01
Overview
Fifty kilometres north of Unguja, and a different island entirely.
Pemba is greener, hillier and much less visited than Zanzibar. It produces the majority of the archipelago’s cloves, and outside a handful of lodges there is very little tourism infrastructure.
The diving is the main draw: steep walls dropping into the Pemba Channel, strong visibility and healthy coral. It suits people who want the reef and the quiet rather than beach bars.
What you see
- Coral walls
- Diving
- Forest
- Quiet beaches
What you actually see
Coral walls
Vertical reef dropping into deep channel water — the reason divers come.
Pemba flying fox
A large endemic fruit bat, best seen at dusk in Ngezi.
Clove drying by the road
In season, the whole island smells of it.
Empty beaches
Genuinely empty, which is increasingly rare in the archipelago.
02
What is there
Wall diving in the Pemba Channel
Drop-offs, good visibility and pelagic fish. Some sites suit experienced divers better than beginners.
Under water
Clove forest and Ras Mkumbuu
Plantations across the hills, and ruins on the western peninsula dating to the 14th century.
On land
Ngezi forest and the channels
Remnant indigenous forest in the north, and Pemba flying fox — endemic and enormous.
The mangroves
03
Where to stay
Chosen for your trip
Lodges and tented camps in and around the park, picked for your month and your budget.
The kind of place and the area are fixed by the route. The property itself is chosen for your dates and budget, and named in your quote.
04
Getting there
Getting there
A short flight from Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam.
05
Trips that end on the coast
4-Day Zanzibar Beach Extension
9-Day Bush & Beach
10-Day Honeymoon Safari & Zanzibar
06
Best time to go
Best months · Dec–Feb, Jun–Oct
Dry and cooler
The most settled beach weather of the year.
Hot and dry
Warm sea and long days.
The long rains
Heavy showers, and some small hotels close.
07
Practical
08
More places to go
Zanzibar
Stone Town, the reef, and choosing the right coast.
Arusha
Where every northern safari begins, and a park most people skip.
Serengeti National Park
The migration, and four different regions depending on the month.
