Diving in Tanzania

Mafia Island and the Chole Bay marine park: whale sharks, living coral and almost no other divers

5 resorts at this destination

Tanzania — diving on Mafia Island: the Chole Bay marine park, whale sharks from October to February, coral gardens and mangroves. Dive resorts, prices, seasons and how to get there.

Why divers come here

The Chole Bay marine park — Tanzania's first marine park and its most strictly protected reef
Whale sharks off Mafia from October to February — feeding at the surface, met on snorkel
More than four hundred fish species and some fifty coral genera within a single bay
Few divers: on most sites yours is the only boat
Turtles come ashore to lay their eggs on the beaches of Juani and Chole
Zanzibar and Pemba are a short hop away — Pemba's walls are rated the best in East Africa

What you'll meet underwater

Whale sharks (October to February) Green and hawksbill turtles Reef sharks and whitetips Humpback whales pass through from July to October Dugongs, rarely, in the shallows Trevally, barracuda, Napoleon wrasse Moray eels, scorpionfish, lionfish Hard corals, table acropora and the coral gardens of Chole Bay

Practical information

Best season: Diving runs all year except April and May, when the long rains come and some lodges close. Whale sharks off Mafia Island appear from October to February, peaking from November to January. The clearest water is from December to March
Water temperature: 25–29 °C
Visibility: 10–30 m
Wetsuit: 3 mm year-round, a shorty in the warm months; 5 mm in July and August
Experience level: Open Water for the Chole Bay reefs and the mangrove shallows; Advanced for the outer walls and the sites with current. Swimming with whale sharks needs only snorkelling
Getting there: Several airlines fly direct from Moscow to Zanzibar (ZNZ) in about ten hours. For Mafia Island, connect through Dar es Salaam (DAR) on an Auric Air or Coastal Aviation domestic flight of roughly thirty minutes. It is a ten- to twenty-minute drive from Mafia airport to the lodges, and the transfer is usually included in the room rate.
Airports: Dar es Salaam (DAR) — international, Zanzibar (ZNZ) — international, Mafia Island (MFA) — domestic flights, Kilimanjaro (JRO) — for a safari before or after
Visa: A visa is required and can be applied for online in advance or on arrival at the airport. The passport must be valid for six months and a return ticket is needed. Since 2024 Zanzibar has required a separate mandatory tourist insurance policy — check the current requirements before flying.
Climate: Tropical humid, air 25–32 °C, long rains from March to May, short rains in November
Currency: Tanzanian shilling (TZS); lodges and dive centres take US dollars everywhere
Language: Swahili and English, both official
Time zone: UTC+3