Diving in Tanzania is concentrated on the islands off the Tanzanian mainland. Here you will find, among other things, the islands of Zanzibar, Mafia Island and Pempa Island. Outside Zanzibar is also the small island and reef around Mnemba Island. There are several other islands but the diving there is not in the same class. Land-based diving in Tanzania is also possible if you live on the mainland with fast boats, but it will be long days and a lot of churning at sea. We recommend staying on one of the islands just for your diving trip and here you also have good snorkeling and close to the diving sites. Click on the boxes above to read more about these islands.
About the diving
The diving around Tanzania has fascinating marine life and crystal clear water with a pleasant temperature all year round. Whale sharks also often pass here during the season and other species of shark are also regularly seen in this part of the Indian Ocean. Sometimes you can get lucky and see hammerhead sharks during parts of the year. Otherwise, reef sharks, turtles, occasional manta rays, eagle rays are more common to see. Here you can also dive with schools of different species of tuna and barracuda. When it's whale shark season, you can also quite often see whales migrating past here.
Here you can snorkel and dive without any problems throughout the year. Land-based diving in Tanzania is readily available and in the past there was even one live board here but currently it is not an option. Just remember the sun when you snorkel so you protect your back. It's easy to get burned. For centuries, traders have sailed to and past Tanzania. This has resulted in several shipwrecks to explore around Tanzania's islands. With the rich trade that has taken place here over the centuries, Zanzibar also has a rich cultural life and there are exciting culinary experiences to be had and lots of history.
We book your diving holiday to these islands, mainly we work together with Mafia and Zanzibar. Of course you should combine with one safari on the mainland. We can help with that too. If you are really adventurous and interested in diving, you can also dive in Lake Tanganyika with all its different cichlids. Unfortunately, it is not something we offer at the moment, but may become relevant later.
