Mauritius

There is a general myth going round that Mauritius is a paradise. It is not. The local population works from dawn to dusk on sugarcane plantations to make a living. Yes, there are a bunch of great hotels on some above average beaches, but that is far from paradise. The capital city of Port Louis is marginally attractive but it does have a lot of potential. The raved Ile aux Cerfs is rather boring and its beaches are rather average. The island does however have a few interesting sights in the interior; waterfalls, canyons and jagged mountains.

Comoros

Between the Moheli, Anjouan and Grand Comore, I visited the Grand Comore island only. It is the largest island with some incredible beaches in the north, complete with white sands, black lava spurs, coral bits and leaning palm trees. Postcard perfect indeed. But the overall infrastructure of this poor and troubled country is seriously very limited. And the authorities seem not to mind to leave the country’s attractions decay and falling into irreversible disrepair. Despite the awkward application to include them on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Reunion

Reunion is an island that is full of surprises. From the outside it looks really, really boring. It does not have postcard perfect beaches, but that is not its main quality. The island’s interior is Reunion the greatest surprise and the main attraction. It might have been the most dramatic landscape I have ever seen. There island has many treks, but most of its incredible landscape is not available to trekkers and can only be appreciated from the air. The best way is helicopter. Also, deep waters near the shore attract whales July - September.

Seychelles

Seychelles is actually a poor African country. Its main island, Mahe, does not have dramatically beautiful beaches with which Seychelles would normally be associated. It has dramatic landscape of mountains running right through its centre and there a few pleasant sandy beaches, but one has to venture to at least La Digue for the postcard perfect landscape. People are generally poor and have to work very hard to meet the ends meet, particularly as the tourism industry seems to be inflating the cost of living there.

the Caribbean islands

The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Turks & Caicos, Haiti, Dominican Republic, St Kitts, Nevis, Virgin Islands, BVIs, Anguilla, St Martin, Sint Maarten, St Barts, Antigua, St Vincent, Bequia, Tobago

An island hopping holiday covering mostly places I have not visited during my first trip to the Antilles back in 2006. The main purpose was to end the holiday on Tobago, where my friend was getting married. And it was indeed a perfect finale of this holiday.