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Pristine reefs in a remote location

Mafia Island diving holidays, with the Tanzania experts.

Mafia Island is the largest of a small archipelago on the coast of southern Tanzania in the Indian Ocean.

Live price check Best Time To Go
5★ on Google — 190+ reviews Every hotel personally vetted by us ATOL & TTA — 100% protected
Pristine reefs in a remote location Best as part of a wider Africa tour or safari Authentic uncommercial Tanzania
When to go

The Mafia Island season at a glance

The best months to dive Mafia Island are highlighted below, based on our own dives here.

JJan
FFeb
MMar
AApr
MMay
JJun
JJul
AAug
SSep
OOct
NNov
DDec
Best dive season Good dive season Quieter months
Why you'll love Mafia Island

Why you'll love diving in Mafia Island!

Diving Holidays In Mafia Island

Mafia Island is the largest of a small archipelago on the coast of southern Tanzania in the Indian Ocean. Mafia Island is only 50 km long and 15 km wide, surrounded by a beautiful marine environment. Almost half the coastline is fringing barrier reefs, forming a protected marine park. The main attraction of a diving holiday to Mafia Island is its feeling of remoteness combined with stunning beaches and incredible marine life. Life on Mafia seems to have stood still, while the rest of the world races, making it feel like you are in the early 20th century. One advantage that Mafia has over it'e better-known sister islands of Zanzibar and Pemba Island is that the main dive sites, especially around Chole Bay, are accessible all year round.

The Diving On Mafia Island

Mafia Island and its reefs are renowned as an excellent diving destination with an unparalleled variety of hard and soft corals and diverse tropical fish. There is a good range of dive sites with shallow reefs of immense beauty and richness, bommies, channels, walls and caves, drift and night dives. You can occasionally see manta and whale sharks here, but you must be lucky. Although there are better world-class dive destinations in terms of visibility and pelagics a diving holiday to Mafia Island is very special with each dive making you feel like you are discovering new dive sites each time.



DIVE SITES ON MAFIA ISLAND

Belami Reef: A shallow dive to 17m, there are many isolated coral heads and a profusion of small tropical fish.

Kinasi Pass Wall: This site has walls and drop-offs down to 22m. The marine life is impressive with large numbers of grouper, stingray and game fish. Reef sharks and tiger sharks can be seen as well as a profusion of smaller fish.

Sefo Reef: Situated far out to sea in the Mafia Channel, this site haunts many large game fish. The reef is in pristine condition but the site is not dived much due to its accessibility. However, for those with time, this is a great dive experience.

Kaule Reef: Good for night dives due to the profusion of lobster found here, this is a shallow dive to 18m. Turtles are often seen and there is a good variety of coral.

Chole Bay: The wonderful Chole Bay is probably the most outstanding part of Mafia Island Marine Park’s marine environment. It is a vast circular bay of over 50 sq km with a depth varying from 1 to 28 metres and a tremendous variety of coral, fish and other marine species. An important feature of Chole Bay is that the water is continuously exchanged as fresh ocean water flushes in through Kinasi Pass every flood tide.
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Speak to a Tanzania expert

We've dived Mafia Island ourselves and stayed in the hotels we sell in Tanzania. Send us your dates and your certification, and we'll say if it's the best fit.

Or call +44 1273 921 001 — Mon–Thu 9am–6pm, Fri–Sat 9am–5pm
Is it right for your level?

Skill level match

How Mafia Island suits divers at each level, new or experienced.

Learn To Dive 100%

Qualified diver with daily dives 100%

50 dives or more 100%

Snorkelling 100%

Our top suggested tailor-made tours

Dive, plus everything else you'd hate to miss

Diving in Mafia Island combined with somewhere new on the same trip, each tour planned around your dates and budget.

Suggested tour Mount Meru Climb + 3 night Safari

Mount Meru Climb + 3 night Safari

From £5,900 pp

Start with the drama of a Mount Meru climb, trekking through dense forest and open moorland to reach the summit at sunrise, with vast views stretching across northern Tanzania towards Mount Kilimanjaro. It’s a real adventure — wild, rewarding and far less crowded — offering a true sense of achievement at the start of your journey. From there, fly into the heart of the Serengeti National Park for a three-night luxury safari. Stay in an intimate tented camp or boutique lodge, where expert guides, beautifully prepared food and elegant surroundings combine with world-class wildlife viewing. Early morning and late afternoon game drives bring you close to lion, elephant and, depending on the season, the Great Migration, while afternoons are for relaxing with sweeping plains stretching endlessly before you.Then finish by the ocean, either in Zanzibar or along the Kenyan coast or islands, where the focus shifts entirely to your chosen ocean sport. Whether that’s kitesurfing, diving, snorkelling or wingfoiling, this final chapter is all about warm water, steady wind or clear reefs — pure, active beach living to round off an extraordinary summit-to-savannah-to-sea journey.

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Suggested tour 7 nights Tanzania Safari + Zanzibar

7 nights Tanzania Safari + Zanzibar

From £6,900 pp

This privately guided Tanzania safari is a perfectly paced journey through the country’s most iconic wildlife regions, from the elephant-filled landscapes of Tarangire and the scenic Ngorongoro Highlands to the predator-rich heart of the Serengeti and the remote northern plains near the Mara River. Outstanding game viewing, dramatic scenery and an authentic safari feel, with intimate tented camps and expert guiding throughout. It combines seamlessly with a week in Zanzibar, creating the ideal bush-and-beach experience. After the excitement of daily game drives, Zanzibar offers a complete change of pace with white-sand beaches, warm Indian Ocean waters, excellent snorkelling, diving, Wingfoiling or Kitesurfing. The contrast between wild safari adventure and effortless beach downtime makes this a beautifully balanced and memorable holiday.

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Suggested tour Tarangire and Serengeti Luxury Experience

Tarangire and Serengeti Luxury Experience

From £5,900 pp

A fusion of sublime safari lodges and explorer-style tented safari camps creating the ultimate circuit through northern Tanzania. Embark on a safari that's truly out of the ordinary — one where refined comfort meets a strong conservation ethos, and where unscripted adventure is complemented by an unhurried pace and completely bespoke service. It provides the very best that northern Tanzania has to offer. With access to large tracts of unspoiled wilderness, a dedicated vehicle and a private guide, you have complete freedom to follow where nature leads and curate your experience to your own preferences. Prepare for an inspired journey that's purely personal and utterly unequalled. True. Wild. Free.

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Only the best, hand-picked

Recommended hotels in Mafia Island

We've stayed in these hotels and checked the diving that goes with them. They're the ones we'd book in Mafia Island.

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★★★★ 4* Pole Pole Bungalow, Mafia Island From £436/night · full board
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Pole Pole Bungalow

  • A remote divers paradise away from mass tourism
  • Set in a marine park, with Whale Sharks from May to October
  • Brand-new Jua Sea View Suites for 2025, with private plunge pool & stunning views
Hidden Escape
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Booking Mafia Island with us

We lose sleep so you don’t.

We take every booking personally. Here's what happens after you book a dive trip with us, before you fly and while you're away.

01

Your money stays in trust

Your payments go into a trust account, not our bank, and stay there until after your trip. If we ever stopped trading, the money would come back to you.

02

Your diving booked before you fly

Your dives with the centre or the boat, the flights, the transfers and the room you chose are all confirmed before you leave home. The driver who meets you will be there and will speak English.

03

A call before you go

Documents, visas, your certification card and insurance that covers your diving. We go through it on the phone, and you can ask anything else while we're talking.

04

On WhatsApp the whole trip

Wherever you are and whatever the time, there's one number to message or call. Flight delayed, room not right, a problem at the dive centre: the person who answers already knows your booking.

No obligation. We’ll come back with a full itinerary and a price.
Free · No obligation

Plan your trip with people who dive.

Tell us when you can travel, your certification level and what you'd like to see underwater. We'll send a shortlist of resorts or liveaboards, usually within one working day.

✔  20-minute expert call ✔  Personal shortlist & quote ✔  Price-match promise ✔  ATOL protected booking
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Book your free consultation

Pick a time that suits you, or call us right now.
Prefer to talk now? +44 1273 921 001
Mon–Thu 9am–6pm, Fri–Sat 9am–5pm