Destination guide

Mafia Island

Whale sharks, Tanzania's first marine park and a diver's slow paradise

Mafia is a low-key island south of Zanzibar, ringed by Tanzania's oldest marine park and famous for seasonal whale sharks. Its single job for a traveller is unhurried, world-class diving and snorkelling far from the crowds.

By the numbers

Established 1995

Marine park

Tanzania's first marine park

Oct-Mar

Whale sharks

reliable seasonal aggregation

Kilindoni

Capital

main town and port

Pwani (Coast)

Region

administered from mainland Tanzania

Sheltered reef

Chole Bay

the marine park's diving heart

Juani Island

Kua ruins

abandoned Shirazi Swahili town

Best time to visit

Whale sharks gather off Kilindoni from October to March, with November and December the most reliable months. The dry, calm seas of June to October give the best all-round diving, while the long rains of April and May close some lodges.

Common questions

The season runs roughly October to March, with November and December the most reliable months when the sharks feed in the shallow coastal waters off Kilindoni.

Culturally it belongs to the same Swahili archipelago, but administratively Mafia is a district of mainland Tanzania's Pwani (Coast) Region, not the semi-autonomous Zanzibar government.

Most visitors fly a light aircraft from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar into Mafia Airport at Kilindoni; a slower ferry and dhow route runs from Nyamisati on the mainland.

Yes, visitors to the Mafia Island Marine Park pay a daily conservation fee, usually arranged through your lodge or dive centre.