Early in the morning the boats leave the bay of Kilindoni, on the west side of Mafia. The crew scans the water for a dark shadow just below the surface. As soon as it appears, the guide lets you slide into the water with your snorkel, and next to you swims a whale shark of around six metres, its mouth wide open, feeding on plankton. It pays no attention to you at all.
That moment is why most people go to Mafia. Below you read what else the island is, when to go and who it suits. What we tell here comes from what travellers write about it, from what the lodges themselves share and from official sources.
Where Mafia lies, and where it belongs
Mafia lies off the mainland coast, level with the delta of the Rufiji River, half an hour’s flight south of Dar es Salaam. The island is about 48 kilometres long and 17 kilometres wide at its widest point. Around it lie smaller islands such as Chole, Juani and Jibondo.
Mafia does not belong to Zanzibar. It falls under the Pwani region on the mainland. That sounds like a detail, but it decides which mandatory travel insurance applies. According to the 2022 census, 66,180 people live on Mafia and the islands around it. Most live from fishing, coconuts and cashews. The main town is Kilindoni, where the airport is too.
Swimming with whale sharks
From October to February whale sharks swim in the shallow bay near Kilindoni, sometimes into March. They are mostly young animals of four to eight metres, feeding on plankton just below the surface. You swim alongside them with a snorkel. There is no diving with them here.
Read travellers’ accounts and you see two sides. On one day you see several sharks and go into the water as often as you like. On another day you bob around for hours and see one. And in the busy part of the season, several boats sometimes wait at the same shark.
So choose an operator on its code of conduct and not on price. A good skipper keeps his distance, lets a limited number of people into the water at a time, makes sure nobody touches or chases the shark, and keeps to the speed limit in the bay. Plan a second day as a reserve, so you do not have to bet everything on one morning.
The marine park and Chole Bay
Around the south of Mafia lies the Mafia Island Marine Park, Tanzania’s first marine park, since 1995. It protects coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves, and green turtles live there. You pay a daily fee per person for as long as you stay in the park. Your lodge knows the current amount.
The heart of the park is Chole Bay, a sheltered bay between Mafia and the small islands of Chole and Juani. The water is calm and shallow, so it suits anyone just learning to snorkel or dive. Outside the bay lie walls and deeper reefs, and there the water is calmest from October to March.
From August to September humpback whales pass along the south of the island.
Chole and Juani
Around a thousand people live on Chole, from fishing and building wooden boats. Between the houses stand the ruins of an old trading post, overgrown with strangler figs. Large fruit bats hang in the trees, flying to Mafia at dusk to feed and returning at sunrise.
On Juani lie the ruins of Kua, a medieval Swahili town. In a small boat you travel through a narrow channel in the mangroves to a lagoon of clear water. Green turtles and hawksbill turtles come ashore on the beaches of Juani to lay their eggs. With some luck you see the young running to the sea.
Beach
Mafia is not Zanzibar. The coast is mostly mangrove, with narrow strips of beach in between. The best beach lies on Chole Bay. At low tide sandbanks appear in the bay, and there you eat fish that the skipper grills on the sand.
If you want a long white beach day after day, plan a few nights on Zanzibar after Mafia.
Where to stay on Mafia
Most lodges lie near the village of Utende, on Chole Bay, inside the marine park. There you are close to the reefs, the dive schools and the boats to Chole and Juani. On Chole itself there is a lodge with rooms in the trees. Around Kilindoni you find simpler places, closer to the whale shark boats.
Many lodges close in April and May because of the rain. We work with all the accommodation on the island and look at which suits you best for each trip.
When to go
October to February. Whale shark season. Warm and humid, with short showers in November and December.
June to September. Dry and a little cooler. No whale sharks, but calm water in the bay and humpback whales in August and September.
March to May. The long rains. Almost all lodges close around April and May, and fewer flights operate.
How to get there
You fly every day from Dar es Salaam to Mafia in about half an hour. There are also flights from Zanzibar, usually with a stop in Dar es Salaam. From the Serengeti, Arusha and the southern parks you can also fly on to Mafia in one day, changing in Dar es Salaam.
These are small planes. You can usually bring 15 kilos, preferably in a soft bag. There is also a boat from the mainland, but we do not recommend it.
There are few cash machines on Mafia and paying by card does not work everywhere. Bring cash for tips, the whale sharks and whatever you buy along the way.
Mafia belongs to the mainland, so for the mandatory travel insurance the rules for mainland Tanzania in our knowledge base apply, not the separate Zanzibar rule. There is malaria on Mafia.
Who Mafia suits
Mafia suits you if you want to swim with whale sharks, if you snorkel or dive, or if after your safari you want rest on an island where you see few other tourists.
Mafia suits you less if you want long white beaches, want to go out in the evening or travel in April or May. And count on extra costs for the domestic flights and the daily marine park fee.
Mafia after your safari
After your last game drive you fly to Dar es Salaam and change there to the small plane to the island. Our itineraries show how a safari is put together, and we add Mafia to it, tailored to you. Tell us what you are looking for, and we will see together whether Mafia fits.
