Visiting

Birding tours

We know of no organised birding tours.

Guides

The Mohéli Marine Park has its own ecoguides. In Moroni there are guides that are helpful for climbing Mount Karthala.

Trip report

In Search of the Badanga (Comoro Scops Owl) - by Alan Lewis, from Bulletin of the African Bird Club, volume 3(2), September 1996. "In November 1995, I was lucky enough to visit the Comoros - a little visited group of islands lying in the Indian Ocean midway between the African mainland and Madagascar. The archipelago supports about 20 currently accepted endemics, but with a total avian endemic taxa list of about 54." 

Logistics

Independent birders can fly into Moroni from Nairobi and Seychelles and into Pamandzi, Mayotte from Réunion. There are now flights from Réunion to Grand Comoro with Air Bourbon. There are also flights from Europe. The political situation means that Mayotte is difficult to use as a jumping-off point to the other islands. Hopping from island to island can be done by plane. All four islands are connected by a network of shipping routes, and catching boats and ferries is usually the cheapest method of getting from island to island.

October to December are the best months to visit - before the rains set in in earnest, but when bird activity is reasonably high. There are adequate hotels and the possibility of taxi hire on all the islands. Travel to the archipelago is quite expensive and tourist infrastructure in the UDC is limited.

Safety

See the following websites for the latest safety and travel information: www.comores-online.com and UK FCO.