The Bijagos Islands is an archipelago in Guinea-Bissau.

Regions

The archipelago is made up of eighteen major islands and a dozen more smaller ones.

• 1 Bubaque — the most populated island and administrative capital of the islands
• 2 Caravela —
• 3 Formosa —
• 4 Canhabaque — also known as Roxa
• 5 Uno —
• 6 Carache —
• 7 Bolama — Bolama is a town of 5000 people a short pirogue trip from the mainland
• 8 Orango Grande — famous for its salt-water hippos
• 9 João Vieira and 10 Poilão — best islands for turtle-spotting
• Keré — a tiny island between Caravela and Carache. No people live on the island, there is only a single hotel. Fishing trips and visits to villages in Caravela and Carache can be arranged. To go there, contact the hotel, which will be able to arrange transport from Bissau.
• 11 Rubane — the Bijagós ethnic group consider it a sacred island; it is accessible from Bissau on a 3-hour boat trip

Understand

The Bijagos Islands have been affected less by Western cultural influence than the mainland. Many of the smaller remote islands remain unspoilt paradises.

Get in

• 1 Bubaque Airport (BQE  ^IATA). serves the city of Bubaque.  

Get around

Motorised canoes or the bigger but safer boats are the best ways to move between the various islands.

Do

• Boating is a popular activity in the Bijagos Islands.
• There are plenty of beaches on Bubaque Island, many of which are largely untouched by mass tourism.

Eat

• 1 Saldo Mar Restaurant, Bubaque, ☏ +245 955 496 826. (updated Nov 2018)

Sleep

• Les Dauphins (Bubaque), ☏ +33 1 42 89 32 64. 
• 1 Africa Princess, Island of Canhabaque (Port of Bissau), ☏ +221 77 645 7529, +245 517 8356, africa.princess.bijagos@gmail.com. Check-in: synchronized with the flights arrivals, check-out: synchronized with the flights departures. This is a motorized catamaran with 4 cabins with independent WC and air conditioning that tours the two Bijagos National Parks every week in the dry season. With a set of 5 boats and good skippers, is ideal for itinerant fishing, nature and ethnic tours. (updated Sep 2015)
• 2 Hotel Bijagós-Kéré, Kéré Island, ☏ +245 96 679 49 65. This hotel sits on its own islet, and offers fishing and eco-tourism. African-style bungalows with quality beds, mosquito nets and toilets in the majority of the bedrooms. You can also enjoy a big terrace with a living room and sea view. Restaurants and bar. (updated Jan 2023)
• Orango Park Hotel (Orango Grande). 
• Chez Claude (João Vieira), ☏ +245-6179577, +245-6661037. 
• Decouverte (Keŕe). 
• Le Tubaron (Rubane). 
• Lodge Ponta anchaca (Rubane). 
• Hotel Acunda (Acunda). There is a fishing lodge at Acunda. Basic facilities, good fishing boats and skippers. Is an excellent base for fishing the outermost islands and marks. 

Bubaque

• 3 Hôtel Kasa Afrikana, Bubaque, ☏ +245 956 289 868, +245 724 33 05, gilles@kasa-afrikana.com. It has a sports fishing club with guides to help get you to the fishing hotspots. (updated Nov 2018)
• 4 Bubaque Island Hotel (at Bruce beach on the southern side of the island, a 35-minute drive from central Bubaque), ☏ +245 966 927 421. (updated Nov 2018)
• Hotel do Carlos Ar Petyt, Bubaque +245 966 447 875.
• Hotel Calypso Rue de Paris, Bubaque +245 955 949 207.

Stay safe

Watch out for the Nile crocodiles and saltwater hippos in the marshes.