Zanzibar (by Greg Cropper)

Zanzibar is actually an archipelago, not just one island. The two main islands are Unguja (commonly known as "Zanzibar Island") and Pemba. The capital of Zanzibar is Stonetown, located on Unguja. Wonderful old Arab town. The best diving in Zanzibar is clearly off the coast of Pemba. In fact, Pemba is rapidly (and justifiably) becoming known as one of the top five or so dive destinations in the world. Though it's not the easiest place in the world to organise a trip to, Pemba is well worth the effort, particularly if you're going to be in East Africa anyway. Pemba can be reached without too much trouble from Dar es Salaam or Unguja, Tanzania, or from Mombassa, Kenya. Regular ferry and air services are available from any of the above.

Once in Pemba (after some frustrating dealings with the nice but flaky operators of "Pemba Afloat", who were temporarily deported the day I was supposed to join them), I hooked up with an operation called "Swahili Divers Dive Base and Guest House," located in Chakke Chakke (the main town on Pemba, and near the air field). Although Swahiliis not located right on the water, it is a very comfy place to stay, with accommodation ranging from $10/nite in the dorm to something like $100/nite in very nice rooms. The food was good as well. Most importantly, the diving was world-class fantastic, the dive instructors were first rate, and the gear was more than adequate. Major wall dives, with incredibly healthy reefs. Always warm, clear water. If you want pure, world-class diving and aren't concerned with nightlife, this is the place. Ya gotta dive here if you're in the area. You will be hearing more and more about this place over the years. Highly recommended.

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Back to Unguja: The best diving from "the main island" is from the Northeast coast, around Mnemba Atoll. Not in the same league as Pemba, but few places in the entire world are. Dove with "One Ocean Divers", while staying at there very nice resort called Matemwe Village Bungalows. Beautiful place, right on the beach. Very good food. Exceptional value. Say hello to Gary, the owner from oz. The diving is very good, as are the instructors. Again, the gear is more than adequate. Highly recommended, not only for the diving, but also as a great place to hang out on and around a stunning beach. If you want very good diving and a perfect beach, all in a quiet, romantic place, Matwemwe Village Bungalows (as opposed to Matemwe Beach Bungalows--didn't stay there) is an excellent option.

Several other options on Unguja are based on the Northwest coast in the town of Nungwi. Pretty cool place to hang out, with excellent beaches and numerous bungalows, restaurants, bars and girls! (Sorry to anyone offended, but it was kinda nice having so many girls around). Actually, I stayed at Kendwa Rocks Bungalows a few klicks away, and commuted to Nungwi and my fav dive shop on my motorcycle (for rent in Stonetown and Nungwi). You can also walk between Kendwaand Nungwi at low tide. More nature and more chilled out at Kendwa Rocks, with a beach fire nightly. I did a fair bit of diving with "Sensation Divers" run by Florian, Peter and the crew. Great shop, with great people and brand new gear. Very well run, and in a great location.

While there are a number of good dive sites off of the Northwest coast, most are over toward the Northeast coast and require nice commutes on a comfy boat. Plenty of very good diving. If you want to combine a bit of nightlife with great diving, Nungwi is an excellent option. Re the nite life, ya gotta have dinner on the beach at Jambo Brothers--absolutely astounding what comes out of that kitchen. So, long winded, I know. But I tried to provide the sort of info, which I like to find when I'm planning an adventure.

Hope it helps. Cheers, GC

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Zanzibar (by Richard wilde)

A truly beautiful island, amazing beaches, great culture and plenty of history. The diving itself is not bad either !!! I dived with a small company called One Ocean at the Zanzibar dive center based in stone town.

The first dive site we went to was simply named " the wreck " which was very apt seeing as it was a wreck dive !! The wreck itself is over 100 years old and is an old cable carrier, which lies in approx. 22 meters of clear warm water. The fish life found around the wreck is abundant with large shoals of fish of all shapes and colours amongst them groupers, jacks, and snapper. Also spotted hiding amongst the wreck were several octopus.

The visibility was very good at the time although I am told it can be very variable throughout the year the water was warm and there was very little if any current.

The second site I visited the same day was " murogo " which is a coral wall, again there was a large amount of fish life, amongst them lion fish, angel fish, rays and wrasse. The coral itself consisted of both hard and soft corals and was an explosion of colour, the condition of the coral was very good although there were signs of some coral bleaching. There were several drop off's and overall plenty to see. The visibility again was very good and there was a slight current.

   

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