2020-05-01_Lonely_Planet_Traveller

PHOTOGRAPHS: DES JACOBS PHOTOGRAPHY, GABY BARATHIEU/500PX/GETTY IMAGES

St Helena

GettingThere& Around
Thereis currentlyoneweekly
flightto St Helena’sairport
fromJohannesburgevery
Saturday,witha briefstop
forrefuellingat Windhoek
in Namibia.Thereare
additional,seasonal,flights
onTuesdays.Flight-timeto the
islandis aroundsixhours,but
theairport’sexposedlocation
meansthatbadweather
sometimescausesdelays,so
beprepared.Returnflights
fromtheUKto Johannesburg
start at around £1,650 with

SouthAfricanAirways(flysaa.

com),includinganovernight

stopin Johannesburgand

anonwardconnectionto St

HelenawithAirLink(flyairlink.

com).To exploretheislandit’s

bestto geta rentalcar– book

wellin advancethroughSt

HelenaTourism(from£45per

day;sthelenatourism.com).

FurtherReading

Comprehensiveinformation

ontheislandis availablefrom

theSt HelenaTouristOce

(sthelenatourism.com).

ETHICALINTERACTIONSWITHWHALESHARKS

Whalesharksareendangeredcreatures,andtoursto see

themin somepartsof theworldcanbeharmful.Dive

operatorsmayfeedtheanimalsto increasethechance

of encounters,andcrowdingbyboatsanddiverscan

disturbthewhalesharks.Visitornumbersin St Helena

arelowersimplybecauseof its remoteness,andlocal

guidelinesincludea limitof eightpeoplein thewaterand

minimumdistancesfromtheanimals.DiveSt Helenais an

accreditedoperatorthatoerssnorkellingratherthan

scuba trips (from £40pp; Jan–Mar; divesainthelena.com).

MAKE IT HAPPEN

WHERETOSTAY

)Theisland’sonlyhotel,Mantis

St Helena(picturedbelow),is in

a primelocationin thecentreof

Jamestown.Convertedfromthree

historicmerchant’shouses,it oers

spacious,comfortableair-

conditionedrooms;thebesthave

teakfloorsandshutteredwindows

overlookingthetownsquare.

There’salsoanexcellent

restaurant(from£175,

mantissthelena.com).

)TherearealsoseveralB&Bs

aroundtown,includingthe

Townhouse,whichoershomely

accommodationin a lemon-

yellowGeorgianhouse(from

£140pernight,townhouse

accommodation.com).Another

optionis theBlueLantern,in a

modern building located on

a backstreetbehindJamestown’s

church(from£100,accomm

odationsthelena.com).

)If youprefera baseoutof town,

RichardsTravelLodgeis a modern

bungalowin theisland’smain

settlementof HalfTreeHollow,

witha pleasantgardenand

crackingviewsof thecoast.

OwnerDerekRichardsalsoruns

islandtours(from£132,

islandimages.co.sh).

WHERETOEAT

)Fortraditionalislandfoodsuch

as tunafishcakes,plo(stew)and

fishandchips,thelocals’

preferredhangoutis Anne’sPlace,

a breezyisland-stylebarin

Jamestown(mains£8–£10;

00290 22797).

)ClassierFrench-inspireddining

is onoer at Bertrand’sCottage,

housedin a buildingthatonce

belongedto Napoleon’s

aide-de-campat Longwood

(threecoursesfromaround£15;

bertrandscottage.com).

)TheMantisHotelalsohasan

excellentfine-diningrestaurant

servingdishesliketunaspringrolls

andswordfishsteak(mainsfrom

around £14, mantissthelena.com)