Mafia Island (English: Mafia Island, Swahili: Kisiwa cha Mafia) is an island belonging to Tanzania, located in the Indian Ocean, just off the country’s central coast. The island is part of Tanzania’s Spice Islands and has 44,233 inhabitants (2007) across an area of 567.03 km², which includes several smaller islands around the coast of the main island. The population of Mafia Island is mainly engaged in agriculture, fishing, and tourism, and the only urban centre is Kilindoni, the district’s administrative capital, with 9,463 inhabitants (2002).
To Do
This is truly a paradise for those looking for new, untouched places. Mafia primarily attracts divers and deep-sea fishermen.
Keep in Mind That
Since most of the popular hotels on Mafia are located within areas belonging to the Tanzania Marine Parks, it currently costs (2012) US$20 per adult per day to stay within the marine national park. The fee can only be paid in cash upon arrival.
Pemba
Beach at Pemba in Tanzania
Pemba is a very beautiful and exotic paradise island that has mostly been discovered by divers. It feels as though time has stood still on this untouched, unexploited, and exotic island.
Pemba is an island belonging to Tanzania and is located in the Indian Ocean, off the country’s northeast coast. The island is also known in Arabic as Al Jazeera Al Khadra (the Green Island). Pemba is about 50 kilometres northeast of the island of Zanzibar and about the same distance from mainland Tanzania, and only a few miles from the southeast coast of Kenya. Pemba is part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, which consists of Pemba, Zanzibar, and some smaller islands. This group of islands is, in turn, part of the Spice Islands, which also includes the more southerly Mafia Island. Considered hillier and more fertile than Zanzibar, most of Pemba is dominated by small-scale agriculture, and it is one of the world’s largest producers of cloves, with over 3 million such trees. The languages spoken on the island are Swahili (with the local dialect Kipemba) and Arabic, as the island has a significant Arab population.
Pemba has a total of 441,430 inhabitants (2007) across an area of 906 km², which includes the main island as well as a number of smaller islands around its coast. The largest towns are Wete, with 24,983 inhabitants (2002), and Chake Chake, with 19,283 inhabitants (2002).
Things to Do in Pemba
Diving
Blue fish on Pemba
Pemba is known to be one of the best places in the world for diving. The coral reef is shallow, and the water is crystal clear. Most of the diving on Pemba takes place on the west side of the island.
Fishing
Marlin on Pemba
The “Pemba Channel” is known as one of the world’s best fishing spots, thanks to its nutrient-rich sea.
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