Upon arrival at the Osvaldo Vieira International Airport, you are welcome by our representative who will lend you airport assistance if need be, usher you to your private car for the 30 min transfer to the Dunia Hotel transfer. A member of Azalai Hotel Group, the Dunia Hotel is ideally centrally located – about 10 km away from the airport. Depending on the traffic level which in turn depends on your time of arrival, the ride to hotel last in between half an hour to one hour. After a quick hotel check-in, we have a briefing so as to fine-tune the program of the trip. Dinner and night.

Early departure this day for the East-central part of the country. We leave the hotel in the morning and embark on a3hr drive to the picturesque city of Bafata. The road, as many of the country’s degraded roads, leads on to Gabu and ultimately to the boarder with Senegal. Bafata is famous for being the birthplace of Amilcar Lopes Cabral, the Bissau-Guinean and Cape Verdean pan-Africanist who was one of Africa’s foremost anti-colonial leaders. The region is home to the Fulani (cattle herders) and the Mandigas tribes. Located on the Geba River, Bafata most appealing attractions include the colourful market, the Catholic church, plenty of colonial buildings that serve public services as well as few monuments including Cabral bust. In the afternoon, we drive to Tabato, the famous Manging village located just 14km from Bafata. Here we are entertained by griots and are honoured with a series of spectacular dances of the Manding people. We later on drive back to Bafata for dinner and night.

Today we embark on the conquest of the northwest of the country as we drive early in the morning for the Bassarel Kingdom. Our stop of the day is at the small city of Cacheu that is located about 100 km from Bissau. With a population of less than 200’000 inhabitants, the historic city of Cacheu is a journey back through time and emotion as the place was the hotspot of slave trade. Cacheu has a lot to offer including the fortress built in 1588 at the request of Manuel Lopes Cardoso, the Shrine of Our Lady Of The Nativity the saint patron of Cacheu, the slavery memorial, the Cacheu River Mangrove National Park for birdwatchers… and much more.

In Cachungo that lies about half way between Bissau and Cacheu, we visit some relics of the Portuguese colonial architecture, the handicraft centre, the church, the water tank and others.

Today we drive to the Quinhamel, an authentic village located just 37km from the city of Bissau. The road, one of the country’s few maintained roads leads on to the capital and offers a panoramic view and spectacular landscape of the area’s flora. The area is dominated by thick vegetation of mangrove, Balonahs (swamp) and Cashew trees among others. The 43’000 people calling the area home are scattered into clusters of rustic villages flanked along the bank of the road and are made up of various ethnic groups including the Balanta, the Mancanha, the Manjaco, the Fula, the Mandinga, the Bijagó and Beafadas. You will encounter the legendary friendly people across the streets, the crowd colourful and vibrant market as well as in some places of ordinary gathering. Our best encounter of the day is with the Pepel animist people, an ancestral tribe that still hold strong belief of their ancestral way of living through rituals and traditional ceremonies in the shrines and sanctuaries across the area. A visit to the mystical world of Pepel also enable us to witness some of their old-time artwork along the way. At the end of the day as we drive to our hotel, we drive past the Mansoa River where, if lucky, we may spot fishermen on their boats, women fishing oysters, or kids simply playing and swimming on the river.

Early in the morning, we drive to the pier and embark on a breath-taking voyage to Orango Island that we expect to attain in the early afternoon after approximately 4 – 5 hours boat ride over a total distance of 60 km. Being the largest Island of the archipelago, Orango boasts long stretch of pristine white sandy beaches with crystal waters which is ideal for beach walk and relaxation; while it is a paradise for birdwatchers, the adjacent mangrove forest is a safe niche for salt water hippopotamus and other marine wildlife including crocodile, dolphin and water birds.  A cultural encounter with the Tabanca or the Etigoga royal family brings us through an ancestral tradition of a semi-matriarchal family, one of the rarest exceptions in Africa where women are in command. Although each Island’s Tabanca has its own queen, Queen Okinka of the Inorei Tabanca remains the most emblematic in the region. We may have an audience with her after what, we sail back to our lodge where we have series of possible other recreational activities including Kayaking, beach walk or relaxation in the lodge.

In the morning after breakfast, we leave the hotel and go for a boat ride to the Orango National Park, a preferred habitat for flocks of hippos. The Park is extremely rich with wildlife such as crocodile, turtle, antelope, monkey, dolphin and manatee and much more. With its 2’500 inhabitants, the Island is the most remote island to the continent, yet the largest in terms of landmass. Here the society is semi matriarchal with the over powerful queen Kanyimpa to whom every king is a descendant. Her rule is without equivoque, her decisions are unquestionable and irrevocable. The matrilineal system here gives women extremely huge power and privileges including the exclusive ownership of lands, houses, farms, the right to choose their partner, initiate divorce and the unquestionable right of children custody.  In the afternoon, we sail to Rubane Island where we spend a couple of nights. This afternoon, we visit a rice farm before dinner and night: In this sacred Island, it is forbidden to build permanent constructions, shed blood or bury the dead. Part of the year Rubane hosts the inhabitants of the New Tabanca of Bijagó or Bijante of Bubaque, who live in camps while cultivating rice or produce palm oil; there is also a small camp of Senegalese fishermen, all of which is surrounded by a greenery that appeal for a visit.

In the morning we go to the world-renown Island of Bubaque, one of the most visited of the archipelago. With its array of amenities like hotels, bars and restaurants Bubaque has an appealing vibe and is visited by many Europeans during the Easter weekend as it hosts a three-day festival where local and modern music are on display. The harbour and the adjacent market are the liveliest place of the city, but like any other post-colonial city in Africa, the place is marked by chaotic shantytowns, poorly maintained roads and some Portuguese colonial relics.  The Bubaque museum “Padre Biasutti” hosts dozens of statues, masks and objects of daily use by the Bijagós, collected over the years by Luigi Scantamburlo, an Italian missionary who resides there since 1975. The Bijagó art alongside the Nalú craft is the most important and best known of Guinea-Bissau.

Interesting is to visit an old palm oil factory before leaving for our lodge this day. The hotel has a swimming pool and a bar that serves cool local beer.

We leave Rubane this day for Bissau via Baloma. As the closest of the 88 islands that form the Bissagos Islands, Baloma boasts a port and a town that link the mainland to the Bijagos Islands.  Famous for its mangrove and cashew trees, the colonial British Island of Baloma served as the capital of Portuguese Guinea until 1941, when it was replaced by Bissau. With a population of approximately 7’000 souls, Baloma is a Unesco World Heritage full of history portrayed by numerous colonial relics in the form of architecture, forts, landmarks, and other infrastructures. After visiting Baloma, we proceed to Bissau where we embark on a comprehensive city tour of Bissau, the largest city of the country. Located on the estuary of the Geba River in the west, Bissau is a city surrounded by bolanhas (swamps) with the highest point standing at 39 meters above sea level. Bissau is a small city that reflects its Portugal colonial past through ancient architecture and the small National Museum. Highlights in the city includes the small cathedral built in 1945, the central market with its colourful and vibrant ambiance, the beautiful mosque that is in full swing on Fridays, the handicraft centre where you can witness artists on duty. The tour wouldn’t be complete without a glance at the bright presidential palace and the Sao Jose da Amura fort, the National Heroes Memorial, the Amilcar Cabral Mausoleum, the Fortress Canon …. Much of which can see on our way back to the hotel for dinner. Depending on your onward time, we drive to the airport a couple of hours earlier in readiness for the exit formalities back home. Tour ends.