 |
le St. Marie, Madagascar is known for its beautiful white-sand beaches and coral reefs. Its dense vegetation and the difficulty of navigating the lagoons which surround it made it an ideal base for pirates and, later, a colony for convicts.
Today the island is a vacation paradise. It has the world's only pirates' cemetery and visitors can walk among cashew and cinnamon trees, snorkel from the offshore islet or dive from one of the beautiful sandbanks. The island is less touristy than other resort islands of Madagascar, making it an ideal location to relax and enjoy the sunshine.
The sea around Ile St. Marie offers one of the most fascinating spectacles in the world. In August, humpback whales can be seen playing in the ocean and breeching out of the sea in the narrow canal that separates the island from the mainland. They can be seen everywhere from the island but it is best to take a whale watching cruise and get an up-close look at these magnificent grey giants.
THE BEST MONTH TO VISIT ILE ST. MARIE is August when there is a massive humpback whale migration off the shores of the island. It is also a time when the weather is cooler than normal and the hurricanes haven't begun to stir up the clear waters of the Indian Ocean.
THE HIDDEN GEM of Ile St. Marie is one of Madagascar's most beautiful small hotels, the Princess Bora Lodge. It is a paradise bathed by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and nested in a large palm tree grove at the edge of a lagoon.
|
 |
Benguerra Island, Mozambique
Djenne, Mali
Evengue Island, Gabon
Ile St Marie, Madagascar
Impalila Island, Namibia
Iranja and Tsarabanjina Islands, Madagascar
Mafia Island, Tanzania |
|
Mauritius
Praslin, Seychelles
Siankaba and Sindabezi Islands, Zambia
Ngamba Island, Uganda
Paradise Island, Botswana
Zanzibar |
|
|
