After
extensively investigating this fascinating coastal region, testing
all the dive sites and hotels, we have selected the very best
diving resorts on the East Africa coast for you to choice from.
Each
resort has its own unique attraction depending on whether you
are looking for secluded luxury or an action packed adventure
- just contact
us with your requirements and we will construct the
perfect diving holiday itinerary to suit you specific needs
both above and below the waves.
We
can also arrange other hotels along the Kenyan and Tanzanian coast
line should your these not suit your needs. We highly recommend
adding a safaris
extension to your holiday as East Africa is home to
some of the worlds most prolific wildlife. For the more adventurous
there is also the opportunity to climb the highest peak in Africa,
Mount Kilimanjaro!
The
Kenyan Coast line offers a wide choice or resorts from Watamu
Marine Park in the North to Shimoni Reef in the South, all accessed
by direct flight from the UK making this an easily accessible
destination. Kenya has long been a favourite for the British traveller
looking for beautiful beaches and a wide range of activities on
hand, including some fantastic diving! Kenyan resorts are some
of the best value for money in East Africa with many hotels offering
great 'all-inclusive' deals. With prices from as little as £650
to include your flights, transfers and full board accommodation
in some really excellent beach front hotels, this is hard to beat
!!
Getting
there - There
are direct flights to Mombasa every Saturday and Sunday from both
Manchester (Sun only) and Gatwick as well as daily scheduled services
such as with Kenya Airways via Nairobi.
Hemingways
Beach Resort, Watamu Marine Park is just half an hour
from Malindi Airport offering five staff luxury on a stunning
beach front location. For such a high standard of hotel Hemingways
offer excellent value with access to some great diving as well
as a host of other activities and tours. This is the best hotel
in Watamu and highly recommended.
Turtle
Bay Beach Club, Watamu Marine Park.
half hour by road south of Malindi Airport the Turtle Bay Beach
Club resort lies in 10 acres of tropical gardens surrounded by
colourful bougainvillea's and coconut palms. This all inclusive
resort offers great value of stunning beach front location.
Papillon
Lagoon, Diani Beach is an hour by road south of Mombasa
Airport, on the popular Diani Beach, you will find the Papillon
Lagoon Beach Resort. Built
in the traditional Swahili style, the hotel nestles amid exotic
gardens and fish ponds shaded by ancient Baobab trees.
| PEMBA
ISLAND, NORTHERN TANZANIA |
|
Pemba
Island is located 40km north of Zanzibar and is about 70km long.
The island is surrounded by beautiful beaches,islands and pristine
offshore coral reefs. The drop off into the pemba channel is 600
meters deep, and it offers scores of world class diving sites
where mantas, hammerhead sharks, groupers and dolphin abound.
The island is famous for it's clove production and this is the
mainstay of Pemba's economy. Tourism is still in its infancy but
several areas are now being developed to take advantage of the
amazing world class dive sites of the Pemba Channel.
If
you are short of time and have to select the best sites then an
itinerary which includes Manta Point, Mesali Island and the Emerald
Reef at Panza Point should satisfy even the most experienced and
demanding diver. Pemba is best suited to the experienced diver
due to strong currents and great depths. There are some sites
suited to the less experienced diver but conditions should always
be checked first. Drift dives are the most common due to the currents
and it is advisable to carry a surface marker buoy.
Getting
there: There are flights from Zanzibar and Dar Es Salaam and
a ferry service two days weekly between Zanzibar'sStone
Town and Pemba.
Fundu
Lagoon, Pemba Island - Tanzania. Fundu Lagoon is a
new luxury resort in the Indian Ocean, spread over 18 acres on
the west coast of the island of Pemba, north of the Zanzibar mainland.
Fundu Lagoon is a unique resort designed for couples and groups
of friends looking to escape the usual holiday crowds.
|
ZANZIBAR
- 'THE SPICE ISLAND'
|
|
The
Spice Island of Zanzibar lies off the coast of Tanzania in the
Indian Ocean. It is infamous for once being the centre of the
slave trade in East Africa. Today it combines ancient Islamic
ruins, noble Arabic houses with miles of white sandy palm fringed
beaches and coves. The ocean offers warm clear blue waters, excellent
reefs for snorkelling and diving, fantastic deep sea fishing,
water sports and, of course, delicious fresh sea food. Visit the
spice plantations (cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, cardamon
and others) or haggling for carvings in the Central Market is
great fun too.
For over 2 centuries Zanzibar has evoked the magic and mystery
of 'a thousand and one nights'. Merchants, scholars, explorers
and rulers have all braved the Indian Ocean to embrace this jewel
of an island. All who came wished to stay and so a truly cosmopolitan
culture evolved which enhanced Zanzibar's heady and hypnotic atmosphere.
This island is a haven that must not be missed, so visually stunning,
from some of the most beautiful beaches in the world to its unique
forest reserve and spice plantations. Rare species of Leopard,
Red colobus monkey and Antelope roam within the forests as well
as Giant tortoises to be discovered on nearby islands. Zanzibar
is evergreen with fruit, vegetables and spices flourishing all
year round and the omnipresent clove which earned Zanzibar its
sobriquet - The Spice Island.
Getting
there
- A flight via Nairobi with Kenya Airways will take you straight
to Zanzibar airport in Stone town followed by a one hour road
transfer to the Nungwi Beach Resort at the Northern tip of the
island.
Dhow
Palace, Stone Town: This small yet charming
hotel is situated in the heart of Zanzibar's historic Stone Town,
where East meets West. The hotel lounge has an impressive selection
of antique ornaments and furniture, and adds to the relaxed ambience
that is a Dhow Palace trademark.
Ras
Nungwi Beach Resort: Located
on an expanse of beach wilderness on the northern tip of Zanzibar,
and protected by a coral reef, Ras Nungwi Beach Resort is an ideal
location for all forms of watersports, or merely for relaxing
in the temperate water while soaking up the equatorial sun.
Mafia
Island and its reefs are renown as an excellent, World-class diving
destination. Mafia has some of the richest reefs in the World,
with an unparalleled variety of hard and soft corals and diversity
of tropical fish. The Island lies close to the Rufiji Delta, just
a short aircraft flight from Dar es Salaam, the Selous Game Reserve
or Zanzibar. The island was a regular stop for two thousand years
for Arab and Persian dhows plying the coastal waters from the
Gulf to Madagascar and Mozambique. Chole Bay, Mafia's protected
deep-water anchorage and the original harbour, is studded with
islands, sandbanks and beaches. The clear, protected waters offer
wonderful snorkelling, sailing and swimming. Outside the Bay unbroken
reef runs the length of the island, from Tutia in the south to
Ras Mkumbi at the northern tip.
 |
|
Mafia
Island is set in a Marine Park situated about 130 km south of
Dar es-Salaam and about 25 km from the mainland. It is part of
an archipelago formed of a number of very large islands and small
uninhabited coral atolls . Due to its position alongside the barrier,
the island is the meeting place of large oceanic fish and the
the vast variety of fish common to the Indian Ocean coral reefs.
There are over 400 species of fish in the park. The Park is a
paradise for both expert scuba divers as well as those wishing
to snorkel or sail in the native local boats from island to island.
Getting
there - Regular
international flights from London and Manchester to Dar Es Salaam
are followed by a short internal flight to Mafia Island.
Pole
Pole, Mafia Island - Tanzania. The Pole Pole Bungalow
Resort at Mafia Island's Marine Park is a new kind of luxury resort
offering a luxury travel experience that combines the principles
of ecotourism. It is a small resort with just 10 bungalows set
in one of the most pristine and exotic environments in the world.
