6-Day Socotra Island Adventure with Dragon Blood Trees and Detwah

Take your included flight from Jeddah to Socotra, where our team will welcome you at Socotra Airport.

Meet the local team at the airport before heading to Hadibo, the island's main town. Settle in at Summerland Hotel and take some time to discover the local surroundings, from small shops and streets to the first views of Socotra's rugged mountains.

This first evening is a gentle introduction to the island before heading into its more remote landscapes.

Overnight: Summerland Hotel

Leave Hadibo and head into the mountains towards Homhil Protected Area, one of Socotra's most distinctive landscapes. The area is known for its concentration of endemic plants, including the bizarre Bottle Trees, with their swollen trunks, and the iconic Dragon Blood Trees, named for the deep red resin traditionally extracted from them.

Follow walking trails through the rocky plateau to reach Homhil's natural pools, surrounded by cliffs and unusual vegetation. From the viewpoints above the valley, the landscape opens towards the Arabian Sea, with the mountains dropping dramatically towards the coast.

Continue east through remote mountain roads and traditional villages, where the landscape gradually changes from highland terrain to dry coastal scenery.

Overnight: Camping

Travel into the heart of Socotra to the Diksam Plateau, a vast limestone landscape overlooking the dramatic Diksam Gorge. The plateau is one of the best places on the island to see Socotra's famous Dragon Blood Trees growing in their natural environment.

Explore Firmihin Forest, one of the largest remaining concentrations of these ancient-looking trees. Their distinctive umbrella-shaped crowns scattered across the pale limestone create one of Socotra's most recognisable landscapes.

Walk along the plateau and viewpoints overlooking the gorge, where enormous limestone cliffs and deep valleys reveal the geological character of the island.

Overnight: Camping

Descend towards Socotra's southern coast, where the mountainous interior gives way to a completely different landscape of open beaches, white sand dunes, and turquoise water.

Travel along remote stretches of coastline and stop at secluded beaches away from the main settlements. Depending on conditions, there is time to swim in the clear waters, walk along the shore, or climb the surrounding dunes for views over the Arabian Sea.

The southern coast offers a striking contrast to the mountains of the previous days: vast, open landscapes where sand, sea, and rock stretch almost uninterrupted into the distance.

Overnight: Camping

Head west to Qalansiyah, one of Socotra's main coastal towns and a traditional fishing community. Walk around the town and coastline to see the colourful fishing boats and get a glimpse of everyday life on the island. We take a boat to Shu'ab Beach, where pristine, crystal-clear waters meet a long stretch of golden sand. Along the way, there is a chance to spot spinner dolphins in the open sea, but sightings are never guaranteed. Mother Nature makes that choice for us.

From Qalansiyah, continue towards Detwah Lagoon, a spectacular protected coastal area surrounded by towering limestone cliffs. The lagoon combines shallow turquoise water, bright white sand, and dramatic rock formations, creating one of Socotra's most striking coastal landscapes.

Take time to walk around the lagoon, explore the surrounding coastline, and, when conditions allow, swim in its clear waters. End the day watching the sun disappear behind the cliffs and sea.

Overnight: Summerland Hotel

Wake up for a final breakfast at camp and enjoy the last views of Socotra's coastline. Transfer to Socotra Airport for your return flight to Jeddah.

End of the journey.