Guinea-Bissau

Superlatives don't do it justice. Gorgeous. Idyllic. Heavenly. You won't want to leave after disembarking onto a long postcard-perfect white-sand beach. And some guests don't, choosing to buy one of the resort's charming and sophisticated beachfront bungalows. While there's much to do – fishing, kayaking, trips to other islands – it's tempting to simply do nothing for once.

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The heart of Parque Nacional das Ilhas de Orango – several other islands are also part of the park's protected reserve) – Ilha de Orango is the burial site of the Bijagós kings and queens. Travellers know it more as the site of Anôr Lagoon, where you can spot rare saltwater hippos – considered sacred, they live in both the sea and freshwater. Local guides (around CFA10,000, plus the park entry fee) lead you on a sandy path through tall grass and swampy wetlands, more reminiscent of the prototypical African savannah than other islands. Be sure to wear shoes you don't mind muddying or sandals with straps, as well as pants you can roll up or shorts. It's a pretty walk, though shade is scarce.

There's a long, beautiful beach, basically between the point where the Orango Parque Hotel is located and where you disembark for hippo-spotting walks. No shade, however.

The hardest-to-reach places are often the most beautiful, and so it goes with Parque Nacional de Cantanhez – over 1000 sq km of the country's last rainforest. With a dense web of giant kapok trees, lianas and palm trees (a total of more than 200 plant species), you'll need to get out on a trail to spot elephants, baboons, buffaloes, colobus monkeys, Africa's westernmost troupe of chimpanzees and hundreds of species of birds. In the mangrove and island areas that form part of the protected zone, you'll see plenty of fish, manatees, small hippos and other bird species.

Quinhámel, 35km west of Bissau, makes an interesting day or weekend trip. A wide, palm-shaded promenade adds a little grandeur, fittingly as it's the regional capital of the Biombo region and the traditional home of the Papel people. About 2km away, nestled between the mangroves, is a local beach popular with families and young people at the weekends.

Geographically closer to Bissau than any other island in the Bijagós, eerily beautiful Bolama feels worlds away, both aesthetically and socially. The shores of Bolama town, Portuguese capital of Guinea-Bissau from 1879 to 1943, are awash with crumbling relics that were abandoned after independence. Tree-lined boulevards are mapped out by lamp posts that no longer shine, and the colonial barracks have been recast as a hospital, now – like much of the island – in a dark and desolate state.

The former town hall, flanked by Greek style pillars, was built in 1870; these days huge splinters hang like stalactites from its ceilings. The turrets of the once grandiose Hotel Turismo sit in an overgrown nest of lianas, 3m-tall weeds and snakes. It's worth walking out to Ofir Beach, around 3km from the town, to see the spooky sweeping staircase of a beach hotel that no longer exists.