Plan your trip
Socotra itineraries,
by trip length.
Two flights a week decide how long a trip can be. Yemenia flies Jeddah to Socotra on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so your trip lasts exactly as long as the gap between the day you fly in and the day you fly out. Six, eight and ten days all fit the schedule. Seven and nine do not.
What the flight days allow
| Fly in | Fly out | Days | Nights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Tuesday | 6 | 5 |
| Tuesday | Tuesday | 8 | 7 |
| Thursday | Thursday | 8 | 7 |
| Tuesday | Thursday the next week | 10 | 9 |
The table shows the four pairings these pages cover. The schedule allows others: in on a Tuesday and out on the Thursday of the same week is three days and two nights, and the next step up from ten is thirteen days, flying in on a Thursday and out on the Tuesday after next.
Not every operator describes the schedule the same way. Three of the operator pages we read still describe a single weekly flight, and fixed departures are built around eight days, which is why eight days is the length you will find on departures pages. The second flight day is what makes a six or a ten day trip possible at all, and for those you will be asking for a quote rather than booking off a departures page.
6 DAYS · 5 NIGHTS
Socotra in 6 days
Fly in on a Thursday, out on the following Tuesday, and you have five nights on the island. That is enough for the dragon blood plateau and the western lagoon country if you give up the south coast and the long cave walks.
- Flights
- In on Thursday, out on the Tuesday after
- Suits
- A first visit on limited leave, or a second trip with a short list
8 DAYS · 7 NIGHTS
Socotra in 8 days
Eight days and seven nights is the length operators build their fixed departures around, and it fits both flight pairings: Tuesday to Tuesday or Thursday to Thursday. It is the shortest length that reaches the plateau, the south coast, the eastern dunes and the western lagoon without hurrying any of them.
- Flights
- Tuesday to Tuesday, or Thursday to Thursday
- Suits
- A first visit that wants the whole island rather than one corner
8 DAYS · 7 NIGHTS
Socotra in 8 days for photographers
Same length and same flights as the standard loop, with the overnight stops chosen so that you wake up where the light is instead of driving towards it. It buys two dawns in the dragon blood forest and a calm-air drone morning on the dunes, and it pays for them by dropping both caves and the reef.
- Flights
- Tuesday to Tuesday, or Thursday to Thursday
- Suits
- Anyone whose trip is judged by the pictures rather than the place count
10 DAYS · 9 NIGHTS
Socotra in 10 days
Flying in on a Tuesday and out on the Thursday of the following week gives nine nights, the longest trip the twice-weekly schedule offers short of staying a fortnight. The two extra days over the standard loop are what let the Hagher mountains and the birding wadis into the route at all.
- Flights
- In on Tuesday, out on the Thursday of the next week
- Suits
- Walkers, birdwatchers and anyone returning for what they missed
Your operator sets the real route. Wind, sea state and the season reorder it, and the order below is a worked example rather than a product you can book.
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