The Forgotten Island

This was a really unique experience, exotic, beautiful and a lot of friendliness Its hard to chose the best travel company when you only can rely on the internet.
But we got a good feeling for this company already from the start, since we always got very swift replies from Ellemieke for all our questions.

Then parapolitical incidents happened which the company couldnt be responsible for, but still they managed to get us to the island through an alternate route.

Once on Socotra we met our wonderful guides Abdullah and Riayd which made our trip magical, guiding us through the islands diverse and beautiful landscape while providing different tasteful dishes and good shelter.

We didnt regret a thing it was all worth the effort to get to this unique island, experience the friendly and welcoming culture. I also got the opportunity to rent a simple DJI drone from the company, which made it possible to catch some of the beuaty of the island. Enjoy!

I also have a video on u tube "A taste of Socotra" by Ragnar Asker

Travelling Socotra Socotra - an island off the regular tourist beaten track, so when we were planning, it was important for us to find a tour company that would look after us and help us with the experience we were looking for as a mature couple (late 60’s) well travelled, generally fit , we know our way around adventure travel - from the initial online contact to the final airport goodbyes our experience was first class - the island = Amazing = Nizar and island team = first class. To all the team your organisation made for an amazing life time experience Thank You

Socotra 2026 Everything is being taken care of, from the visa to the return flight, just make sure to be in the starting country (Jeddah in Saudi in my case).
The team transports you all around the island, with the camp already being set up when you arrive in the camping area.
Delicious food is being served everyday, including fresh crabs and lobsters.
You might come across the other groups in areas like Firmihin forest if you want to meet them, but each group has its own route.
The team is also very entertaining and funny (and crazy).
Go during the winter if you're not a big fan of tanning, and beware of the goats!

A perfect week We had a wonderful week and can't think of anything to complain about. We were upgraded to a luxury tent, which had a bed and was very spacious. Our driver was very experienced and drove very carefully on the bumpy mountain roads. The guide, chef, and other staff were also wonderful; we truly felt they wanted us to experience everything that was wonderful on Socotra Island. If I were to come back again, I would undoubtedly choose traveling through Socotra again.

Reputable, Professional Company with Basic, Luxury and Private Options So you've decided you want to visit Socotra, good for you! And now you've found you must use a registered tour company and are wondering how do I know if they are legit, and if they are, are they any good.

The quick answer is Traveling Socotra is 100% legitimate and excellent!
They also offer a "luxury" option which if you want a bit more comfort and privacy is wonderful (I chose this route).

The longer answer is, I was thrilled with Traveling Socotra. From my initial contact, through geopolitical events that moved the flight from Abu Dhabi to Jeddah, and further world events that made me contemplate changing my travel dates (I did not), they were there every step of the way.

From booking the flight to Socotra, to getting my visa they handled the up front logistics beautifully. When the flight, airline, and departure country changed they rebooked me and are working on my behalf to try and get a refund from the initial airline.

For the actual island visit they talked through options like staying at a hotel in the main city of Hadibu vs camping vs luxury camping. I opted for "Luxury" camping as they shared that camping is the best way to see and experience the Island and I am convinced they are right. Given I'm not much for camping I decided to go for Luxury and private to make it as comfortable as possible.

"Luxury" vs standard camping .. As shared I'm not much for camping, but if you are OK with the basic single person tent in a shared campground where the tents are fairly close together then standard camping is probably OK for you. Not so much for me however.

You can see on their website that the luxury tent is substantially larger and has a queen sized air mattress. This coupled with the private campground really made a big difference for me as being a bit more isolated really added to the overall experience. If you want to spend time with fellow travelers then you'd want a group tour with the shared campground. All depends what you like and what is great is they have options.

The entire support team on the Island was great. Nizar my guide, Salim my driver, Aboudi my cook and Ali all took wonderful care of me. They were fun, engaging and clearly loved their Island.

A very positive thing Traveling Socotra does is picking up plastic off of the beach as unfortunately there is a bit of a problem in some areas. It was nice to be able to help out and do a small part to cleanup a beach.

Was everything flawless? No of course not, you are visiting a remote Island that is part of developing nation that has some pretty big struggles to contend with.

There was a short delay meeting up with my guide at the airport, I asked another guide (from a different company) if he knew Traveling Socotra, he did (I think these guides all pretty much know each other) he was super friendly and took me to the traveling Socotra guide (who as there for a different guest) but he assured me my guide would be there shortly and he was.

The SUV (an older Toyota Land Cruiser) was comfortable and the AC worked great. It did breakdown one day at the camp (fuel pump), they had a second vehicle (the cook's) which we used for the day and by the time we got back the SUV was fixed.

The gyrocopter captain left the island so that is no longer offered and my camel ride didn't happen as the camel person wasn't there when we arrived.

Nothing insurmountable and in many ways it added to the overall experience and reminded you just how fortunate you are to be there experiencing a place so few do.

Highly recommend Traveling Socotra!

Adventure and Nature The "Adventure & Nature" An Out-of-This-World Experience – Pure Magic!
I returned from 10 days in Socotra and am still in awe. The landscapes are truly alien; seeing the Dragon’s Blood Trees at sunset in the Firmihin Forest was a life-changing moment. We spent our days hiking through dramatic wadis, swimming in the crystal-clear waters of Detwah Lagoon, and climbing the massive white sand dunes at Arher.
Highlights: Incredible biodiversity (37% of plants are endemic!) and the sheer feeling of being "off-the-grid".
If you love raw nature and don't mind a bit of dust, this is a must-do.
Seamless Logistics and Incredible Hospitality by Planning a trip to Socotra can be daunting, but TravelingSocotra handled everything—from the Yemeni visa to the flight from Abu Dhabi.
Team from.Ellemieke who helps with all concerns during process of reservation .
Special shoutout to our cook and driver who prepared fresh fish and local dishes daily at our campsites. Even without permanent hotels, the "deluxe" tent setup with mattresses made our wild camping experience surprisingly comfortable
The trip to Socotra was one of the best holiday ever for both of us
Klaus and Ian

Stunning Adventure to Socotra I’ve just returned from an unforgettable one-week drone photography workshop in Socotra, and it was an extraordinary experience. From start to finish, it felt more like a once-in-a-lifetime expedition than a conventional workshop.
There were six participants in total, and I was the only one who hadn’t previously attended a drone workshop with Johan. Despite this, I was warmly welcomed into the group. The week was spent moving between four stunning luxury campsites: two days at each of three incredible locations, and one magical night camping in the heart of the Dragon Blood Tree forest. Each camp was beautifully run and set in breathtaking surroundings.
The local crew were outstanding—fantastic cooks, endlessly cheerful camp teams, and highly skilled 4x4 drivers who made every journey both safe and fun. Their warmth and humour added hugely to the experience.
Johan made the trip a real adventure. Beyond flying drones, we hiked dramatic landscapes, swam in hidden canyons, took a boat trip to a pristine beache with crystal-clear azure water, saw dolphins in the wild, climbed sand dunes for sunrise, and snorkelled in a protected marine reserve among giant fish.
The inspiration, access, and sheer scale of the experience made us appreciate that Socotra is unlike anywhere else on Earth, and this trip was simply phenomenal.

Traveling Socotra was the right choice! First of all, Socotra is a beautiful island and definitely worth a visit. Don't expect to have it all for yourself though, there are plenty of tourists these days. If you decide to go, I highly recommend booking with Traveling Socotra. Our crew was simply amazing, so friendly and funny, they did everything to make this trip perfect. The food was excellent, lots of fresh fish, three great meals a day plus snack (fritters with local honey, our favourite).

We were a small group (3) which I was very happy about, seeing some of the other large groups queueing to take pictures at view points. Two things really stood out for me: First, the camp sites. Our first site (Detwah) was part of a large camp site, but we were at the very end, quite far from the others, so it still felt very private. The other two sites were just exclusive for us. We did visit a large site in the forest (on our way to/from seeing the sunrise) where most groups were staying, all very close to each other, and I felt very lucky that we weren't staying there. Second, the itinerary / timing of our trip. Even though all groups seem to follow pretty much the same itinerary, our tour leader worked it out in such a way that we still had many places for ourselves. For example the natural pool in the white canyon, we got there as everyone else was leaving and we were the only ones there. Or the Hoq cave, we got there before (most) other groups.

Fabulous adventure in Socotra ! A fabulous experience. I had the opportunity to travel with Travelling Socotra in Nov 2025 and it was amazing. From the reception to the last farewells, they provided us with everything they could to make our experience as smooth as possible. The luxury camp was very comfortable. The food was top notch and the chef would even try to accommodate my preference for spicy food ! The whole team worked hard to look after us and did a great job. Special shoutout to Ahmed our guide and to the drivers who were such fun. I’d recommend Travelling Socotra to whoever wants to visit Socotra for an adventure in the future ️