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Mnemba Island Snorkeling: Discover Tanzania's Rare Marine Life and Swim with Dolphins
Boost your prospects of encountering some of Tanzania’s elusive aquatic creatures on a snorkeling trip that guides you to the prime wildlife viewing locations around Mnemba Island.
Boost your prospects of encountering some of Tanzania’s elusive aquatic creatures on a snorkeling trip that guides you to the prime wildlife viewing locations around Mnemba Island.
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Mnemba Island - Activities start at 8:30 AM with a motorboat departure from Mama Mia Restaurant Beach or the northern beaches of Zanzibar (Kendwa or Nungwi). Pickup begins 40 minutes prior to boat departure. The boat ride takes approximately 45 minutes. The first stop is Dolphin Point, where guests can swim with dolphins. Next, we head to the…
- Mnemba Island - Activities start at 8:30 AM with a motorboat departure from Mama Mia Restaurant Beach or the northern beaches of Zanzibar (Kendwa or Nungwi). Pickup begins 40 minutes prior to boat departure. The boat ride takes approximately 45 minutes. The first stop is Dolphin Point, where guests can swim with dolphins. Next, we head to the Mnemba marine conservation area for snorkeling among vibrant coral reefs, home to a variety of colorful fish such as Nemo, Dory, Grouper, Zebra, Cornet, Rainbow, Moray, and Trumpet fish. Finally, we visit the sandbank, which appears depending on the sea tide. The trip runs from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM.
What's Included
- Zanzibar Tropical Fruits
- Bottled water
- Motorboat
- Use of snorkeling equipment
- All fees and/or taxes
- Local Guide
- Zanzibar Tropical Fruits
- Bottled water
- Motorboat
- Use of snorkeling equipment
- All fees and/or taxes
- Local Guide
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(365 Ratings)
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Namsu22
Dec 9, 2024
A solid tour experience! - The tour was a really incredible experience. If you are looking to snorkel and just get out on the water I highly recommend it. Will it be like the picture (i.e. swimming right next to dolphins) probably not (as soon as they see you they dont spend much time but you do get to see them in addition to other beaches and snorkeling (which was my favorite)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A2951tesallyb
Dec 7, 2024
Fab experience - Just got back from this trip with my husband (& Super Captain & Ali!)
It was superb and I totally recommend it!
We saw a wide variety of fish whilst snorkelling and stopped at a natural swimming pool in the middle of the ocean too! But the highlight of the tour was the sheer amount of dolphins we were able to swim with naturally in the sea… maybe about 20! This trip is definitely worth doing if you visit Zanzibar!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
316manonh
Dec 5, 2024
Fantastic experience with dolphins! - What a great trip! First snorkeling with many beautiful fish, then to a sandbar. Captain Barbada will take you to places where there are not so many other boats. And then the dolphins! Wow! At our first spot we saw them, but there were many boats. So they looked for another place where we had a fantastic experience. We swam several times with about 10 dolphins! See the pictures. Definitely book with this organization!
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560nabeela
Dec 5, 2024
Swim with dolphins - Awesome tour to mnemba island and amazing experience to snorkel with dolphins. We seen so many it was wonderful we even stopped over at an uninhabited island for enjoying some lovely tasty fresh fruits. Kids enjoyed this tour and good experience
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Zanzibarcannabistour
Dec 5, 2024
Make happy together in zanzibar - Best place for snorkilling and swimming in zanzibar I will to delver some stuff in boat and make happy together………………..
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550selinp
Dec 3, 2024
Great value and friendly staff BUT recommend that you’re fit for Dolphin swimming - The trip was great and good value for money with friendly staff who spoke good English.
We were staying at a hotel in Nungwi so were picked up on our hotel beach and taken straight away which was great. Fortunately we were able to find dolphins and swim with them. Our tour operator took us early enough so that there was only us and 2 other boats with the dolphins, however by the time we left there were at least 8 boats all chasing the same pod of dolphins. The dolphins were not at all bothered but it did make it less enjoyable with so many people, so I’m thankfully that our tour guides took the initiative to take us early and avoid excess people.
To note that you do not have to get in the water to see the dolphins, although it is a lot more enjoyable seeing them swim below surface. You do have to do a lot of getting in and out of the boat, plus lots of fast swimming to keep up with the dolphins. If you are not fit then I would recommend staying in the boat.
The snorkelling at Mnemba was also great with loads of fish, ranging from parrot fish to puffer fish. You are given flippers for this (I couldn’t see other tours with these) so it’s a lot easier to manoeuvre to observe the fish. Finally, you are taken to a small sandbank which is full of tourist and people trying to sell you beers and souvenirs. Our tour guides did give us the option of going to a more private area but we opted for the busier one. My recommendation however would be to maybe go to the private one to avoid the locals trying everything to sell anything.
We were very lucky and booked the day before and ended up being the only 2 on the trip, basically making it a private tour. I would say that you will likely get the same results with any other tour operator, so we were happy paying the price. We had an amazing time and a half day tour was a perfect length.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Isabellecp6609kk
Nov 27, 2024
Great tour! - We had a wonderful experience on this tour. We were lucky enough to see the dolphins up close. The water was crystal clear and so beautiful. The guides were lovely and we loved the fruit platter that was provided.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Yuliab801
Nov 22, 2024
First encounter with dolphins - We saw a lot of dolphins. The guides were waiting for the right time to spot the dolphins. They prepared fruits for us as a snacks after the snorkel. Recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Umarac2023
Nov 13, 2024
Do not hesitate to book! Amazing all round! - Don't hesitate to book - Ali is a fantastic guide. We took our 3 year old for a half day tour. The captain made sure we saw as many dolphins as possible - be prepared to jump in 2 seconds! When one of us were on the boat whilst the other was in the water, the captain entertained us by spotting dolphins and beautiful fish from above.
We stopped at an island for delicious fruits and views.
Very reliable and an honest price for what you get. Highly recommended.
Forever memories - thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Faraway477200
Nov 4, 2024
This is a great excursion if your expectations are correct - Ali (guide) and the skipper did everything in their power to make this excursion fun and exciting, and so they deserve a 5 star rating. Facts about the excursion:
Yes, you and many other small vessels spend time chasing after dolphins when they are sighted. When nearby, you jump in and hope to get e glimpse of them under water. In our case the water was rather milky so the under-water sightings weren't very good but we did get to see them. I don't believe the dolphins are harassed by this. They swim a lot better than us and can dive deep or swim to open water whenever they like. For those who were less comfortable in the water, Ali happily took their camera and dove for them, taking good footage for them.
Then you continue to the reef at Mnemba Island. Indeed, there is little life left in the coral but the fish are abundant and you get plenty of time to snorkle among them. Again, don' expect to be there alone :).
Finally you get to chill at a sandbank protruding from the island. The setting is idyllic but on the bank it is very crowded. Our crew decided to get away from the crowd and anchor where the water was about 50 cm deep. There we could wade in the warm, chrystal clear water and enjoy the fruits they prepared.
If your expectations are correct, this is a very enjoyable excursion.
Some advice:
Go to the toilet beforehand. It's a small boat without ammenities.
Don't take what shouldn't get wet.
Wear bathing clothes and sandals/flip flops only.
Use plenty of sun screen. I got toasted.
Review provided by Tripadvisor