As an extension to a safari in Tanzania, the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, and Mafia offer excellent opportunities for diving. Planet Africa can assist you if you are keen to include diving, whether it is just for day or as the focus of your beach stay.
The best months for diving are October through March, when visibility is at its best. You can also enjoy diving outside of these months as conditions are generally good year round, except for April and May during the heavy rains.
Zanzibar offers a variety of dive sites to suit all levels. In the Northeast of the island and around Stone Town, there are several beginner to intermediate sites such as Turtles Den and Morogo Reef where you can either enjoy snorkelling or diving day trips.
One Ocean is renowned as one of the best equipped and most reliable dive centres on Zanzibar – they are based in several locations on the island. For the most part, any lodge on the Island offers diving excursions, a few in partnership with One Ocean. Some properties have their own dive centres on site which can be more convenient if you plan to do a lot of diving. If you stay in Pemba or Mafia Island, you will need to stay in a lodge with an onsite dive centre.
Pemba Island is more for experienced divers, as strong currents and deep ravines predominate the sites around the island. Accommodation here is mostly high end, particularly at those lodges organizing dive trips, but the diving allows for optimal solitude around this remote island.
Mafia Island offers excellent diving mostly in Chloe Bay. This bay is a protected archipelago, similar to a harbour, where one can snorkel or dive the shallow reefs. Night dives are also available here as an alternative to day trips where you will see smaller delicate species usually missed in the daytime. You also have the opportunity to swim with whale sharks near Mafia Island.
If you are going on safari beforehand and would like to travel with your own dive equipment you will need to be careful of excess luggage as most of the bush planes have a maximum allowance of 15kgs. We can advise on the best options to accommodate this.
