Mafia Island

Mafia Island, It is part of the Tanzanian Zanzibar Archipelago, along with Unguja, Pemba, and Latham Islands. Latham Island is also called Chole Shamba. The island is in the Pwami region of Tanzania and is 394 square kilometers (152 square miles) in size. It is the third biggest island in the space of the Tanzanian Ocean, and most of it is in the Mafia area. People often go to Mafia Island to relax after a Tanzania tour. The island’s calm and private beaches offer privacy and comfort to discerning travelers.

Divers and beach bums have kept Mafia’s amazing, untouched dive sites a secret for a long time, but the island is quickly becoming a popular place to go on vacation for the beach. Shirazi merchants going up to Persia stopped on the island for hundreds of years to do business. Under the rule of the Omani Sultanate in Zanzibar, huge coconut and cashew plantations grew and thrived.

The mafia island

Chole Mjini is a small island just off the coast of the Mafia where the Arab landowners lived a luxurious life after being robbed of their plantations and slaves. Today, the only thing that remains of the island’s prestigious past are the coral ruins.

Due to its remote position, Mafia only gets the most discerning visitors right now, but this is about to change. Mafia Island Marine Park is now the biggest protected area in the Indian Ocean. It includes villages nearby in its conservation efforts, which means that the warm waters of Mafia’s beaches will continue to be a great place for millions of fish and coral species to live and grow.

How to Get to Mafia Island

You can get to Mafia Island by boat or plane, but flying is the best way to get there. First, you need to take an international flight to Dar es Salaam, which is the city of Tanzania. Between Dar-es-Salaam and Mafia Island, there are two ways to get there: by plane or by boat. Domestic trips to Mafia Island leave from Dar es Salaam. If you book ahead of time, a one-way ticket costs about $150. Some airlines, like Coastal Air and Auric Air, offer daily trips to Mafia Island.

On the water, the MV Bacara, which is run by the government, costs 16,000 TSH, or about $8 per trip. But you should be ready for delays because the ferry often has to stay on land for repairs. On the other hand, you can rent private boats for about $25 per trip. From Nyamasati on the shore, you can take a boat to Mafia.

Taking the bus? From the Dar es Salaam Bagala bus stop, take a local minibus, or dalla dalla, to Nyamisati, a town on Mafia Island. 8,000 TSH, which is about $4, will get you this. However, you might be charged the mzungu rate.

Things to see and do on Mafia Island for tourists

Swimming and scuba diving
The reefs around Mafia Island are famous for being some of the best places in the world to dive. Scientists have proven that Mafia has some of the world’s most diverse reefs, with a huge range of tropical fish and hard and soft corals. All year long, but especially from July to October, when it’s dry, the Mafia Marine Park is a great place to swim and scuba dive.

You can swim with whale sharks.
On a safari to Mafia Island, swimming with one of these big animals is an event you’ll never forget. The whale sharks are always in the water around Mafia Island, but they only come out in the shallow water off the west coast of the island during certain times of the year when the circumstances are right. From October to March, the season lasts for about six months. But it’s easy to find them near Kilindoni.

The whale shark is an interesting animal that can live more than 100 years, grow to be 20 meters long, and weigh 15 tons. It is completely safe and feeds on huge amounts of plankton that it swallows while swimming. You don’t need to have any skills to swim with whale sharks. Snorkels make it easy to swim or dive.

Enjoy the Beautiful Natural Scenery
Mafia Island’s terrestrial and reef environments are very interesting. We have spent a lot of time learning about these parts of the islands to make sure that our snorkeling and scuba diving trips give our guests an unforgettable experience. There are many kinds of corals and fish here, so the diving is truly world-class. The Bay is always full of schools of fish because it is a breeding place for them.

To make your stay with us even better, we offer guided walks and nature trails where you can see local plants, animals, and birds. You can also visit villages to learn about the way people on the island live. While you’re there, you can watch skilled craftsmen ride in traditional dhows, ngalawas, and other boats. Mafia Island also has great day lunch trips to beaches, sand banks, and outer islands.

Find out about the island’s cultural history. The Mafia Archipelago has ruins from as early as the eleventh century at Kisimani Mafia, Kanga, Kua on Juani Island, and Chole Island. There is a beautiful mosque with a barrel vault from the 1400s and a number of well-preserved buildings from the second half of the 1800s that are interesting to see because of how they were built and their old architecture.

Watching birds
A lot of different kinds of tropical birds gather on Mafia Island. Bird watchers can see more than 120 different kinds of tropical birds here. In Tanzania and its islands, everything is “extra.” Mafia Island is one of the few places you can go birdwatching from the Indian Ocean while sitting in a traditional Tanzanian dhow. Some of the birds that live on Mafia Island are the African pygmy goose, the Laughing Dove, the White-backed Duck, the African Green Pigeon, and the Emerald-spotted Wood Dove.

Seeing wildlife
A trip to Mafia Island is also a great way to see a lot of interesting African wildlife. Animals like antelopes, wild pigs, and even hippos can be seen enjoying the water in the middle of the island. Other animals that can be seen include bush babies and vervet monkeys. Huge fruit bats live on Chole Island in Mafia. Fruit bats are peaceful tropical bats that only eat fruit.

Go to Kilindoni Town
You can visit Kilindoni Town on Mafia Island, which is a fun place to look around. There are many services in the town, such as a bank, a post office, and a market where you can buy fresh fish, seafood, and veggies. Kisimani is on the southwest side of the island, and it’s only a 30-minute drive from Kilondoni. Kisimani used to be a wealthy city with a beautiful palace.

But, as the story goes, the ruler cut off the builders’ hands so that no one would ever rebuild his castle somewhere else. He may have killed Kisimani, though, because of what he did. Now, all that’s left are ruins that show where the place used to be. Also, some things found nearby have been dated to 600 B.C.

Mafia Island’s best time to visit

Most likely, you’ll want to go on a tour, to the beach, or both when you go on vacation to Tanzania. Usually, July through October is the best time to visit Tanzania’s beaches, including Mafia, because the weather is dry and warm. It’s almost certain not to rain at this point in the year. In November, there are short rains that sometimes last into December, January, and March. These come before the big rains of April and May.

While Mafia Island does have some beautiful beaches, the beaches aren’t the best and can be full of mangroves. That’s why most people come to the island to dive and see the huge Whale Sharks. Don’t think too much about the weather; the whale shark season is from October to March. If you want to visit Mafia and Zanzibar at the same time, February is the best month to do it because it rains a lot less than the other months.

Also, October is about the same. If seeing whale sharks is important to you, though, February is better because it’s later in the season, so we recommend that you go there instead of October. Right now is the best time to go underwater because it won’t rain and you’ll have the most fun.

Places to stay on Mafia Island

There are a number of places to stay on Mafia Island, just like there are on Zanzibar and Pemba. These range from cheap to moderately priced to high-end hotels and lodges. Here are some of our top picks:

Lodge for the Mafia
This lodge is lovely and rustic, and it’s not too expensive. It has everything you need for a perfect beach trip. The rooms at the lodge are clean and tastefully decorated. They have verandas that look out over a lovely yard with palm and coconut trees.

Pole Pole Bungalows
There is no other eco-lodge like this on Mafia Island. It is one of the best midrange or luxury hotels in the area. A cutting-edge purification device cleans the wastewater so that it doesn’t pollute the environment. Also, the bungalows and rooms have different features that depend on how luxurious you want to stay.

Each room and suite has its own private bathroom, antique furniture, and porch with views of the countryside. If you choose Platinum, you can swim in a plunge pool that is built into your balcony and looks out over your own beach.

Lodge at Butiama Beach
There are no fees to stay at this high-end lodge, so you can splurge without having to pay Marine Park fees. There is a beautiful restaurant, a swimming pool, and a place to relax at this seaside hotel. There is also a beautiful spot on the beach where you can walk and watch the sunset. Everyone who stays at the camp has their own bungalow and patio, and they can use the spa and do yoga there.