The best time to visit Socotra is from February to April when its bottle trees are in bloom. Coincidentally, it is also the peak season for tourists. Who would have thought? AirArabia has 1 or 2 weekly flights to the island from Abu Dhabi and they are fully booked well in advance. In order to go to Socotra this February, I had to buy tickets in July 2024. The price for the 2-hour flight was outrageous – 930 USD for a return ticket and it gets more expensive with every year. So, I decided not to wait any longer and go.
I arrived in Abu Dhabi at 9 p.m. My flight to Socotra was on the following morning at 9 a.m. I made a reservation for 1 night at AUHotel located right in the transit zone of Abu Dhabi airport thinking how wonderful it would be to spend the night between flights in a comfortable bed without leaving the airport.
The mandatory requirement for staying at AUHotel is to have an onward boarding pass. I knew I would not have a boarding pass until I was at the departure gate next morning but dismissed this as a minor issue that surely would be resolved somehow.
I showed the receptionist of AUHotel my ticket to Socotra. He was polite but firm, “Ma’am, I cannot not check you in without a boarding pass. Please go to the transfer desk and get it.”
At the transfer desk, they confirmed what I already knew – no boarding pass until the flight. I returned to the hotel hoping against hope for a miracle. While I was wondering around in the airport searching for the transfer desk, the hotel manager showed up at the reception. He listened to my story and smiled, “Sure, you can stay at our hotel. We do not want you to sleep on the airport floor.” I breathed a sigh of relief.
AUHotel was excellent. A modern room with everything the traveler needs. Breakfast was served in my room at 5.30 am, so I had sufficient time to eat it and go to the departure gate where I met with my fellow travelers to Socotra.
Self-driving around the island is not possible, only group tours are allowed. A local tour operator makes all arrangements for the trip and Yemeni visas that are valid for visiting Socotra only. Our group is 14 people, all eager for adventure. We will be traveling by car and sleeping in tents. Everyone got a package with newly purchased bedlinen that we will be carrying with us. Our support team will cook our meals at campsites and take care of the tents.
Day 1: Camping in Dihamri Marine Reserve
We quickly cleared through immigration and loaded our luggage on Toyota SUVs. Our first stop after the airport was at Shabwa restaurant for lunch. The group watched with interest how the locals ate sitting on the floor. They grabbed rice with their fingers from shared plates and stuffed it in their months. We were seated at tables. The locals glanced at us with the same interest as we at them. Why did we need tables to eat?
The first food to appear was flatbread. Its large round forms were thrown from a distance and landed with a smacking sound in different places of our tables. Someone from the group gasped, “How hygienic is this?” Then the rest of our meals arrived – salads, French fries, fish baked in foil, and dips. Hunger made us stop questioning the sanitary conditions. We tore flatbread into pieces and ate with zest.
We stayed up long after the dinner was over talking and getting to know each other. Then finally, one by one, the group disappeared in their tents. The washing facilities at the campsite were too primitive and in need of a good cleaning. It was safer to brush the teeth with bottled water.
I climbed inside my tent expecting to fall asleep right away but the pieces of corals under the mattress immediately made themselves felt. I tried to level the ground under my back but to no avail. I gave up, found a spot more even than others and dozed off.
