The season
Tours run from the end of September to early May. Within that, November to March are the best months.
If you have a free choice of dates, take one of those. If you do not, the shoulders at either end still work — tell us what you have and we will say honestly whether it is worth it.
Why the island closes
The island closes to us in June, July and August, and sometimes for part of May. The monsoon wind makes the sea impossible and the camps unworkable.
We would rather turn a booking away than take you in conditions that spoil it. Flights are also restricted during this season, so it is not only a question of comfort.
Getting there in season
The connecting flight is from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There are two flights each week, on Tuesday and Thursday, which is the constraint that usually shapes the dates.
Tickets for this route cannot be booked online — the booking has to be made by a licensed operator on the island. We can assist you through the whole process on request.
What we do not publish, and why
You will not find a month-by-month table of temperatures, rainfall or sea conditions on this page. We do not hold figures we would stand behind, and a table assembled from somewhere else would look like knowledge without being any.
What we can tell you is when we run tours and when we do not, which is the part that actually decides your dates.