Mnemba Island Private Full Day Swim with Dolphins and Snorkeling
Description
Begin your experience early, as the morning is the best time to spot dolphins. Start from your location to the Matemwe fishing village, which is one of the oldest capitals on Zanzibar Island. While looking out for dolphins, dive in to snorkel among the wonderful coral reef and the variety of colorful fish and marine creatures. If the dolphins are in a good mood, you can witness them goofing around. As you will be in their natural habitat, there is no guarantee you'll have the chance to swim with the dolphins; your guide will do their best to ensure they are comfortable so you can enjoy their beautiful energy, whether up close or from a distance and also the cherry on top was the fresh fruit platter that our captain put together for us, delicious! We had a private tour which was great because it meant that we got the boat for ourselves.
Tour Options
Itinerary
After pickup at your hotel on Unguja, Zanzibar, hop in your private boat toward Mnemba Island. Depending on conditions, reach the coral reef of the Mnemba Atoll Marine Reserve in up to 45 minutes. Once there, explore a reef that is big enough for everyone so you won't feel crowded, even on busy days. Keep your eyes peeled for yellow snapper, barracuda, turtles, and much more. After snorkeling, enjoy a snack stop on a sandbank. Relax under the sun as you savor seasonal fresh fruit and other small bites. Later, head back to shore on Unguja. See local fishermen coming back from the sea and selling their day's catches before being transferred back to your accommodation
Enjoy a dolphin-watching cruise aboard a specially designed viewing boat during a short but exciting excursion through Mnemba Island. First, look out for dolphin pods in the water—an excellent opportunity to see marine life in its natural habitat which not all travelers get to enjoy.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
All traveler should wait at the reception 50 minutes before departure time
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(13)
We were very disappointed by this trip. Our tour guide brought us to a place where there was only dead coral. This tour operator is also in contact with the other operators, so even though you are booking a private tour, you are in the same place as 30 other boats. We were told we have to be quick with the snorkelling because otherwise we miss the dolphins. So we got back in the boat and as the dolphins were spotted, the tour operators all called each other and started following the dolphins with more than 30 boats. This was really like a hunt for the animals! Really not nice. We stopped the tour right away because we did not want to participate in this. All together, our tour lasted from 07:30 to 09:00. Really not worth your money. When we got back in our resort we heard from other people that they were swimming with the dolphins with only 3 other boats, so just know that if you book with this tour operator, there will be a lot of other people and boats chasing the dolphins. Additionally, we heard from others that if you snorkel right in front of mnemba island, that there still is some nice coral. When I contacted the tour operator about this, he told me that he'd bring us to a VIP spot the next time. He should've done that already in the first place! Feels like a scam!
This trip was not as advertised. I paid $70 for a little boat that had no water or proper snorkelling equipment.. I managed to find out from the ‘guide’ and boat driver how much they get paid and it seems that the company behind this trip is pocketing around 80% of the total price. Such exploitation of hard working local people. I suggest that those wishing to do a trip like this go down to the beach and negotiate something directly.
All round not great . The “full day” turned out to be 2 hours ! The guide was in a rush to get rid of us , kept checking the time . The dolphins basically surface to breathe and then dive deep down, no doubt terrified by the 20 odd boats swarming around the area . The snorkeling was good , lots of fish etc to see , along with another 20 boats on the area.
The trip was incredible. The guide Abbas and the driver Khamiss welcomed us early in the morning in a good mood. It felt like a trip with old friends. They took our wishes into account and tried to make it as pleasant as possible for us. When we arrived at the boat, Captain Hamzani also welcomed us very warmly. He enabled us to see dolphins and found us a nice place to snorkel. He showed us lots of beautiful things from the underwater world. For example, beautiful starfish and he enabled us to take lots of great pictures. All in all, it was a very successful trip. We have the three nice gentlemen to thank for that.
It was a terrific experience. Language barrier because they speak more swahili than English. You have a varied category of boats to choose from according to your means. You can go as a group or book solo. Overall, the tourist guides are friendly and considerate The waters are as blue as you see on screen. Chased after the dolphins. It was exciting though the billows were initially quite intimidating. I cant swim, so i didnot snorkel. Those who did were jolly they fed and snapped the fishes. On our way back they stopped in shallow areas and we got down and basked in the beautiful blues. Caught and held some starfish. Light refreshments were served aboard- tropical fruits. Delirious experience indeed.
Unfortunately, it was a complete disappointment. We generally advise against snorkeling/dolphin tours here in Zanzibar, as they all take place on the same day. When we arrived (we booked a private tour), we saw huge groups of people on the beach, all of whom were on their way to a snorkeling/dolphin adventure. We were alone on the boat with the guide, but we all went to the same sandbank, to the same snorkeling spot. Luckily, the weather wasn't so good and we didn't have to look at the poor dolphins and disturb them. There were probably over 20 boats at the spots at the same time. When we arrived at the snorkeling spot, we saw how many people had parked their boats in the same place. It was a small rocky "coral reef" where fish were being fed, and all the boats were anchored right there. I was worried the whole time that I would be run over, and the boats were very loud. There were no fish up to this spot and the "reef" looked pretty lifeless... it was just a very sad sight, so we left quickly. The sandbank was very beautiful and the fruit was also very tasty, but you should still avoid it.
We were very well looked after. Snorkeling was amazing and saw many beautiful fish. We saw dolphins and were in the water with them. Very memorable trip.
Excellent service very professional The team when above and beyond to ensure that our child had an excellent trip
Very good team and excellent service a special thanks to giga boy he is very professional driver and he do very good Job and smoothly drive.
Nice day trip to see some of the most important sports of the Island including mnemba Island and Dolph sport Special thanks to my captain Mzii and driver Simba
