When we go on holiday, we usually remain on the coast. We’ll go to capital cities or the main beaches. And sure, it’s nice to be able to say we went to Paris or New York City or Egypt. But not many of us seem to consider leaving the coast and hanging out on an island! Even rarer still are those of us who are willing to visit a whole cluster of them. Otherwise known, of course, as an archipelago!
When people do visit archipelagos, most of them seem to do so accidentally. For example, people will go to Stockholm because it’s the capital of Sweden. They usually don’t even know it’s an archipelago until they get there, and even then the islands are so big that it’s hard to tell!
But why is an archipelago holiday so good? Well, its uniqueness makes sure it has a lot going for it. There’s something strange and special about “island hopping”, as travelling around archipelagos is known.
So what are some of the most amazing archipelagos out there?
Zanzibar
Many people have heard about this place from that slightly risqué Tenacious D song. The lyric refers to having a beautiful dish imported from Zanzibar. And if you’d looked into the food industry of Zanzibar, you wouldn’t be surprised.
The Zanzibar Archipelago is also known as the Spice Islands, due to their successful spice exports and famous cooking. But amazing food isn’t all you can find on these islands. You can pet cheetahs at Cheetah’s Rock and hang out on the most beautiful beaches in Africa. There’s also one of the most famous coffee places in Africa: Jaw’s Corner. The black Zanzibar coffee (they don’t offer it any other way) is legendary across the entire continent. Find out more at ZanzibarResorts.com.
Maldives
Maldives is an archipelago that is its own country, way out in the Indian Ocean. There are about 300,000 inhabitants spread out across 185 of the 1,190 islands (!) that make up the Maldives. This place was basically unknown to tourists until the late seventies. This means that holiday-goers were missing out on this amazing place for centuries!
Far from the coast of any other country, the water surrounding the Maldives is beautiful and clean. That makes it the ideal location for one of its biggest tourist draws: scuba diving! And because there are so many islands, many of them very small, travellers can rent entire islands to themselves. It’s the ultimate in secluded luxury! Find out more at VisitMaldives.com.
Svalbard
Had enough of all that sun? Want something really unique, maybe even extreme? If you’re not afraid of an arctic expedition, then you may want to check out Svalbard. It’s a Norwegian territory found in the Arctic Ocean.
This is an archipelago of which 60% is covered in glaciers. The majority of these islands are national parks that are mostly untouched by humans. Arctic foxes, reindeer and polar bears roam the land freely. They’re mostly undisturbed by Svalbard’s 2600 inhabitants. It may not sound very tourist-friendly, but hundreds of people visit this place from all over the world every year. If you want less sun and more adventure in your holiday, this could be the place for you. Find out more at https://Svalbard.NordicVisitor.com/.
*This is a sponsored post.
WOW. there are some great Island holidays around. Thanks for the heads up, I’ll start checking these out right now.
Cheers Sharon…
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