Pemba Island
The 'Green Island', Pemba, Famous For Its Clove Farms, Swahili Ruins At Ras Mkumbuu And Pujini, Misali Island'S Reef And Turtles, And Some Of East Africa'S Best Diving, With Far Fewer Visitors Than Zanzibar. A Traditional Island With A Lively Swahili Music And Bull Fighting Heritage (Mbuzi). · Wete, Pemba North
Pemba is a hilly, green island about 50 km north of Zanzibar, known as the clove island, and a major clove producer. It has far fewer visitors than Zanzibar, quiet beaches, a deep channel with some of East Africa's best diving, and the small Misali Island marine reserve with turtles. Inland you find clove farms, the last patches of Pemba's rain forest at Ngezi, the Pemba flying fox, and medieval Swahili ruins at Ras Mkumbuu and Pujini. The honest picture: it is REMOTE, with rough roads, few ATMs, simple food and little nightlife, and it suits divers and travellers who like empty places more than first-timers who want a lively resort. Life is conservative and Muslim, so dress modestly in villages. Reach it by a 20-minute flight from Zanzibar, or a ferry from Stone Town to Mkoani, and book a dive centre or lodge before you arrive. Hotels run from about USD 40 to over 800. Roads are slow, so plan short days, and carry cash, because cards work only at the larger lodges. Come for the quiet, the reef and the cloves, and expect to be one of very few visitors.
Hilly island 50 km north of Zanzibar, reached by a short flight or ferry from Unguja, with the town of Chake Chake, clove plantations and dive sites at Misali Island, Wete, Pemba North, Tanzania
The island is open all year and there are no gates. Beaches, villages and the Chake Chake old town can be visited by day, while ferries and small flights run to a timetable that changes by season. Shops and offices CLOSE around Friday prayers. Reserve entry at Ngezi and Misali is by day only; confirm times locally.