heavy rains. Cyclones too are common in the months of January and March. The East Coast and the inland central  [...]

The Zanzibar Archipelago is in the Indian Ocean, about 25 miles off the Tanzania coast. Locally known as Unguja, it occupies an area of 650 square miles comprising of the ancient Stone Town, secluded beaches, coral reefs and other places of interest. When to go The weather is just apt for a trip at about anytime of the year in Zanzibar. Because of its proximity to the equator, it’s warm throughout the year. November brings short rains and while there are longer rains in April and May, it doesn’t rain everyday during this time too. How to reach There are direct international flights to Zanzibar such as the Gulf Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways to name a few. You can also fly to Dar es Salaam by the British Airways, Emirates Airlines and Swiss and then take a short air or sea  [...]

Located in the Western Indian Ocean, about 250 miles off the east coast of Africa, is the fourth largest Island of the world – the Island of Madagascar.  The first three are the Islands of Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo. The Mozambique Channel separates it from Africa. It is over 1000 miles long and 350 miles wide.  The Island is set against a background of steep mountain range running along its eastern coast. When to go The Island is located just south of the equator and its diverse region comes with diverse climate as well. While the overall climate is hot and subtropical, the mountains are colder. Most of the rain comes in the months from November to March. There are chances of storms and cyclones in this season in the east and the north regions of the Island of Madagascar. Rest  [...]