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Cloves, cardamom and cinnamon bark laid out on a woven mat at a Zanzibar spice farm.

Coast & marine

Coastal Solitude & Marine

The islands without the safari, for travellers who have seen the parks or who want the sea and nothing else. Marine activity is seasonal and we will tell you honestly what your month is likely to give you.

Request a quote See the itinerary
Duration6 days / 5 nights
RouteZanzibar · Pemba or Mafia
PaceGentle to active, entirely your choice
Best monthsJune to October and December to February
From$5,200pp sharing

About this journey

The islands without the safari — Zanzibar and then either Pemba or Mafia, depending on what you want from the water. Marine activity is seasonal, and we will tell you honestly what your month is likely to give you.

Best months. June to October and December to February. April and May are the long rains and several island properties close.

Pace. Gentle to active, entirely your choice. Diving is available and never assumed.

Who this journey suits

You have done the parks, or a safari was never the point.

The water is the reason you are coming — diving, snorkelling, or just being in it.

You would rather see two islands properly than four in passing.

You want somewhere quieter than the Zanzibar north coast in August.

Highlights

  • Two islands, with the inter-island flight handled as part of the journey
  • Pemba's walls and channels, or Mafia's whale sharks in season
  • A spice farm morning on a working smallholding
  • Stone Town on the way through, with a guide who knows the museums
  • No early starts unless you book a dive

Route

Stops on Coastal Solitude & Marine
StopNightsWhy
Zanzibar2 nightsStone Town and the spice farms, then the coast.
Pemba or Mafia3 nightsPemba for the diving; Mafia for the whale sharks, in season.

How the journey flows

Every point below is a real place at its real coordinates. The coastline is simplified — this is a route diagram, not a survey map.

Schematic map of Tanzania showing the route for Coastal Solitude & Marine. The same route is listed as text beside this map. Zanzibar (ZNZ)Stone TownPemba Zanzibar (ZNZ)Stone TownPemba
  • Light aircraft
  • Private 4×4

In order

  1. Zanzibar (ZNZ)Arrive
  2. Stone TownPrivate 4×4
  3. PembaLight aircraft
  4. Zanzibar (ZNZ)Light aircraft

Flights and bush aviation

If you have not flown in a twelve-seat aircraft off a grass strip before, this is the part worth reading twice.

Flight sectors on this journey
SectorIn the air AircraftNote
Zanzibar (ZNZ) → Pemba or Mafia20–40 minLight aircraftFew flights a day; never connect to a tight international departure.
Pemba or Mafia → Zanzibar (ZNZ) or Dar es Salaam20–40 minLight aircraft—

What to expect either end

Aviation practicalities
LuggageOne soft bag of about 15 kg (33 lb) plus a small day bag on bush sectors. Soft is a requirement, not a preference — the baggage compartments are shaped, not boxes, and a hard case will not go in. The allowance is set by the operating carrier and we verify it for your sectors before you pack. Subject to confirmation.
Where a hard case goesInto store in Arusha, Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar, and back to you at the end. Routine and included.
BoardingA short ladder or a step onto the wing. Assistance is routine and manual: no aisle chair, no ambulift, no jet bridge. A powered wheelchair needs a separate conversation about weight, battery type and cargo-door size.
Delays and weatherNormal, especially in the rains. We never connect a bush strip to a same-day international departure, and nor should anybody else.
WeightsOperators ask for each passenger's weight before the flight. It is a load sheet calculation, not an indignity, and it is not optional.
The operatorFlights are flown by carriers licensed by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority. We have no contracted carrier yet, so no operator is named on this site. The operator for your sectors is named in your written proposal, before you pay.

No airline is named on this site. Several carriers fly these routes under Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority licences, and we have no contracted relationship with any of them yet. Naming one here would imply a partnership that does not exist. The operator for your sectors is named in your written proposal, before you pay anything. (subject to confirmation)

Day by day

A starting point. Every day here can be moved, shortened or removed — open one to read what it holds.

  1. Day1 Arrive in Zanzibar WhereStone Town OvernightSmall hotel in Stone Town Meals D

    Met at the airport, twenty minutes into town. Stone Town is best on the first evening, before you have acclimatised enough to want the beach.

    Where you would sleep this night

    Described by standard, not by name: we do not name a property we have no agreement with. Your written proposal names the actual place, and the photographs here are examples of the standard rather than pictures of it. Power, water, wifi and access for each standard.

    • Stone Town merchant house — an example of this standard.Stone Town merchant houseTwelve to twenty rooms, no two the same.
    • Beach property or private villa — an example of this standard.Beach property or private villaSea-facing doubles; villas have three to six bedrooms.
  2. Day2 Stone Town and spices WhereZanzibar OvernightSmall hotel or beach property Meals BL

    A guided morning through the old town — the former slave market site, the Anglican cathedral built on it, the carved doors and the house museums — then a spice smallholding inland on the way to the coast.

    Where you would sleep this night

    Described by standard, not by name: we do not name a property we have no agreement with. Your written proposal names the actual place, and the photographs here are examples of the standard rather than pictures of it. Power, water, wifi and access for each standard.

    • Stone Town merchant house — an example of this standard.Stone Town merchant houseTwelve to twenty rooms, no two the same.
    • Beach property or private villa — an example of this standard.Beach property or private villaSea-facing doubles; villas have three to six bedrooms.
  3. Day3 Fly to Pemba or Mafia WherePemba / Mafia OvernightSmall lodge Meals BLD

    A short hop, twenty to forty minutes. Both islands are quieter, greener and less developed than Zanzibar, and both have a fraction of the flights.

  4. Day4 In the water WherePemba / Mafia OvernightSmall lodge Meals BLD

    Diving, snorkelling or a boat day, by arrangement. Pemba's channel walls are genuinely world-ranked; Mafia's whale sharks are seasonal, roughly October to March, and nobody can promise them.

  5. Day5 A second water day WherePemba / Mafia OvernightSmall lodge Meals BLD

    A second day because the first one is often the one the weather takes.

  6. Day6 Home WherePemba / Mafia → Zanzibar or Dar Overnight— Meals B

    Light aircraft back to Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam for the onward connection. Leave a margin: these are small airstrips with few flights a day.

Where you would stay

Open any of these for rooms, power hours, hot water, Wi-Fi and the honest access position.

Stone Town merchant house

Stone Town merchant house

A converted nineteenth-century merchant house in the old city: carved doors, high ceilings, a roof terrace, and the call to prayer at dawn. Atmospheric, and that atmosphere is made of staircases.

Where
Inside Stone Town, mostly on lanes closed to vehicles.
Rooms
Twelve to twenty rooms, no two the same.
Power
Mains. Cuts are common and most properties have a generator.
Hot water
Continuous hot water.
Wi-Fi
Available, usually in public areas and rooms.
Access
Not step-free, and we are not going to find a form of words for it. Three and four storeys with no lift, narrow stairs, and lanes outside that are uneven coral stone with thresholds. We plan around Stone Town rather than through it.
Sustainability
Reuse of a historic building is the strongest environmental case these properties have, and it is a real one.

Amenities

  • En-suite bathroom
  • Air conditioning
  • Roof terrace restaurant
  • Wi-Fi
  • Mains electricity
  • Breakfast included

Described by style, not by name. We do not name a camp, lodge or hotel we have no agreement with — that would be a public claim about somebody else's business. The specific properties held for you are named in your written proposal, with their access detail, before you pay anything.

Beach property or private villa

Beach property or private villa

Either a small beach hotel of twelve to twenty rooms, or a whole house with its own staff. For a party of four or more the villa is usually both better and cheaper per head.

Where
Zanzibar north and east coasts, Pemba and Mafia.
Rooms
Sea-facing doubles; villas have three to six bedrooms.
Power
Mains, with generator backup at most properties. Cuts are common and brief.
Hot water
Continuous. Solar-heated at many properties.
Wi-Fi
Generally good by Tanzanian standards, and variable.
Access
Ground-floor rooms are common; roll-in showers are not. Sand between the room and the sea is the real barrier, and a beach-capable chair can sometimes be borrowed. Not confirmed at any property.
Sustainability
Varies. Several coastal properties run desalination and solar, subject to confirmation.

Amenities

  • En-suite bathroom
  • Air conditioning or ceiling fans
  • Pool
  • Mains electricity
  • Wi-Fi
  • Beach access
  • Half or full board, or self-catering

Described by style, not by name. We do not name a camp, lodge or hotel we have no agreement with — that would be a public claim about somebody else's business. The specific properties held for you are named in your written proposal, with their access detail, before you pay anything.

What it costs

Indicative $5,200 – $8,800 per person sharing, by island and standard. No price on this site has been approved, and nothing here is a quotation.

Indicative price per person sharing, by season and group size
Season123–45–67+
PeakJuly – October, 20 Dec – 3 JanOn requestOn requestOn requestOn requestOn request
ShoulderJanuary – February, June, NovemberOn request$5,200indicativeOn requestOn requestOn request
GreenMarch – May (long rains — we will say if it is a bad week)On requestOn requestOn requestOn requestOn request

Per person sharing, US dollars, two people unless stated. Excludes international flights. A single traveller pays more and a larger group pays less per head — we will tell you how much before you ask twice. No figure here has been approved: see what it costs.

What moves the price: season, how many of you there are, whether you fly or drive the long sectors, and the standard of camp. A single traveller pays more; we will say how much before you ask twice.

Access and comfort

Each line is either confirmed by our own measurement or it is not. “On request” means we will plan and cost it and nobody has measured it yet.

Access provision on Coastal Solitude & Marine
ProvisionStatusDetail
Beach propertiesPartialGround-floor rooms are usual; roll-in showers are rare. Assessed property by property.
Beach-capable wheelchairOn requestSome properties hold one. None is confirmed by us.
Stone Town step-free routeNot offeredThe alleys are narrow, uneven and stepped, and the historic hotels have staircases. We plan around it.
Boat boardingPartialUsually from a beach or a small jetty, with a step and often a swell. Assistance is routine; nothing is measured.
Diving with a disabilityPartialPossible, and a conversation with the dive operator's own medical process rather than with us.

We do not ask for a diagnosis — only for what you need. How we plan accessible journeys.

The detail

What is covered, what it involves on the ground, and the changes people most often ask for. Open whichever you need.

What is included, and what is not

Included

Private 4×4 safari vehicle with a pop-up roof and a professional English-speaking driver-guide, for your party alone

Accommodation as described, on a full-board basis

All park, conservation and concession fees

Airport and airstrip transfers, met at the aircraft rather than at the kerb

Bottled drinking water in the vehicle

24-hour local support while you are in the country

Inter-island light-aircraft sector

Guided Stone Town morning and spice farm visit

Snorkelling equipment at the island lodge

Not included

Dive packages, certification courses and equipment hire

Whale shark boat charters on Mafia

International flights, visas and travel insurance

Tips, premium drinks and personal expenses

Optional activities such as a balloon flight, unless listed above

Emergency medical evacuation cover — strongly recommended, and not something we currently provide

Practical detail
Practical detail for Coastal Solitude & Marine
Whale sharksMafia, roughly October to March, and highly variable. Treat any stated season as indicative.
DressMajority Muslim islands. Beachwear on the beach; covered shoulders and knees in town and in the villages.
RamadanRestaurants close or shorten hours and the dates move each year. We will tell you if yours fall in it.
Flight marginsIsland strips have few flights. Never book a same-day connection to a tight international departure.
DecompressionThe nearest chamber is in Zanzibar. Do not fly within 24 hours of your last dive, and say if you plan to dive late in the trip.
Ways to personalise this journey

The changes people actually ask for, with what each one does to the shape of the trip. Prices for these are quoted in your proposal, not here.

A safari halfThree to five days in the northern parks before the islands. See Sanctuary & Spice Escape.
Private boat dayYour party only, with a packed lunch and a sandbank, rather than a shared excursion.
Both islandsPemba and Mafia in one trip, which needs two more nights and a Dar es Salaam connection.
Dive courseOpen-water certification takes three to four days and would replace most of the island half.

This itinerary is a draft. It is written to real logistics but has not yet been checked by a guide who works this circuit, and no price here has been approved. Treat every figure as indicative until we confirm it in writing.

Questions about this journey

Pemba or Mafia?

Pemba for diving — steep channel walls, strong current, serious reef. Mafia for the whale sharks in season and an easier, shallower, more forgiving sea. Pemba is greener; Mafia is quieter.

Can we add the Serengeti?

Yes, and it is one flight. If the safari matters as much as the sea, start from Sanctuary & Spice Escape instead.

Is the snorkelling good from the beach?

On Pemba and Mafia, often yes. On much of Zanzibar the reef is a boat ride out and the lagoon is sandy at low tide.

What about the seaweed farms?

Large parts of the east Zanzibar lagoon are farmed for seaweed, which is a significant local livelihood and also means the shallows are full of lines and stakes. It is worth knowing before you picture an empty beach.

If this one is not quite it

Journeys that share a region or a style with this one, and the background reading for the places on the route.

Wildlife Wild Southern Solitude 6 days / 5 nights · Nyerere · Ruaha Bush & beach Sanctuary & Spice Escape 9 days / 8 nights · Serengeti · Zanzibar Signature Grand Montero Expedition 14 days / 13 nights · Serengeti · Kilimanjaro · heritage · gems · coast

Destination guides

Ways to travel

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