Day trips from Nungwi
Mnemba by boat, a sandbank that surfaces at low tide, Jozani with the colobus and Kendwa on foot — four trips from Nungwi, three priced per boat rather than per person.
- Best
- Mnemba: an hour by boat
- The one that is not the sea
- Jozani: red colobus and mangroves
- Free
- Kendwa
From Nungwi the trips split into the sea and the one that is not: Mnemba and the sandbanks are boats off the beach, priced per vessel and shared; Jozani is an hour and a half south and is done on the day you head back to Stone Town. Kendwa is two kilometres along the sand at low tide and costs nothing.
Mnemba — a morning by boat
An hour from the beach, snorkelling over the coral reef around a private island you do not land on. Dolphins are seen on the way, in the morning, and there is a rule not every boat on other trips follows: enter the water calmly, do not chase the pod, because a boat that chases scatters the dolphins for everyone else on the water. Leave at seven, back by one, priced per boat with masks and fruit included.
A sandbank at low tide
Several sandbanks north of Nungwi surface when the sea withdraws and stand for two or three hours: white sand in the middle of blue water, nothing built on it and no shade. The boat comes on the tide table, with lunch and a parasol; sun cream and water are essential because there is nowhere to hide. Priced per boat, agreed the evening before.
Jozani forest — an hour and a half south
The island's main refuge for the Zanzibar red colobus — a monkey found nowhere else on earth — watched from two metres, that does not flee. A mangrove boardwalk goes with it. Half a day with a driver, done on the day you head back to Stone Town or the airport, not as a separate trip from Nungwi.
Kendwa — two kilometres on foot
The neighbouring beach to the south, twenty minutes along the water at low tide: the same sand, fewer people and a sun that sets straight into the sea, because the shore faces west. The full-moon party happens once a month, on the Saturday closest to the full moon; other evenings are quieter than Nungwi. Walk back at low tide or take a taxi for a couple of thousand shillings.
What not to do
- Swimming with dolphins at Kizimkazi. Two hours south and ten boats chasing the same pod; from Mnemba the dolphins are seen on the way, without the chase.
- A boat agreed without a per-vessel price. The price is stated per boat and per hours, before boarding; 'whatever you give' at the end works out badly for everyone.
- A sandbank at noon without a parasol. Not a metre of shade and the sea reflects — an hour there is like three on the beach.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Which trip from Nungwi is the best?
Mnemba, an hour by boat: a reef for the mask, the whitest sand on the island and dolphins on the way in the morning. Leave at seven, back by lunch; priced per boat and shared with others from the beach.
Is Kizimkazi worth it for the dolphins?
We would not. Two hours south and ten boats chasing the same pod. From Mnemba dolphins are seen on the way without the chase; if swimming with them is the goal, choose a boat that does not chase and ask beforehand.
When do you go to a sandbank?
By the tide table — the bank surfaces for two or three hours at low tide and that is when you go. The hotel has the table, the boat is agreed the evening before, and always with a parasol because there is no shade.
Ready for Nungwi?
Where to next
The best time to visit Nungwi
→Two dry and two rainy seasons, a sea never below twenty-six, and three months when half of everything is shut…
Stone Town · 50 km
→The town of sultans, slave traders and Freddie Mercury, with carved wooden doors and a maze everyone gets lost in — and an insurance paid before you enter the island
How well does Nungwi suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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