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Headlining the wildlife line-up on this tour of the British Virgin Islands are the pink Caribbean flamingos of Anegada Island – watch them tip-toeing over the salt ponds before you retire to the dock for a traditional lobster dinner. From Anegada, you’ll sail to Guana Island, a journey on which you’ll see dolphins leaping alongside the boat – if you’re lucky. Once you’re moored at Monkey Point – no monkeys, unfortunately – don your snorkel to swim with the sea turtles that often cruise the reef.
The most interesting Bora Bora wildlife is found beneath the surface of its blue lagoon. Dive off the deck to explore the island’s colourful coral gardens and the barrier reef. Here you’ll see manta rays, barracudas and blacktip reef sharks; you’ll also have the option of touring the coral on a traditional Polynesian canoe. Conclude your wildlife-spotting adventure by snorkelling off white-sand beaches and meeting sacred blue-eyed eels on Huahine.
There are plenty of opportunities for wildlife spotting in the sparsely-populated Grenadine Islands, especially in the Tobago Cays Marine Park. A cluster of five uninhabited islands set in a sand-bottom lagoon, surrounded by a 4km (2.5mi) barrier reef, the Cays host a variety of land and sea species, chief amongst them populations of green, hawksbill and leatherback turtles. You’ll also hike through the tropical forests of Mayreau and the jungles of Saint Vincent.
Start your Seychelles wildlife odyssey in the Sainte Anne Marine Park; six islands that are home to one of the archipelago’s richest ecosystems. Gliding over seagrass meadows and coral gardens, you’ll encounter hawksbill turtles, manta and eagle rays and tropical fish such as angelfish, parrotfish and oriental sweetlips. Afterwards, you’ll visit the birder’s paradise of Cousin Island to spot Seychelles warblers, magpie robins and sunbirds – before winding up on Curieuse Island with the only wild giant Aldabra tortoises on the planet.
You can’t visit the Bahamas without seeing the famous swimming pigs on Big Major Cay. This sailing expedition includes a trip to see these curly-tailed animals. Other wildlife highlights include Allen Cay, where you’ll walk amongst critically-endangered rock iguanas and Thunderball Grotto – a submerged cave system bursting with psychedelic coral and tropical fish – named after the James Bond film that was filmed here.