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St Helena

Discover one of the world's most isolated islands, in the South Atlantic Ocean

Saint Helena lies in the eastern part of the South Atlantic Ocean and is one of the world’s most isolated islands. Covering a land mass area of 47 square miles, St Helena’s isolated position has given rise to a remarkable variety of land flora and fauna including over 400 endemic bird and plant species, and the surrounding nutrient rich waters being home to 780 marine species, including migrating whale sharks and humpback whales.

Discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, the island is part of the British overseas territory of St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Previously the island has only been accessible by taking a five day voyage on the RMS St Helena from Cape Town, however, in October 2017, the South African carrier Airlink began a weekly service between Johannesburg and Saint Helena Airport, the first scheduled airline service in Saint Helena’s history.

St Helena is an incredible place to visit, from the spectacular scenery of rugged coastlines, gigantic rock formations and breathtaking views from the highest peaks to the historical military fortifications, plantation house and Napoleon’s tomb, as well as outstanding wildlife and diverse marine life, St Helena is waiting to be discovered!

Mantis St Helena
The Mantis St Helena is a combination of restored historic buildings and a new contemporary building, situated in the island’s capital, Jamestown. The boutique hotel is only a few minutes’ walk from the seafront, swimming pool, museum, Jacob’s Ladder, public library, shops, bars, restaurants, transport links and tourist information office.

How to get there
The gateway to St Helena is Johannesburg with SA Airlink offering a direct weekly service between St Helena and Johannesburg (via a refuelling stopover at Walvis Bay International Airport in Namibia) departing on Saturday mornings. We recommend an overnight stay in Johannesburg prior to the flight to allow for any delays, as if you miss your flight to the island, you have a whole week to wait!

Guide Price: GBP £1295 per person*
7 nights accommodation at the Mantis St Helena Hotel in a twin/double room with breakfast, 10 dives package of 2 dives per day (5 days diving) including tank/weights, light refreshments between dives, 1 whale shark snorkel trip and return airport transfers.
Excludes: International flights.

Stay a bit a longer
If you are looking to extend your trip, you can choose to explore South Africa, for example a safari in Kruger National Park which is easily accessible from Johannesburg.

*Price shown is for guide purposes only and is based on low season travel and for twin share accommodation. Please contact us for a confirmed cost based on your preferred duration and time of travel.

Quick Guide: St Helena

  • Location: South Atlantic Ocean – 1200 miles from the South-West coast of Africa and 1800 miles from the coast of South America with the nearest land being Ascension Island which is 703 miles to the North West
  • When to go: All year round
  • Average air temp: Sub-tropical – between 20-27°C with the hottest months between January and March and the coolest months between June and September. The wet season is usually from late March to early May and then again from July to September
  • Average water temp: 20-25°C
  • Recommended diver level: Good for all levels

Mantis Hotel St Helena

The Mantis St Helena hotel has 30 rooms in 3 separate room types. The 22 Contemporary Rooms are located in a newly constructed building linked to the original buildings by a terrace. The 3 Heritage Rooms are in the historic original buildings, together with 3 of the 5 Heritage Suites (1-3 Main Street). The remaining 2 Heritage Suites are located in the outside ‘Cottage’ (the original servants’ quarters and kitchen).  All rooms have en-suite bathrooms, air-conditioning, flat screen TV, tea/coffee making facilities, vanity dresser with international plugs, USB charger and laundry service.

The hotel has a large restaurant, cocktail bar, guest lounge and two spacious outdoor terraces.  Meals are a delicious blend of British, Malay and Chinese influences that makes liberal use of fish, spices and curries using local ingredients where possible. The culinary team is headed by experienced executive chef Roy MacAskill, while the restaurant itself can seat 60 in the dining rooms and 40 on the terraced areas. The hotels cocktail bar is set on the site of the town’s original ‘watering hole’ dating back to 1645 and is very popular with locals, offering locally distilled spirits & wines and the largest wine selection on the island, in addition to speciality cocktails.

Being a volcanic Island, St Helena offers a variety of dive sites catering for all levels of recreational diving, with Caves, Archway’s and reef like structures that welcome  an abundance of marine life, including 50 endemic species to the Island. These include, the St Helena Needle Fish, St Helena Butterfly, Hog Fish, also Nudibranch’s, such as The Tamaja, and Bornella to name a few.

There are 7 wrecks within a 5-10 min boat ride, however 3 wrecks requires an Advanced or higher qualification due to their depths ranging from 24 – 35m. On many of the general Dive sites Chilean Devil Rays are a popular sighting, along with Green and Hawksbill turtles. En-route to these dive sites you can encounter the resident 500-600 Pan-tropical Dolphins.

January each year is the beginning of the whale shark season, with the opportunity of snorkeling with 30 – 40+ whale sharks, this amazing congregation of adult female and male whale sharks usually occurs around mid – end of January and until April each year.

Ready for your next adventure?

Great Escapes Diving Holidays Ltd

Combs Tannery
Tannery Road
Combs
Stowmarket
Suffolk
IP14 2EN
United Kingdom

Office hours: Mondays to Fridays, 9am - 5pm
Tel: 01449 535010
Email: info@greatescapesdiving.com

All the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotels and other services) is listed on it. Please see our booking conditions for further information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLcertificate

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