Passage to India

Passage to India - Seychelles, Maldives, Sri Lanka and India

2nd to 27th March 2017

Thursday, 2nd March – Etihad flight to Mahe, EY0018 20.00 > 07.15 / EY0622 08.55 > 13.35 Friday, 3rd (flight from London to Abu Dhabi delayed by 2 hours so we got an earlier flight at 2pm, with an 8 hour stopover in Abu Dhabi) 6 nights on Sainte Anne Island at the Beachcomber resort (Friday afternoon arrival) Sat – Visited Victoria on Mahe island in the morning (courtesy boat 10am, return 1pm), afternoon snorkelling Sun – 9am Hill top walk, 2pm snorkelling off Moyenne Island, Dinner Mont Fleuri restaurant Mon – 11am kayak to Round Island, then snorkelling. 3pm walk to Anse Manon. Dinner Mont Fleuri restaurant Tues – 9.30 diving, 3pm to Round Island for snorkelling off the sand ridge Wed – 9.30 Moyenne Island, 2pm snorkelling. Dinner Mont Fleuri restaurant Thurs – 10.15 snorkelling. 3.30pm departure.

Cruise - See the Ship and Crew

Thursday, 9th March – Join ship for Passage to India - Seychelles, Maldives, Sri Lanka and India on MS Island Sky Fri, 10th – Seychelles. Praslin - Vallee de Mai & Big Soeur island Sat, 11th to Mon 13th - At sea. Tues, 14th - Maldives - afternoon at Addu Atoll. Evening crossing the Equator. Wed, 15th - Maldives Hulhimendhoo island (rain so we didn’t go snorkelling) and Vadinolhu Kandu island Thurs 16th - Maldives - Fulidhoo (village visit). Afternoon at Rasdhoo Kandu Fri, 17th - Maldives - Final snorkel at Vangaaru Island in the northernmost atoll of the Maldives. Afternoon at sea as we sail to India. Sat 18th - Cochin, India. Morning at sea. Cochin - Fort Cochin, the Chinese fishing nets, St Francis, the oldest European church in India, and Mattancherry Palace. See the Pardesi Synagogue and walk through the Fort Cochin town area. Evening - a Kathakali performance - one of the main forms of classical dance drama of India and indigenous to Kerala. Sun 19th – Cochin, India Drove to Alleppey (Alappazhu) and took a local boat for a cruise of the Keralan backwaters sailing past house boats of coconut thatched rooves on traditional rice barges. Mon 20th - Trivandrum, India Morning excursion of Trivandrum to the old fort area around the 260 year old Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Horse Mansion, Napier Museum and Sri Chatra Art Gallery. Afternoon cruising. Tues 21st - Colombo, Sri Lanka Morning tour of Colombo including the Gangarama Buddhist Temple, Colombo National and Dutch period museums and the Pettah market area. Free afternoon to explore independently. Wed 22nd - Galle, Sri Lanka Morning tour to the old Dutch Fort, the museum depicting life in the Dutch colony that is housed in an old Dutch house, the lighthouse, mosque and church. Free afternoon spent in the village centre and walk to the fort. Thurs 23rd - Hambantota, Sri Lanka Full day in Udawalawe National Park, home to around 400 elephants as well as water buffalo, sambar deer and the occasional leopard. En-route visit the Elephant Transit Home set up to rehabilitate orphaned elephants for release back into the wild. Fri 24th - Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Morning cruising up the east coast. Arrive Trincomalee, in the north east, one of the finest deep water harbours of the world. Afternoon tour of Trincomalee to visit Fort Frederick built in 1676 by the Dutch, walk to Swami Rock and see the Koneswarum Kovil, one of the five most holy Shaivate temples in the country. Visit Velgam Vehera Temple Sat, 25th - At sea, arrive in the evening to Chennai. Sun 26th - Chennai, India Disembark and drive to Mahabalipuram, a temple complex on the shores of the Coromandel Coast. After a local lunch transfer to the Taj Coromadel hotel for an overnight stay. The rest of the afternoon and evening at leisure. Mon 27th - Chennai to London. Etihad flight from Chennai to London EY0239 09.25 > 12.20 / EY0017 13.50 > 18.45 (1hr 25min stopover)