Discover Zanzibar beyond its beautiful beaches, from the historic streets of Stone Town and fascinating spice plantations to lush forests, coral reefs and rich culture.
Having visited Zanzibar many times since the late 1990s, I have a particular affection for this fascinating island off the coast of Tanzania. While its palm-fringed beaches, turquoise waters and beautiful resorts are reason enough to visit, Zanzibar offers so much more than a tropical island escape.
Zanzibar beach resort
For anyone who loves history, culture and discovering destinations with a story to tell, Zanzibar deserves a place on your travel wish list.
Whether you choose a fabulous beach resort on the east, north or west coast, it is tempting to spend your days enjoying the sunshine, swimming in the warm Indian Ocean and simply unwinding. But I would always encourage you to set aside time to explore Stone Town, Zanzibar’s historic heart and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, a maze of narrow, winding streets reveals centuries of Swahili culture and the influences of Arab, Persian, Indian and European traders who shaped the island’s unique character. Ornately carved wooden doors, historic merchant houses, former palaces and imposing forts offer glimpses into a fascinating past.
Zanzibar Stone Town’s coastline with boats and vibrant cityscape.
Yet Zanzibar’s history also has a darker side. A visit to the former slave market and the nearby Anglican Cathedral is a moving reminder of the island’s role in the East African slave trade and the efforts to bring this tragic chapter to an end.
Beyond Stone Town, there are more experiences to discover. Visit a spice plantation to see, smell and taste the cloves, cinnamon, vanilla and other spices that earned Zanzibar its reputation as the Spice Island.
I was so relaxed watching the dhows pass by at sunset (select image to view short video)
Nature lovers should make time for Jozani Forest, home to the rare Zanzibar red colobus monkey, while the island’s surrounding coral reefs offer wonderful opportunities for snorkelling and discovering colourful marine life. And, of course, there is always the pleasure of returning to your resort to relax beside the ocean, enjoy a spectacular sunset or savour the flavours of fresh island seafood.
We loved the relaxed vibe at the 4-star Sandies Baobab Beach in Nungwi, Zanzibar.
My advice? Combine the pleasures of a beautiful beach holiday with a little exploration. Zanzibar’s appeal lies in this wonderful balance of relaxation, rich cultural heritage and memorable experiences.
If you are considering an Indian Ocean island escape, let us help you discover the Zanzibar that suits you best.
Zanzibar beach bar at dusk
At Ocean & Safari by Computravel, we can assist you in choosing the right resort and creating a holiday that allows you to experience as much — or as little — as you wish.
There are destinations you can see, and there are destinations you can only really feel once you slow right down. The Seychelles is firmly in the second category.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially since the arrival of some genuinely exciting small ship options in the Indian Ocean, including the gorgeous new Emerald Kaia from Emerald Cruises. It got me thinking about why the Seychelles, of all the world’s island destinations, is one where how you travel matters almost as much as where you go.
So let me tell you a little about these islands, and why arriving by sea changes everything.
The Seychelles archipelago sits in the western Indian Ocean, roughly 1,500 kilometres east of mainland Africa. It’s made up of 115 islands, ranging from the bustling granite peaks of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue to remote coral atolls so small they barely register on a map.
What makes the Seychelles unusual among tropical island destinations is the geology. The inner islands — the ones most travellers visit — are ancient granite formations, not coral atolls. They’re dramatic and textured, with boulders the size of houses tumbling into turquoise bays, and forests thick with palms and endemic birds. The outer islands are lower-lying coral territories, some almost entirely given over to nature conservation.
Nearly half the country’s land area is protected. In an archipelago where so much is set aside for nature, sticking to the water simply makes sense, especially when the inner islands are only a short cruising distance from each other.
That’s the key insight. The Seychelles isn’t built around road trips and overland transfers. It’s built around water.
Why Cruise the Seychelles?
Most travellers to the Seychelles base themselves on one island, usually Mahé or Praslin, and take day trips from there. It’s a perfectly lovely way to visit. But a cruise, particularly on a small ship, opens up a completely different experience.
Travelling by small ship allows you to visit multiple islands in a single journey, experiencing a mix of nature, culture, and history, while seeing firsthand the conservation efforts that protect this fragile environment. It’s a relaxed yet immersive way to discover the archipelago’s highlights, all while unpacking only once and leaving the logistics to someone else.
That last part is worth pausing on. Unpacking once, waking up in a new anchorage each morning, stepping off the boat directly onto a beach or into a nature reserve. No transfers, no waiting for tenders, no jostling with crowds. Just you and the Indian Ocean.
Most of the islands are only accessible by boat, and visitors often find themselves completely alone on a beautiful white sand beach or granite outcrop. That kind of solitude is increasingly rare anywhere in the world. In the Seychelles, a small ship can deliver it.
Mahé is the main island and home to the capital, Victoria, a compact and charming city with Creole architecture, a Hindu temple, and the famous clock tower modelled on the one in London. The surrounding mountains are green and dramatic, and the beaches on the west coast are among the most beautiful in the world.
Praslin is the second-largest island and home to the Vallée de Mai, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where the iconic coco de mer palm grows wild. The coco de mer produces the largest seed in the plant kingdom. It’s a strange and beautiful place, primeval in atmosphere.
La Digue is smaller still, and famously unhurried. Cars are few. Bicycles are the preferred mode of transport. The beach at Anse Source d’Argent, with its giant granite boulders rising out of shallow turquoise water, is one of the most photographed in the world, and still stops you in your tracks when you see it in person.
Curieuse Island is a nature reserve where Aldabra giant tortoises roam freely on the beach. You can walk among them.
Aride Island, the northernmost of the inner islands, is uninhabited except for conservation staff and hosts one of the most important seabird colonies in the Indian Ocean.
You come out of the water fresh from a snorkel and are astonished to find it’s lunchtime. Time has a habit of vanishing in the Seychelles.
Why Small Ships Work So Well Here
Emerald Kaia | courtesy Emerald Cruises
Large cruise ships cannot easily access the inner islands. The anchorages are shallow, the ports are small, and the whole ethos of the Seychelles is quietly at odds with the scale of a big ship arrival.
Small ships, carrying 40 to 128 passengers, change the equation entirely. They can anchor in protected bays, deploy zodiacs and tenders to reach beaches that have no jetty, and move quietly between islands without overwhelming the places they visit.
The Emerald Kaia, Emerald Cruises’ newest luxury superyacht, is a good example of what this category of ship can do in the Seychelles. Accommodating up to 128 passengers with 92 crew on board, she features a sleek megayacht-style hull, premium staterooms, spacious restaurants, and a generous wellness complex including a gym, infrared sauna, spa, and massage rooms. She repositions to the Indian Ocean to sail the Seychelles archipelago from December 2026 to March 2027.
What makes this style of ship so well-suited to the region is the crew-to-guest ratio. With 92 crew looking after 128 guests, the experience is genuinely personal, closer to a private yacht charter than a conventional cruise. More than 88 percent of the staterooms have balconies. Waking up in the Seychelles, sliding open your balcony door to the sound of the Indian Ocean, is not a bad way to start a morning.
When to Go
You can cruise the Seychelles all year round and expect balmy sailing — the temperature doesn’t fluctuate dramatically through the year. The dry season runs from April to September, with trade winds blowing from the southeast from May onwards.
The summer season, December through March, is warmer and occasionally wetter, but the sea is generally calmer on the western side of the islands, and conditions are still excellent for snorkelling and swimming. It’s also when the Emerald Kaia and several other small ships operate in the region, which is no coincidence.
South Africans are well-placed geographically for the Seychelles, with direct flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town, and a time zone just two hours ahead of SAST. It’s one of the more accessible Indian Ocean island destinations from home.
The Seychelles is a serious destination for wildlife lovers, and the cruise experience gives you access to places that day-trippers simply cannot reach.
Giant Aldabra tortoises. Rare endemic birds including the Seychelles warbler, the magpie-robin, and the black parrot found only on Praslin. Hawksbill turtles nesting on protected beaches. Whale sharks in the outer waters. Vibrant coral gardens teeming with reef fish.
One day you might be walking among tortoises on a remote atoll; the next, snorkelling above coral gardens on a completely different island. The variety, within a relatively compact sailing distance, is remarkable.
Is It Right for You?
A Seychelles cruise, particularly on a small ship, suits a particular kind of traveller. Not someone who needs a packed entertainment schedule or a casino. Someone who is happy to drift, to snorkel, to read on deck, to share dinner with a small group of like-minded people, and to wake up in a different paradise each morning.
It suits couples looking for something genuinely romantic. It suits travellers who’ve done the big ships and want something quieter. And it suits anyone who has always wanted to visit the Seychelles but couldn’t quite decide which island to choose. The answer, it turns out, is all of them.
The Indian Ocean has a soundtrack all of its own. This playlist, Island Drift, pulls together music from across the archipelagos — Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, Réunion and beyond. Sega rhythms, Malagasy acoustic guitar, Creole soul. Put it on while you read, or save it for when you’re actually packing your bag.
Have you been to the Seychelles? Or is it still on your list? I’d love to hear in the comments.
Rodrigues Island, the smallest of the Mascarene Islands, takes its name from Portuguese navigator Diego Rodriguez, who sighted it in 1528. Like its sisters Mauritius and Réunion, it was uninhabited before European arrival. Formed some 1.5 million years ago, Rodrigues boasts a unique ecosystem with remarkable endemic flora and fauna. Early explorers found lush vegetation, giant reptiles, tortoises, and the now-extinct Rodrigues solitaire, a cousin of the Mauritian dodo.
Colonised by the French in 1691 using enslaved labour, the island later fell under British control after the Napoleonic Wars. Slavery was abolished in 1834. In 2002, Rodrigues gained greater autonomy with its own regional assembly and today focuses on sustainable tourism and conservation.
I arrived at 9 am on 17 September and was warmly welcomed by the delightful Clementine and the ever-charming Donald, who whisked me off to Auberge Les Filaos, my cosy first-night accommodation. After a quick change into lighter island attire, we headed to meet the wonderful Rodrigues Tourism team in Port Mathurin, housed in a character-filled 18th-century building. A big thank you to Issana Agathe for the warm welcome!
Next was lunch at La Marlin Bleu, a charming local favourite overlooking the bay – the perfect spot to savour delicious island cuisine among friendly locals.
Our afternoon was spent exploring the Grande Montagne Nature Reserve, guided by the passionate and knowledgeable Stephen. His enthusiasm for conserving Rodrigues’ rare endemic plants and birds was infectious. We spotted the colourful Rodrigues Fody, now thriving thanks to the island’s conservation efforts.
The day began with a fascinating meeting with Mr Jean Alain Wong So, Rodrigues Commissioner for Tourism and more. Then it was off to the Francois Leguat Reserve, a 20-hectare marvel replicating pre-human Rodrigues. Bernard, our guide, led us through valleys filled with giant tortoises, native birds, and flourishing endemic flora. Highlights included the magical Grande Caverne, with its ethereal limestone formations.
After a delicious seafood salad at the reserve’s restaurant and a stroll through its museum, I planted a tree as part of the “One Visitor, One Tree” project – a beautiful initiative supporting reforestation.
Later, I checked into the fabulous C Rodrigues Mourouk Hotel, greeted with a lemon cocktail and shown to a suite with breathtaking views of the turquoise ocean. After a refreshing swim and beach walk, I ended the day with a Creole buffet dinner and restful sleep in my well-appointed suite.
Day 3: Hotels, Horizons and Heartfelt Hospitality
After breakfast, Lisa gave me a tour of the hotel’s stunning villas, with direct beach access and private pools. Then it was time to say goodbye and continue exploring.
First stops: Cotton Beach Holiday Apartments and the elegant Cotton Bay Resort & Spa, where the rim-flow pool seems to merge with the ocean. The rooms, decor, and oceanfront dining areas all spell pure island indulgence.
Lunch was a highlight at Koki Boner – crab soup and octopus curry at this charming restaurant next to affordable, well-equipped holiday apartments.
Next was the intimate Tekoma Boutik Hotel – ideal for a romantic escape. With serene Creole-style decor, stunning ocean views, and gourmet cuisine, it’s a slice of paradise.
Before settling in for the evening at Gîte Le Tropical Chez Jeannette, we hiked up Mont Limone (Rodrigues’ highest point at 389m) for panoramic island views. Below the guesthouse lies Jardin des 5 Sens, the island’s first botanical garden, filled with endemic plants, some with medicinal value.
Dinner with our gracious host Gilbert and a lovely Estonian couple was filled with laughter and rich conversation – a truly memorable evening.
Day 4: Local Life and Coastal Farewells
Early the next morning, Donald and I visited two popular, fully booked hotels – Cocotier Hotel and Escales Vacances – followed by a lively stroll through Port Mathurin’s market.
Lunch at Atelier Gourmand, a charming spot just outside town, was a treat. My final night was spent at the peaceful Villa du Sud in the coastal village of Graviers. With a small pool, sea views, and fresh local cuisine, it was the perfect end to a memorable adventure.
Rodrigues – A Sparkling Jewel of the Mascarenes
That’s a wrap on my unforgettable four-night caper on Rodrigues, a pristine, warm-hearted island filled with natural beauty, rich history, and the kindest people.
Heartfelt thanks to the Rodrigues Tourism team, especially Valentine, Sophia, and Donald, for your generosity, warmth, and insight. Until next time!
