Pemba Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

12-night Zanzibar, Aldabra & the Treasures of the Indian Ocean Cruise

Price: Please call for rates - # of Days: 12 days

 Package Details

Overview

Introduction

Overview

Introduction

The second-largest island in the Zanzibar Archipelago can be reached by air or ferry. Pemba lies approximately 50 mi/80 km off the Tanzanian mainland directly east of Tanga. Compared to its neighbor Zanzibar Island, which is heavily developed for tourism, Pemba by contrast seems utterly remote—there are reefs offshore that are good for snorkeling and scuba diving, and a few beaches, but the hilly, verdant island is mostly a place of agriculture and is dense with plantations growing cloves and other spices. In fact, the early Arab sailors called it "Al Huthera," meaning "The Green Island." There are only small towns—Chake Chake (the largest), Mkoani and Wete—and the rest of the island is made up of scattered villages linked by poor dirt roads. The island is overwhelmingly Muslim (more than 95% of the population), so remember to observe modest dress and behavior.

However, Pemba is well-known by the world's scuba diving fraternity and offers some of the best diving in the Indian Ocean. The Pemba Channel drops off steeply just off the west coast, and the diverse species of marine life and coral are exceptional. The visibility for divers has been known to extend to a remarkable depth of 165 ft/50 m. Additionally, the Pemba Channel offers fishermen opportunity to catch some of the world's largest species of game fish including shark, tuna, marlin and barracuda.

As such, the handful of lodges offer these activities and are mostly on lovely stretches of beach. Perhaps the most exquisite, and a favorite with honeymooners, is The Manta Resort, which offers barefoot luxury in a wonderfully remote location in the extreme northwest of the island. It also has one of the coolest and most unique places to sleep in the world—an underwater room that flows with the waves while you watch shoals of reef fish swim by from your bed. Pemba Island is 50 mi/80 km northeast of Zanzibar Island.