Richseen Private Journeys · Indian Ocean

Tropical Islands by Private Jet

Maldives · Seychelles · Zanzibar · Indian Ocean Private Jet
10–14 Days · Indian Ocean
From USD 70,000+ per person
"Maldives to Seychelles by private jet — the overwater villa at dawn, the Praslin coco de mer forest, and the Mnemba Island atoll where the Indian Ocean's clarity is at its most absolute."
The Journey

The Indian Ocean,
Island to Island

The Indian Ocean contains the world's most celebrated island destinations — and the most disconnected commercial routing between them. The Maldives and the Seychelles are separated by 2,200 kilometres of open ocean, and the commercial connection between Malé and Mahé requires a minimum of one transit through Dubai, Doha, or Colombo whose combined travel time (check-in, transit, and seaplane transfer at the destination) makes a single journey between the two archipelagos an eight-to-twelve-hour undertaking whose fatigue significantly reduces the first day at the destination. The private jet from Velana International Airport to Seychelles International Airport completes the same journey in three hours and fifteen minutes, arriving before the afternoon light has gone and the resort check-in can be completed with the evening programme still intact.

The Tropical Islands by Private Jet journey is structured around the specific character of the Indian Ocean's three most celebrated island groups: the Maldives, whose atoll geography — 1,200 coral islands in 26 atolls scattered across 90,000 square kilometres of the central Indian Ocean — produces the overwater villa experience and the underwater visibility that has made the archipelago the reference destination for ocean luxury; the Seychelles, whose 115 granite and coralline islands between 4° and 10° south of the Equator produce the most biologically distinctive island landscape in the Indian Ocean, including the Vallée de Mai (the UNESCO World Heritage palm forest on Praslin where the coco de mer produces the largest seed in the plant kingdom); and Zanzibar, the Spice Island off the East African coast whose Stone Town, the clove and cardamom plantations, and the Mnemba Island atoll provide the most culturally layered conclusion to the Indian Ocean circuit.

This 10-to-14-day itinerary stays at Four Seasons Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru in the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (where the manta ray aggregation at Hanifaru Bay produces the most concentrated single marine wildlife event in the Indian Ocean from June to November); Cheval Blanc Seychelles on the Île Silhouette (LVMH's flagship Indian Ocean property); and andBeyond Mnemba Island off Zanzibar's northeastern coast (the private island whose 12-suite exclusivity and the Mnemba atoll's reef system constitute the most private single island address available in East Africa).

Signature Moments

Six Encounters
with the Indian Ocean

The Maldives overwater villa at dawn, the Seychelles coco de mer forest, and the Mnemba atoll where the Indian Ocean's underwater clarity is most complete.

01
Hanifaru Bay — The Manta Ray Aggregation of the Baa Atoll
Hanifaru Bay in the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve — the 6.9-hectare enclosed lagoon where the oceanic manta ray (Manta birostris) aggregates from June to November in feeding concentrations whose numbers exceed 200 individuals simultaneously — the most concentrated single marine mammal aggregation in the Indian Ocean accessible to snorkellers and divers. The current-driven plankton bloom in the bay whose specific geometry concentrates the zooplankton in the conditions that attract the manta rays; and the restricted access protocol (maximum 15 snorkellers at a time, no SCUBA permitted) that the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation maintains. From the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru: the resort's own marine biologists provide the daily forecast whose accuracy makes the Hanifaru visit most productive.
02
Vallée de Mai — The Seychelles Coco de Mer Forest at Dawn
The Vallée de Mai National Park on Praslin — the UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed 1983) whose palm forest contains the endemic coco de mer (Lodoicea maldivica), producing the largest seed in the plant kingdom at up to 25 kilograms. The forest at dawn before the park opens to general visitors: the specific quality of the Seychelles morning light filtering through the palm canopy, the black parrot (endemic to Praslin, one of the rarest parrots in the world) calling in the canopy above, and the primordial atmosphere of the forest whose specific combination of the double coconut, the palmiste palm, and the latannier rouge reproduces the landscape that existed here before the first human settlement. The private guide whose botanical knowledge makes the walk most legible as a biological argument.
03
Mnemba Island — The Private Atoll Whose Reef Is East Africa's Finest
andBeyond Mnemba Island off Zanzibar's northeastern coast — the private island whose 12 bandas (open-fronted beach cottages facing the Indian Ocean) and the Mnemba atoll's reef system produce the most private single island experience available in East Africa. The atoll whose coral reef system provides snorkelling and diving conditions that the Zanzibar Archipelago's proximity to the East African continental shelf uniquely supports: the spinner dolphin pods (accessible by dhow from the island); the hawksbill and green turtles nesting on the beach from February to April; and the reef whose coral coverage and fish density rival the Indian Ocean's better-known dive destinations in conditions of genuinely private access.
04
Zanzibar Stone Town — The Swahili Coast at Its Most Legible
Zanzibar's Stone Town — the UNESCO World Heritage urban settlement (inscribed 2000) whose Arab, Indian, and African architectural traditions produce the most culturally layered single coastal town on the East African seaboard. The carved wooden doors whose complexity and the merchant wealth they represent are the most immediate visual evidence of the Swahili Coast's trading history (Arab, Portuguese, Omani, and British influence visible in the door's specific combination of design elements); the Forodhani Gardens night market for the Zanzibari street food (the Zanzibar pizza, the urojo soup, the freshly grilled seafood from the Zanzibar Channel); and the spice tour whose cardamom, clove, vanilla, and black pepper plantations document the specific agricultural tradition that made Zanzibar the most commercially significant island in the western Indian Ocean for four centuries.
05
Cheval Blanc Seychelles — LVMH's Indian Ocean Flagship on Île Silhouette
Cheval Blanc Seychelles on the Île Silhouette — LVMH's flagship Indian Ocean property on the island whose 93% national park land coverage makes it the most ecologically pristine inhabited island in the Seychelles. The 30 villas and suites whose design integrates the volcanic granite boulders that define the island's topography into the architecture; the restaurant programme whose Seychellois culinary tradition (the fish and coconut curry, the ladob, the fresh line fish from the Silhouette fishing boats) is the most directly local of any luxury resort in the Indian Ocean; and the spa whose treatment programme using the endemic plants of the Silhouette mountain forest makes it most specifically a product of this island rather than a portable luxury concept. The LVMH standard applied to the remotest inhabited island in the inner Seychelles.
06
Private Jet — Maldives to Seychelles in 3 Hours 15 Minutes
The private jet from Velana International Airport (Maldives) to Seychelles International Airport (Mahé) — the 3-hour-15-minute direct flight that replaces the 8-to-12-hour commercial routing via Dubai, Doha, or Colombo. The aircraft that departs when the Maldives programme is complete rather than the day before; that arrives in Seychelles with the afternoon programme still available; and that continues from Mahé to Zanzibar's Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (2 hours 30 minutes direct) without the commercial connection through Nairobi or Dar es Salaam. The Indian Ocean circuit whose geographic beauty and resort quality are most complete when the travel between its components is least visible.
Key Highlights

What Makes This Journey

01 🏝️
Maldives — Overwater Villa, Hanifaru Manta Rays, Baa Atoll
Four nights in the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve — the overwater villa programme at Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru; the Hanifaru Bay manta ray aggregation (June to November, up to 200 individuals simultaneously, the most concentrated single marine wildlife event in the Indian Ocean); the house reef snorkelling whose specific coral and fish assemblage makes the Baa Atoll the most biologically productive single diving and snorkelling destination in the Maldives. The marine biologist programme that the resort maintains for the Hanifaru Bay guidance and the reef identification whose quality makes the underwater programme most legible.
02 🌴
Seychelles — Vallée de Mai, Coco de Mer, Granite Boulders
Four nights in the inner Seychelles — Cheval Blanc on the Île Silhouette for the most ecologically pristine inhabited island in the archipelago; the Vallée de Mai National Park on Praslin for the coco de mer palm forest whose UNESCO World Heritage status and the endemic black parrot make it the most biologically distinctive single park in the Indian Ocean; and the Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette beaches whose granite boulder landscape produces the most immediately recognisable Seychellois visual identity in conditions of genuine seclusion.
03 🐠
Mnemba Island — East Africa's Most Private Island Resort
Three nights at andBeyond Mnemba Island off Zanzibar — the 12-banda private island whose exclusivity and the Mnemba atoll's reef system produce the most private single island address in East Africa. The spinner dolphin pods by dhow; the hawksbill and green turtle nesting beach; the Zanzibar Stone Town UNESCO World Heritage visit; and the Forodhani Gardens night market whose Swahili Coast food culture makes the East African extension most culturally complete. The Indian Ocean circuit's most remote final chapter.
Sample Itinerary

Key Segments & Movements

The Indian Ocean season runs November to April when the northeast monsoon provides the calmest conditions across the Maldives, Seychelles, and Zanzibar simultaneously. The Hanifaru Bay manta aggregation peaks June to November (southwest monsoon) — Richseen adjusts the Maldives segment timing based on the client's marine programme priority. Private jet routing: departure city → Velana (Maldives) → Mahé (Seychelles) → Zanzibar → departure city.

Every Richseen Indian Ocean journey is individually crafted. Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru, Cheval Blanc Seychelles, and andBeyond Mnemba Island all require advance booking of six months or more in peak season. The private jet routing is confirmed at the time of booking; Hanifaru Bay access requires the Maldives Marine Research Institute permit confirmed in advance.

Days 1–4
Maldives — Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru · Hanifaru · House Reef
Private jet to Velana International Airport (Malé); seaplane transfer to Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru in the Baa Atoll (25 minutes). The overwater villa arrival: the Indian Ocean visible in every direction from the deck, the house reef immediately accessible from the villa's private ladder into the water, and the specific quality of the Maldivian light whose combination of the white sand bottom and the shallow atoll water produces the turquoise colour whose intensity no other ocean region replicates. Days 2–3: the Hanifaru Bay manta programme — the early morning departure (the aggregation is most concentrated before the trade wind disturbs the surface) by the resort's marine biologist team in conditions confirmed the previous evening. Day 4: the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve snorkelling — the certified dive master's tour of the house reef whose coral garden and reef fish assemblage provides the most comprehensive single-site underwater experience in the Maldives.
Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru, Maldives
Days 5–8
Seychelles — Cheval Blanc · Vallée de Mai · Praslin · Silhouette
Private jet from Velana to Seychelles International Airport, Mahé (3 hours 15 minutes). Helicopter transfer from Mahé to the Île Silhouette (20 minutes) for Cheval Blanc Seychelles. Day 5: arrival and orientation — the island's 93% national park coverage, the private beach below the resort, and the evening programme at the restaurant whose Seychellois menu represents the most directly local luxury resort cuisine in the Indian Ocean. Day 6: the Vallée de Mai on Praslin by boat and transfer (45 minutes from Silhouette) — the coco de mer forest at dawn with a private guide, the black parrot observation, and the walk through the UNESCO World Heritage palm environment. Day 7: Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette beaches — the granite boulder and white sand composition that defines the Seychelles visual identity. Day 8: the Silhouette mountain trekking programme and the spa.
Cheval Blanc Seychelles, Île Silhouette
Days 9–11
Zanzibar — Mnemba Island · Stone Town · Spice Tour · Dhow
Private jet from Mahé to Zanzibar Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (2 hours 30 minutes). Speedboat transfer to andBeyond Mnemba Island (30 minutes around the northern coast). The 12-banda island arrival: the complete absence of motorised traffic, the beach directly outside the banda entrance, and the Mnemba atoll reef whose snorkelling conditions are immediately accessible. Day 9: the reef programme — the snorkelling and free-dive circuit around the atoll's eastern edge where the coral coverage is most intact. Day 10: the dhow excursion for the spinner dolphin encounter (the pods that feed in the Mnemba Channel in the morning); the Zanzibar Stone Town visit by private boat — the carved wooden doors, the Old Fort, the Forodhani Gardens at dusk. Day 11: the spice plantation tour and the final afternoon on Mnemba's private beach.
andBeyond Mnemba Island, Zanzibar
Days 12–14
Optional Extension — Zanzibar Beach or East Africa Safari Transition
Optional extension days — the Zanzibar north coast beaches (Nungwi and Kendwa) for the final days whose white sand and the specific turquoise water of the Zanzibar Channel in the northeast monsoon season provide the most complete beach finale available on the East African coast; or the transition to the East African safari circuit by private jet from Zanzibar to the Serengeti or Masai Mara (1 hour to Kilimanjaro International Airport; onward to the bush airstrip) for guests whose Indian Ocean journey concludes with the African wildlife programme. The private jet departure from Zanzibar to the homeward city connection — Dubai, Nairobi, Doha, or London — confirmed at the time of booking.
Zanzibar / East Africa Departure
Luxury Stays

Where You Rest Matters

Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Maldives
Maldives — 4 Nights
Four Seasons Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru
Landaa Giraavaru Island, Baa Atoll, Maldives
Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru in the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve — the resort whose position within the most biologically productive atoll in the Maldives provides direct access to the Hanifaru Bay manta ray aggregation that makes the Baa Atoll the most significant single marine conservation area in the Indian Ocean. The overwater villas whose glass-floor panels provide the direct ocean view; the Marine Discovery Centre whose resident marine biologists conduct the Hanifaru Bay programme and the reef identification sessions; and the spa whose treatment rooms over the water produce the most specifically Maldivian wellness experience available. The Four Seasons brand's operational consistency applied to the most ecologically significant single atoll in the archipelago.
Île Silhouette, Inner Islands, Seychelles
Seychelles — 4 Nights
Cheval Blanc Seychelles
Île Silhouette, Inner Islands, Seychelles
Cheval Blanc Seychelles on the Île Silhouette — LVMH's flagship Indian Ocean property on the island whose 93% national park land coverage makes it the most ecologically pristine inhabited island in the Seychelles. The 30 villas and suites whose volcanic granite boulder integration produces the most architecturally distinctive single resort in the inner islands; the Seychellois culinary programme at the restaurant; the spa using endemic plant ingredients from the Silhouette mountain forest; and the position that makes the Vallée de Mai on Praslin accessible by day boat while maintaining the Silhouette island's privacy at the resort. The LVMH service standard applied to the Indian Ocean's most ecologically committed island destination.
Mnemba Island, Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania
Zanzibar — 3 Nights
andBeyond Mnemba Island
Mnemba Island, Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania
andBeyond Mnemba Island — the private island off Zanzibar's northeastern coast whose 12 bandas (open-fronted beach cottages on the Indian Ocean beach) and the Mnemba atoll's reef system constitute the most private single island resort address in East Africa. The atoll's complete exclusivity — only Mnemba Island guests access the reef; the open-fronted banda design whose bed faces the Indian Ocean directly; and the andBeyond service philosophy (the same brand that operates the most regarded private game reserves in the Serengeti and Kruger) applied to the island context. The spinner dolphin dhow programme; the turtle nesting beach access; and the Zanzibar Stone Town by private boat for the Swahili Coast cultural visit that makes the island stay most contextually complete.
Exclusive Experiences

Moments Designed for You

🐠
Marine
Hanifaru Manta Aggregation — 200 Rays, One Bay, One Morning
The Hanifaru Bay manta ray aggregation from Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru — the early morning departure with the resort's marine biologist team to the 6.9-hectare enclosed lagoon in the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, where the plankton concentration attracts up to 200 oceanic manta rays simultaneously from June to November. The restricted access protocol (15 snorkellers maximum, no SCUBA) that the UNESCO designation mandates ensures the quality of the encounter; the marine biologist's identification of individual mantas by their ventral spot patterns provides the ecological context that makes the aggregation most legible as a natural phenomenon rather than a tourist attraction.
🌴
Vallée de Mai
Coco de Mer Forest — The UNESCO Palm Grove at First Light
The Vallée de Mai National Park on Praslin at dawn — the UNESCO World Heritage coco de mer palm forest whose Lodoicea maldivica produces the largest seed in the plant kingdom (up to 25 kilograms) in conditions that no other location on Earth replicates. The private guide whose botanical knowledge makes the walk most legible as a biological argument; the black parrot (one of the world's rarest, endemic to Praslin, whose diet of the Vallée de Mai palm fruit makes this forest its only viable habitat); and the specific quality of the Seychellois morning light through the palm canopy at the hour before the park opens to general visitors.
⛵
Dhow
Spinner Dolphins and Stone Town by Traditional Dhow
The traditional dhow excursion from Mnemba Island — the morning departure for the spinner dolphin feeding grounds in the Mnemba Channel, where the pods of 50 to 200 individuals that feed on the baitfish concentrations provide the most consistently accessible cetacean encounter on the East African coast. The dhow's low freeboard makes the dolphins' bow-riding and aerial spinning behaviour most immediately visible at water level; and the afternoon dhow to Zanzibar Stone Town for the carved wooden door walking tour, the Old Fort, and the Forodhani Gardens sunset whose specific combination of the dhow harbour, the coconut-palm silhouette, and the Indian Ocean light makes Stone Town most photographically immediate.
✈️
Private Jet
Velana to Mahé in 3h15 — The Indian Ocean Circuit Without Hubs
The private jet routing that makes the Indian Ocean circuit coherent — Velana International Airport (Maldives) to Seychelles International Airport (Mahé) in 3 hours 15 minutes, arriving in the afternoon with the programme intact rather than exhausted by the commercial transit; and Mahé to Zanzibar Abeid Amani Karume in 2 hours 30 minutes direct. The aircraft whose departure times are determined by the Maldives marine programme's morning conclusion rather than the afternoon commercial connection; and whose arrival in Seychelles preserves the first evening for the Île Silhouette sunset rather than the airport transit. The Indian Ocean whose geographic distances are most forgiving of the private jet's specific advantages.
Visual Journey

Through the Lens

Begin Your Story

Craft Your
Private Journey

Every detail — from your first overwater villa morning to your final afternoon on the Mnemba atoll — is composed entirely around you. Speak with your dedicated Richseen journey consultant today.

From USD 70,000+ per person

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