Scuba Diving in Zanzibar

Mnemba Atoll Scuba Trips off the North East Coast

A Mnemba Atoll scuba trip is the one most visitors book first, and the reef earns its reputation on fish rather than on coral. Mnemba is a small island about three kilometres off the north east corner of Unguja, opposite Matemwe, ringed by an oval fringing reef roughly seven kilometres long. The island itself is private. Nobody lands there on a day trip, so every boat sold as "Mnemba" is going to the water around it.

Three sites carry most of the traffic. Kichwani is a sloping wall that runs from about 2 metres down to 30, covered in hard and soft coral, and a mild current lets divers drift along it without much finning. Wattabomi, on the south side, falls gently from around 6 metres to 30 over plate coral and coral heads; the deeper sand is where blue spotted stingrays and garden eels sit. Then there is Big Wall, a vertical face in open water from about 18 metres to beyond 35, with caves and overhangs plus stronger current. That last one is for Advanced divers, and many centres take it only when a whole group can handle it.

Protection is what fills the boats. Mnemba sits inside the Mnemba Island Marine Conservation Area, and a no fishing zone on the house reef has let fish numbers build well above the unprotected reefs nearby. Zanzibar's own conservation surveys list 36 hard coral genera here and more than 200 fish species. Reef sharks with white tips turn up regularly, green turtles nest on the island's beaches, and spinner and bottlenose dolphins often show at the surface on the run out.

The counterweight is crowding. A regional assessment put live coral cover on the reef east of the island at 12 per cent, and named congestion of fishers and tourist boats as the area's first threat. Zanzibar's government has since set a restricted Special Area that runs between 400 and 700 metres from the island, capped at eight boats a day with no anchoring, so the closest water is now quieter than the outer reef. Getting a slot inside it depends on the centre holding one of those daily permits, which is worth asking about when you compare boats. Early departures and the shoulder weeks either side of July and August are the other practical answers to the crowds.

Where you sleep changes the day. From Matemwe or Muyuni the boat ride is short, while centres in Nungwi and Kendwa often take 40 minutes to two hours each way depending on the boat and the swell. Most run two tanks with the surface interval on board, so anyone prone to seasickness should take a tablet before leaving. The site's own Mnemba Atoll guide covers the island's history and the restricted zone in more depth.

Leven Bank and Nungwi Reef Trips From the North Tip

For variety in one base, the north tip wins. Most centres on the island cluster around Nungwi and Kendwa, and from there a week of scuba trips can mix training reefs at Tumbatu, macro sites off Nungwi, the open sea reefs and, on the right day, Leven Bank.

Leven Bank is the north's serious site. It is a submerged bank rising out of deep water north of Nungwi, with its top at roughly 14 to 20 metres and its sides falling past 50. Current can run hard, so every descent there is a drift, and the reward is open water fish: shoals of trevally and kingfish, tuna, barracuda, and the occasional reef shark or manta. Between August and September divers sometimes hear humpback whales singing during the descent.

Plan on Advanced certification plus logged drift experience, and expect the centre to say no on a rough day. Some centres also need enough experienced divers before they will send a boat that far out, so it pays to ask about Leven Bank when you book rather than on arrival.

Closer in, the reefs are gentler and better for photographers. Hunga Reef is a round open sea reef at 10 to 17 metres with big coral heads and good visibility, and a long time instructor on the island counts it among the best five sites in the north for sheer fish numbers. Magic Reef, 12 to 20 metres, rewards slow divers with frogfish and octopus. Shane's Reef and Kichafi, both inside 20 metres, fill the short morning slots.

Tumbatu Island, off the north west coast, is where most centres take students. Mwana wa Mwana is a terraced coral garden from 3 metres down to a sandy slope at 18, Ras Misikitini is a small wall from 5 metres to about 20, and Three Turtles drops from 3 to 16 metres. The water there is sheltered from the strongest currents, which is why a first Open Water descent so often happens on Tumbatu rather than at Mnemba.

One trade off with Nungwi: tides limit boat launches less here than on the east coast lagoons, yet the nightlife beach at Kendwa and the busy Nungwi strip are not to everyone's taste.

Stone Town Wreck Tours and the West Coast Reefs

Staying in Stone Town does not rule out scuba. The reefs and wrecks off the old town sit about 20 minutes away by boat, and they are the only part of Unguja with wreck sites worth the name.

The Great Northern is the classic. Built in 1870, the cable ship worked as a repair vessel based at Zanzibar for the Eastern and South African Telegraph Company until she struck a reef returning from Bawe Island in December 1902. Her remains lie at about 12 to 16 metres, broken up and coral covered, and shallow enough for Open Water divers on a calm day. Leaf fish and morays live in the wreckage. Current can run across the site, so the briefing matters.

Deeper wrecks need more. A former Royal Navy lighter off Bawe lies at about 30 metres and suits Advanced divers. In the harbour itself, the wreck believed to be HMS Pegasus, the British cruiser sunk by the German cruiser Königsberg on 20 September 1914 with 31 lives lost, sits at around 40 metres. Treat it as a war grave in working harbour water and a site for deep certified divers only.

Reef options round out a west coast day. Pange Reef, inside 14 metres, is calm enough for Open Water training and for night trips when cuttlefish and squid come out. The Bawe Island reef reaches 18 metres over staghorn and brain coral, and Boribu, a longer ride out, drops to 30 metres among gorgonian fans and barrel sponges. The west coast also sits in the lee of the strong south east winds of June to September, which keeps these sites workable when the east coast is rough.

Pemba Island Scuba Trips for Walls and Current

Pemba is the island for divers who already have a few dozen logged descents. A Pemba Island scuba trip means the west coast, where the reef drops into the deep Pemba Channel in near vertical walls and visibility of 20 to 40 metres is common. It is about 30 minutes by air from Zanzibar's airport.

The two big areas are the gaps between the offshore islands. Njao Gap holds five sites from 5 to 40 metres, with sheer walls and coral mountains in strong current; Napoleon wrasse and giant trevally patrol them, and dogtooth tuna turn up too. Fundu Gap, about an hour further south by boat from the north end, has another five, known for eagle rays and barracuda; some of its sites only work at slack tide. Gentler water sits around Misali Island, a no take zone inside the Pemba Channel Conservation Area, where coral gardens and walls stay inside about 18 metres. An IUCN survey of thirteen Pemba reefs ranked Misali's no take zone first of them on every measure, coral cover and fish density included.

The catch is supply. Pemba has only a handful of centres, mostly attached to lodges, and far fewer flights, so a Pemba week needs booking ahead. Read the Pemba Island guide before committing.

Scuba Courses and Certification Levels for a Zanzibar Trip

Zanzibar is an easy place to learn: warm water, shallow sheltered reefs and centres that teach every day. What your card allows decides which sites in the table above are open to you, so it is worth knowing the ladder before you book.

Doing the theory online at home frees up beach time, and most centres accept agency e-learning. A card is not the only test, though. Centres look at your logbook, and anyone who has not been underwater for six months or more should expect a refresher before the deeper sites. Several trip reports mention that the pace of Open Water courses varies a lot between centres. Ask how many students share one instructor in the water, and walk away from a course that feels rushed.

South of Stone Town, the reefs of Menai Bay off Kizimkazi make a quieter classroom. Kungui, the best known site there, is a coral garden to about 20 metres that drops off into a wall, so students and Advanced divers can share a boat. The bay is a conservation area best known for bottlenose dolphins, and the east coast reefs off Paje and Jambiani add relaxed drifts, though tides there decide when boats can leave.

Zanzibar Scuba Trips by Season: Visibility and Water Temperature

Scuba trips run in Zanzibar for most of the year, and two monsoon winds set the conditions. The kaskazi blows from the north east from about December to March; the stronger kusi blows from the south east from about June to September. The calmest, clearest spells usually fall in the changeover months between them: October and November, then March before the long rains.

That cuts against the holiday calendar. July and August are peak season on the beaches, and plenty of divers report good days then, yet the kusi makes exposed east coast sites choppy, so a July trip is best based at the north tip or near Stone Town, which sit out of the worst of it. December to February brings the kitesurfing wind to the east coast, though the north and west usually stay workable.

April and May are the months to avoid. The long rains cut visibility near the shore, and a number of coastal lodges and centres close outright, which varies from year to year.

Water stays warm all year: about 27C to 29C from November to April and 24C to 26C from May to October. A 3mm suit or a shorty covers most divers; some bring a 5mm for repeat descents in the cooler months, and others manage in a rash vest from March. Visibility around Unguja commonly sits between 10 and 30 metres. It drops on an outgoing tide.

Marine Life Watching on a Zanzibar Scuba Trip

Expect reef life rather than big animals. Turtles, both green and hawksbill, are regular at Mnemba and Tumbatu, morays and octopus are everywhere, and the north tip is strong on macro, from frogfish and nudibranchs to the Spanish dancer on evening descents. Out in the blue, Leven Bank and the Pemba walls bring tuna and kingfish, often with barracuda shoals and the odd reef shark. Humpback whales pass through the Zanzibar Channel from July to October and can be heard underwater; seeing one on scuba is rare luck, and the whale watching boats are the better bet. Whale sharks belong to Mafia Island more than to Zanzibar, and are met on snorkel, not on scuba.

Marine Conservation Fees on Zanzibar Scuba Trips

Most of the best sites sit inside Zanzibar's marine conservation areas, and each visitor pays a daily entry fee. Under the revised tariff in force from 1 September, set by the Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries, visitors from outside East Africa pay US$10 per adult and US$5 per child aged 5 to 15 per day in the Mnemba Island Conservation Area, Menai Bay, the Chumbe and Changuu Bawe area and the Pemba Channel Conservation Area. Non East African residents of Tanzania pay US$5 and US$3.

The Mnemba Special Area, the restricted water closest to the island, keeps its own higher rate: US$25 per adult and US$10 per child for visitors from outside East Africa. Children under five go free everywhere. Centres usually collect the fee with the boat price or add it on the day, and some list it as a separate "Mnemba surcharge", so ask which rate your trip falls under and whether it is included before you pay.

Choosing a Scuba Centre and Base for Your Zanzibar Trip

Base yourself where the sites you want are. Nungwi or Kendwa gives the widest range, from Tumbatu training reefs to Leven Bank and Mnemba. Matemwe puts you closest to Mnemba. Stone Town suits wreck fans and short stays, and Pemba is a separate trip for experienced divers. Check that your hotel is within walking distance of the centre or that the centre runs transfers, because public transport on the island is limited.

Then judge the centre on safety, not price. An instructor with many years on the island advises a maximum of six divers per guide, and fewer is better. Ask when the regulators and cylinders were last serviced, whether the boat carries oxygen and a radio, and what the plan is to reach a working recompression chamber. Chambers in the region go in and out of service, so a vague answer tells you something. Check your own gear before boarding and ask for a swap on the spot if anything feels wrong.

Two final checks before you fly. Ordinary travel insurance often excludes scuba or caps it at a shallow depth, so arrange specialist scuba cover; Zanzibar's mandatory inbound insurance, covered in the Tanzania travel requirements, is not a substitute. And leave at least 12 hours after a single descent and 18 hours after several days of scuba before any flight, light aircraft transfers to a safari airstrip included. Non divers in the group can join the boat for snorkelling on the shallow reefs; it has its own guide on this site.

Scuba Diving in Zanzibar FAQ