Short Trip: Pemba? Zanzibar?

[leaveonlybubbles]

Hi all... I'm heading to Tanzania for work and will be flying through Dar... will probably arrive evening and have two free days then need to be back about an hour north Dar by the third day.

ALL OF WHICH is to say, anybody got insights about where I should go? I'm an experience divemaster looking for more advanced diving, though also excited about exploring what seems like fascinating environs.

Suggestions?
AND, I'll be on a budget so suggestions for how to make that happen also welcome!
Thanks

 

[htweeo]

TOFO - Mozambique : Walesharks and manta !!!

 

[stefo2]

Hi all... I'm heading to Tanzania for work and will be flying through Dar... will probably arrive evening and have two free days then need to be back about an hour north Dar by the third day.

ALL OF WHICH is to say, anybody got insights about where I should go? I'm an experience divemaster looking for more advanced diving, though also excited about exploring what seems like fascinating environs.

Suggestions?
AND, I'll be on a budget so suggestions for how to make that happen also welcome!
Thanks

Difficult. The "better" (as in more advanced, more varied underwater landscape etc.) diving is in Pemba, but it's difficult to do with limited time and on a limited budget. If you fly to Pemba on your first free day, by the time you are at a dive base (I think even Swahili Divers have moved from Chake Chake now, so all dive OPs are in the north), it will probably be too late to get any diving in that day, which leaves you with only one day. Also getting to Pemba is more expensive than to Zanzibar.
I think your best bet really would be to just get a ferry or plane over to Zanzibar (depending on what time you arive in Dar, you may even be able to fly out the same evening) and base yourself in Stonetown. The diving there isn't bad, and if you go with One Ocean ask to dive the "40-metre-wreck", which they will do if there are other people interested. The other dive sites are coral reefs and you are not likely to see anything spectacular, but it's quite nice for a few days.
In Stonetown, while the diving is quite expensive, you can find budget accomodation from $10 per day if you bargain a bit, which you won't get in any of the dive resorts on Pemba (or the beach places in Zanzibar).

 

[Christian]

Pemba has the best diving, but it will be a struggle to get more than a days diving with only two days, as it will take you half a day to get to the DC from Dar if you catch a morning flight via Zanzibar. The diving is usually planned after the tide and if you're lucky, incoming tide on the day you arrive in Pemba is in the afternoon, then you might be able to catch the boat. If incoming tide is in the morning, you will miss the dives and only get one day of diving. There are no real budget alternatives in Pemba (at least not that I'm aware of).

 

[flozzer]

Hi, the diving around Pemba is nice, when you know where to dive. The problem they have there is that all the good diving is somewhere in the middle of the Island on the western side.
Unfortunately with Swahili divers leaving from Chake Chake and opened a new resort in the northern area there is noone left to do the diving in the mentioned area. Swahili Divers now offer diving along all the north west coast but you have several hours of driving to get to the better places and they cost much more than the normal dive trips.
Than there is only one other operator in the south, Fundo Lagoon, and for the dive sites in the center of the Island they are also too far away but the south has also 2 great sites to dive at. Fundu Lagoon is not a budget place with 320$ a night. So the diving offered in the north is not nice due to dynamite fishing which can be seen clearly on the reefs.
Zanzibar is a great alternative, it has a little better infrastructure and a more 'reliable' transportservice than Pemba. Also there you can find great beaches and surely do at least 10 spectacular dives in the northern area. Great dive sites are Hunga, Nankivelle, Pemba, Sakina Reef, the dives around Mnemba and Shane's reef. You can try the Spanish Dancer Divers, they are giving good service and is the only dive centre that knows all this dive sites! There is little budget accom but at least there are 2 or 3 places hiding in the bush close to the beach.
Hope this helps and is not too late!

 

[jpslim]

I concur with most of the comments on this: Pemba is good dive, can be challenging which should not be a problem for you. We had some serious currents and the DM was moderately experienced, but not a star. Accommodations in the north were pretty crappy, but whatever. There are budget places, check with LonelyPlanet. Definitely healthy reefs and lots of good stuff to see. And if you want to dive where few people do you are on the right track. We saw some amazing cuttlefish as well as totally unique nudibranchs (and lots of other stuff of course).

However, it takes a minimum of 1 hr each way to the dive sites. Folks are right that it will be hard to get there in time to do much diving with travel times as they are. I thought it was much better than Zanzibar where viz was less good. Stonetown has 1,000 more moderately priced decent hotels than northern Pemba. Do *not* dive Pemba, Mozambique, nothing to see.

Personally I would rather dive at Tofo in Moz as there is such a good chance of whalesharks, mantas and some great stuff, though Fundo Lagoon looks great. Good dives in Bazaruto, Moz as well.

 

[tadzio]

Hi,

hope this is on time.

Just returned from zanz. Would sugest karibu inn or pyramid hotel in stonetown, 20 bucks usd for a single, 30 for a double en suite bathroom (sometimes hot water) and mos nets. for the diving try bahari divers in stonetown, or alternatively take a daladala (local bus, i think 100 but not sure, just a couple of Tsh.) or a taxi to kendwa (45 mins to an hour about 20000 Tsh.), stay at either sunset bungalows, white sands, or kendwa rocks (all next to each other on the beach and in the same price range (+/- 40 bucks for a double per night) and dive with scuba do (white sands) or spanish dancer (kendwa rocks) and request a dive on the leven bank (chance of pelagics but not as nice coral and current can be going hard) or mnemba atoll (nice coral, nice fish, no pelagics.)

pemba not doable in 48 hrs, certainly give it a try if you have more time (swahili divers at about 40 usd a night in dorm style room)

have fun

 

[stefo2]

Hi,

hope this is on time.

Just returned from zanz. Would sugest karibu inn or pyramid hotel in stonetown, 20 bucks usd for a single, 30 for a double en suite bathroom (sometimes hot water) and mos nets. for the diving try bahari divers in stonetown, or alternatively take a daladala (local bus, i think 100 but not sure, just a couple of Tsh.) or a taxi to kendwa (45 mins to an hour about 20000 Tsh.), stay at either sunset bungalows, white sands, or kendwa rocks (all next to each other on the beach and in the same price range (+/- 40 bucks for a double per night) and dive with scuba do (white sands) or spanish dancer (kendwa rocks) and request a dive on the leven bank (chance of pelagics but not as nice coral and current can be going hard) or mnemba atoll (nice coral, nice fish, no pelagics.)

pemba not doable in 48 hrs, certainly give it a try if you have more time (swahili divers at about 40 usd a night in dorm style room)

have fun

Just a few slight corrections or additions to the post above:

The daladala to Nungwi (No 116, I think drops you at the Kendwa turn-off, from where it's about a 3km walk down to the resorts, unless someone gives you a lift. I think the daladala costs Tsh 2500 or 3000. You won't get a taxi for Tsh 20000, which wouldn't even cover the fuel costs for a return trip (and taxis often go back empty). Tsh 40000 is more likely, and even that will probably involve some bargaining.

ScubaDo are located at Sunset Bungalows, not White Sands (but it's true, they are all next to each other). Have not dived with Spanish Dancer myself, but so far have heard nothing but bad things about them, mainly connected to unprofessional conduct by their dive staff.

 

[one-ocean]

hi there
I learnt to dive in Zanzibar back in 2000. Apart from the fact that the Island is an amazing place - I still wonder why I ever decided to come home - the diving was really good to. We did four dives out of Stone Town, but there are so many great dives around the place. Here's some notes from our time there:
www.one-ocean.com
If you have anything to add, drop me an email from the website and I'll hapily include it.
All the best
Gary

 

[Mbvanwees]

Many dive centers claim to have a "safety first" policy. This obviously isn't the case at Spanish Dancer dive center in Zanzibar. It is hard to say what they "put first" as the general impression they give is that they care about nothing. Not the student, not the equipment, not the experience.

My husband and I dove with them on 2 separate holidays, in May and in November 2008. The first trip was ok, as the master instructor, Florian Grass was there and held things in check. On the second trip it was only the owners, Ana and Goyo running things. I was shocked. With about 170 dives between us, we know a bad dive center when we see one; and this is a bad dive center.

Pressure gauges were tested to be about 40 bar off (when told, Ana said " this is Africa, nothing works here" and laughed). Students were told to share dive computers and were encouraged to touch anything and everything. (Including Ana jamming the reel of the buoyancy marker into a hole to scare out a moray and trips being taken to touch electric rays). Also, during my AOW training, not one person on the staff (owners included) could explain how to use The Wheel. Also, they have no class room, no videos and no additional training materials other than the basic manuals.

After 18 dives with them (can't believe we didn't go sooner) we left them and moved next door to a new dive center. The difference was wonderful. Safe, new equipment, full debriefs, staff that were interested that every student was fully trained.

Additionally, Spanish Dancer is not PADI certified, as they claim:
check the PADI website