Mozambique or Tanzania (or Kenya?) for diving in March

[CJ Bill]

Currently working on a short term contract in Nairobi and I've got a couple of weeks off starting next weekend. I understand the weather is about to break in East Africa and I want to get some diving in. I was looking at Pemba or Mafia Island but to be honest these aren't the cheapest places then someone suggested Mozambique (Tofo) which wasn't on radar before.

So I'm appealing to the collective wisdom of SB for some pointers here. Is the weather likely to be good in Mozambique until the end of March? Are transport links to Tofo easy from Nairobi? Are there any good value for money places in the Zanzibar archipelago ($160 a night for accommodation with Swahili Divers is too much for me!), that sort of thing. Or am I better off just heading down to Malindi and Mombasa (where I had a great weekend diving last week)?

 

[jolo]

Visit my web page should help you

 

[Christian]

Been to Pemba (Tanzania) and Tofo. Not in March though, but both should be good then (I visited in November and early December). They are very different.
Pemba has the better over all coral reef diving inmo, with much better diversity of fish and coral. Tofo has the mantas and whale sharks, which are world class. Pemba has steep walls tumbling down into the abyss. The reefs around Tofo are on 10-40 meters depth, sitting on sandy bottom on the continental shelf. Pemba has gin clear water on incoming tide. Tofo normally has milky viz.
Pemba dives are usually very near the coast or even in "fjords". Tofo diving is sometimes far out from the coast. Pemba has a typical East African atmopshere and architecture (Swahili). Tofo has a distinct heritage from being a Portugese colony. Both have adequate infrastructure for diving and are very beautiful locations that should be seen. The good diving in both locations is advanced. Both have a 'rustique' feel to them (not very developed).

Zanzibar and Mafia have very different conditions compared to Pemba, even though they are geographically close. Both Zanzibar and Mafia sits on the continental shelf in comparatively shallow water and unlike Pemba, they don't get the clear water a big water column brings or the nutritious upwellings from the deep sea like Pemba reefs do. So the conditions for the reefs and marine life are quite different and so is the diving experience. Both Pemba Island and Mafia are undeveloped, but Zanzibar is a full fledged tourist destination.

good luck

 

[Christopher_B]

There is cheap accommodation on Zanzibar island and reasonable diving, though it doesn't compare to the diving on Pemba which has excellent walls and viz, and big schools of jacks, snappers, and barracudas at the right times. Check out | Indigo Safaris for some good impartial information. The Tanzania page also has links to articles about the places there.