Dive sites Where to dive in Zanzibar

Wattabomi

Depth: 8 – 25 meters
Currents: mild
Excellent dive site for photography

Wattabomi is a great reef for divers of all levels; the reef starts at a depth of 7 meters at  Moray Eel City.

Here you can find plenty of lionfish, scorpion fish, different moray eels, leaf fish, nudibranch and the giant stone fish that are resting there. This site has a gentle slope, which helps divers decide which depth suits their experience. Wattabomi is a puzzle of coral blocks, which are full of marine life.

All year round this is the playground of the Bottlenose dolphins. Don’t be surprised to see them passing by underwater.

This is an excellent photogenic dive site both above and below the water.

Aquarium

Depth: 12 - 30 meters
Currents: mild to strong
Great site for novice and experienced divers

This is a “must” do dive at Mnemba Atoll.

There is usually a slight current at this site.  Here you find the hard lettuce corals on top of each other with hundreds of small fishes hovering above. The Green turtles are resting in between the corals, scratching their back or simply doing a nap. Schools of snappers and goatfish are passing by. The giant marbled groupers getting cleaned by the cleaner fishes. For this dive site don’t only look down! Look up and see the blue fin trevallies hunting the schools of fusiliers.

Kichwani

Depth: 5 – 35 meters
Current: mild to strong
Perfect site for snorkelers, novice and experienced divers

A gentle sloping wall covered in hard and soft corals.

The reef starts at 4 meters and drops down to 35 meters. This site is also excellent for both snorkelling and diving.

Kichwani is home to many schools of reef fish, such as goatfish, snappers and mackerel. The diver with a sharp eye will find frogfish, leaf fish, scorpion fish, moray eels, crocodile fish and the torpedo ray. Take a close look on the deep water, where big Napoleon wrasse, bleu fin trevallies or white tip sharks are not uncommon and can come closer to the reef.

Small wall

Depth: 3 - 40 meter
Current: variable
Beautiful wall dive for all levels

The steep slope of Small Wall offers a great experience for divers of all levels.

Experienced divers can explore the deep crack between 30 – 35 meters, where big schools of yellow and blue striped snappers enjoy the currents. Big napoleons and the occasional white tip reef shark or turtles passes by.

Less experienced divers can stay shallower, where we find small baby reef sharks, juvenile blue spotted stingrays and small critters like anemone crabs and partner shrimp.

Sand Banks

Depth: 6 – 30 meters
Current: mild to strong
Colourful dive site with amazing macro life

Look above, below and all around and be surrounded by schools of fish.

The (soft) corals are colourful and in the small caves you will find plenty of surprises! Sand Banks is perfect for lovers of blue spotted stingrays, Giant Spanish dancers, blue ribbon eels and nudibranch.

End your dive in a school of batfish, making this dive site heaven for many.

Grouper's Rock

Depth: 12 – 30 meters
Current: mild to strong
Good for a nice drift dive with a good chance to see bigger fish

A dive at Groupers Rock will ensure a beautiful drift dive with big rock formations full of small fish, moray eels and cleaner shrimps. In the sandy parts you will find Kuhls Rays (Torpedo rays) hiding under the sand, and flying away when passing by.

Groupers Rock is the place where you can find some White tip reef sharks, Green Turtles, Groupers and friendly Napoleons. At the end of your dive at this site, you will likely find small rocks with corals full of Lion fish, the rare Sea grass ghost pipefish, Spanish dancers, Scorpion fish and the venomous Stone fish.

Coral Garden

Depth: 6 – 25 meters
Current: mild
An easy drift dive

Coral Garden is a colourful reef on the south-east of Mnemba Atoll. The site is very good as a second dive with a lot of fish, soft corals and colourful sponges.

Schools of snappers and butterfly fish will pass by, groups of Blue fin trevallies come to the shallow reef for hunting. Occasionally there will be a Napoleon cruising around. Divers with a keen eye will find the Indian walkman, Blue ribbon eels, Spanish dancers, Frogfishes, False stonefish and different kind of Puffer fishes.

All Ingredients for an unforgettable dive!

Jackfish

Depth: 15 – 40 meters
Current: strong
Graceful wall/ drift dive - Dive site for Advanced divers

Jackfish is one of the most amazing dive sites on the east side of Mnemba Atoll.

The wall starts at 15 meters and drops down to a maximum of 50 meters. At the wall, you will find big caves full of huge ornate spiny lobsters, snappers, groupers, and soft corals.

Regularly spotted in this area are eagle rays, huge Napoleons, Barracuda, Reef sharks, big balls of Jackfish, Schools of Rainbow runners, and Blotched Stingrays swimming at the bottom.

Diving at Jackfish spot is only possible with good weather conditions.

The Channel

Depth: 15 – 30 meters
Current: mild to strong
Dive site for experienced divers

This beautiful dive site is situated on the west side of Mnemba where you will dive the channel between Zanzibar and Mnemba Atoll.

Looking at the channel side, you can find some Reef Sharks, schools of Spade fish, Rainbow runners and different kind of Stingrays.

Diving at Channel is only possible with good weather conditions.

The Big Wall

Depth: 12 – 40 meters
Current: from nothing to very strong
Not for the faint hearted - Dive site for divers with Deep Dive Specialty (or CMASS **)

You will do a free descent down to 30-35 meters drifting along a vertical wall. The maximum depth of this wall is 60-70 meters.

During this wonderful drift dive, you will see schools of barracudas, Rainbow runners, Tuna, a school of batfish, hundreds of unicornfish, Huge Napoleon wrasse, blotched stingrays, and many more…..

You will end the dive at the shallow part where you will find beautiful hard and soft corals.

Diving at The Big Wall is only possible with good weather conditions.

Only for Advanced Open Water Diver (or equivalence).

Samaki Wall

Depth: 12 – 40 meters
Current: strong
Divesite for experienced divers with deep dive specialty

This new dive site on the east of Mnemba guarantees a wonderful experience. At the bottom you will find a cave with giant groupers, blotched stingrays dancing on the bottom and schools and schools of fusiliers, unicorn fish and oceanic triggerfish passing by. Most commenly is a drift dive to the north of the atoll. On the way back to the shallow part you will find Spanish dancers, honeycomb moray eels, scorpion fish, blue ribbon eels, Indian walkman, lion fish, stone fish and green turtles.

Seahorse garden

Depth: 4 - 8 meter
Current: mild
Shallow macro dive for adventurous divers with good buoyancy

Are you coming for multiple days and are you in for an adventure? In that case you have to visit our seahorse garden!

No beautiful reef or colorful fish, but lots of sand and seagrass from which the most amazing and rare animals can pop up, with the seahorses stealing the show.

We sometimes find more than twenty in one dive, but also see cuttlefish, reef squids, seagrass ghost pipefish, tiny puffers, weird nudibranch, fluorescent sea urchins, huge lionfish and pipefish. In Seahorse garden you never know what you will encounter, which makes it a great spot for divers who are in for something different.