Full Day Excursion to Aride Island, with Guide, Lunch and Coach/Boat Transfers

This tour also starts with a transfer to Baie Ste Anne jetty for the 9-km crossing at 09h00 to the Special Reserve of Aride island, home of over a million pairs of seabirds. Visitors are welcomed to the island by the Reserve Warden, who will guide them to the summit of this crescent-shaped island, which is only 134 metres above sea-level, for a better view of the soaring birds.

Aride Island has 11 species of sea-birds and boasts the world's largest colonies of both the Lesser Noddy (Anous stolidus) and Roseate Tern (Sterna dougalli).Aride Island is a success story since its purchase by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation (UK) in 1973.

Visitors interested in the environment, and bird-watchers in particular, will not want to miss this opportunity to view the abundant flora and fauna, although it should be noted that trips to Aride Island are very much dependent on the weather and tide patterns - the best months for planning a visit are October to May. A delectable Creole BBQ lunch on the beach is included in our price. It is the only place in granitic Seychelles where the red-tailed Tropic Bird (Phaeton rubricauda) is still breeding. Among the other seabirds to be seen are the Fairy Tern (Gygis alba), Black Noddy (Anous tenuirostris), Bridled Tern (Sterna anaethetus), Sooty Tern (S. Ffuscata), white-tailed Tropic Bird (Phaeton lepturus), wedge-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus pacificus), Audubon Shearwater (P. iherminieri), Lesser Frigate Bird (Fregata ariel) and Greater Frigate Bird (F. minor). Its marsh and plateau are the best sites for observing the endemic moorhen (Gallinula chloropus seychellarum). A small number of hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) nest on the beach.At least two species of skink occur on the island, in numbers large enough to threaten the sea birds' eggs and young chicks.