Probably my very favorite part of travel is getting to know people from around the world, and while I do love to learn about other cultures and ways of life, usually I’m most struck by how similar we all are, regardless of where we come from. But there have been two places where I haven’t felt that way.
The first was Iran, and now it’s happened again in the Comoros.
You’ll have to bear with me as I try to articulate this in words, as the only thing that wants to come out right now is ahhh Comoros aaahdiejkl!!!!!!!11!!
Which is to say, I really enjoyed my time in the Comoros, and I really loved the people there. It seems like wherever I travel people are friendly and accommodating, but in the Comoros I was actually a bit in awe of just how welcoming and helpful everyone was. And yet they were totally laid back about their hospitality too.
I often end up feeling awkward and uncomfortable when people are over the top friendly and hospitable, I guess because the shy part of me hates being made a fuss over, but in the Comoros I always felt completely at ease.
No one paid me too much attention and yet whenever I needed help I barely had to look around me before someone was offering a hand. The country is very safe, I never felt like anyone was trying to rip me off – taxi drivers would always hand me my change, even if it was mere cents – and everyone I spoke with was very patient with my broken French. In fact, whereas usually I need to give myself a pep talk before approaching strangers, in the Comoros I was always happy to chat with people or ask someone for help.
What I’m trying to say is, the people on the Comoros were some of the loveliest I’ve ever met, and they were the highlight of my trip there. And that’s saying a lot, considering the country looks like this:
And the islands are surprisingly easy to get to!
I visited with Christian, whom you might remember from his guest posts on my blog. When he told me he was going to the Comoros I asked if I could join, as I was curious about this African island nation I had heard so little about.
I figured the islands, which lie in the channel between Madagascar and Mozambique, would be difficult and expensive to get to, so I was surprised to find flights from Paris with a short layover in Ethiopia for 650 euros (Chris booked earlier than I did and his flights were 500 euros).
The only difficulty we found in planning our trip was booking accommodation, as there isn’t very much information online about hotels in the Comoros. But we ended up staying at some wonderful guest houses, and I’ll definitely be sharing the details in a future blog post!
Like I said before, this trip is so fresh (I returned last week) that I’m still struggling to say anything about the Comoros besides lots of aaaahs and exclamation points, but as soon as my emotions calm down a bit I’ll write more, including my favorite places and things to do, as well as how to book accommodation, transport, and activities around the islands.
Until then, you can watch my vlog from my first three days on the Comoros, if you like!
Now, I’ve heard a lot of differing opinions regarding vlogs. When I did Vlogmas last year, some people loved it and asked to see more of this style from me, while a lot of other people really um, didn’t love it.
I always prefer being behind the camera, which is why I usually don’t speak much on my travel videos, but I figured since some of you might not know much about the Comoros it could be fun to take you along with me this time. And you’ll definitely see a few things here (especially in the last vlog) that I probably wouldn’t have shared in a blog post!
I’ve split the trip up into three videos (I’ll post the second one this evening – you can subscribe to be notified) and hopefully you enjoy them!
Oh and let me know if you have any questions about travel to the Comoros and I’ll try to answer them in my next post!
Steph says
Ahhh I’ve been looking forward to these posts! I visited Grande Comore back in 2009 and have such fond memories of it. I was en route to Mayotte to join a boat – I’d never heard of the Comoros before and the internet wasn’t much help.
I think I went to all of the places in your video 🙂
There was a large hotel on the other side of the island which had provided most of the tourists (mainly from France) until the new owner abandoned it. I wonder if it’s been rebuilt yet? We met one other tourist there, plus one volunteer and some US army guys who were there to build schools (and kindly provided eye candy by playing volleyball on the Itsandra beach).
It’s a beautiful place, felt very safe and the people are super friendly – I was invited to join a band before my flight even landed. Nice to see it getting some attention in the blogosphere.
Nick says
The Comoros look wonderful! I know barely anything about them, and can’t wait to read more about your time there. I’m really thinking I need to relocate somewhere more central (the Balkans??) so I can get to all the places I love and those I haven’t fallen in love with yet in under 24 hours. Seattle is so damn remote (relatively, anyway).
And if you’re looking for trips to join in on, you’ve got an open invitation to join me and my husband in Sudan and Eritrea in January 🙂
Nynke says
Lovely! And I’m enjoying the blogs 🙂
Nynke says
Having just watched the second vlog: OMG! Those whales! So close! Wow!
And as a fellow easy-burn thin-haired whity, I can tell you the tricks my research has taught me: hats, bandanas or buffs, Japanese UV-umbrellas, and (probably: I bought it but it gave my hair a wet look I wasn’t prepared for) sun spray for hair. Although I’d use only one at a time :). And switching one’s side part, but you seem to have got that one down!
Silvia says
I think I really just need to get better at covering my head in the sun! Though maybe I should try some sun spray, if I can find one that doesn’t make my hair look odd.
Victoria @TheBritishBerliner says
I’ve never heard of the Comoros, but it looks very pretty!
I’m not a huge fan of vlogs myself, but it was nice to hear your voice, and view the local scene like the whales and the marketplace!
Silvia says
Yeah I was hoping that the vlogs would be a bit more interesting since they’re showing lesser known places. Because I know I’m not very interesting on camera, haha.
تور زمینی مشهد says
hhhm.i think it’s so god
Said Ahamada Mmadi Omar says
Great Article Dear Silvia …Thanks for the love ❤🇰🇲✅
SAANDI YOUSSOUF says
Hello ! I am from the Comoros island, I really appreciate your videos and I’m glad you enjoyed traveling to my beautiful country. You are a very beautiful person. Welcome next time to visit again.
thank you!
Elena Gabriel says
Hi Saandi, we are flying to Moroni in January. I am interested to find a nice accomodation, but there isn´t much choice. Can you recommend me any website accept Booking, Airbnb, Tripadvisor etc. It would be great. Thank you very much. Elena
Elena Gabriel says
Hi Silvia, these Comoros videos are great!!!!! We are flying to Comoros in January, we found chep flyght tickets 🙂 I tried to find some information in czech language at google, but I couldn´t find much 🙁 So I started to surch in english and thank you for your vlog 🙂 Did you book the accomodation in advance or you boocked rooms there? I can´t find any suitable and not too expensive rooms. Thank you very much. Elena
Silvia says
Yes, I booked everything in advance.