Pemba Island, the green island north of Zanzibar

Half an hour’s flight north of Zanzibar lies the island that Arab sailors called Al Khudra, the green island. From the small plane you see hills, clove trees and mangroves, and hardly any hotels. That is exactly why people go to Pemba, and exactly why it is not for everyone.

Below you read what Pemba is, what you do there 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.

Pemba and Zanzibar

Pemba is the second island of Zanzibar. It belongs to Zanzibar administratively, just like Unguja, the island most people mean when they say Zanzibar. Pemba covers about 906 square kilometres and, according to the 2022 census, a little over half a million people live there.

Where Unguja has long white beaches, the coast of Pemba is mostly mangrove, with a sandy bay here and there. The interior is hilly and green, with rice fields, bananas and above all cloves. Most of Zanzibar’s cloves grow here, and in the harvest season the buds lie drying along the road.

The largest town is Chake Chake, in the middle of the island, with the airport close by. The port of Mkoani lies in the south, the small town of Wete in the north.

An island with its own pace

Pemba is mainly Muslim and much more traditional than Unguja. Outside your lodge you wear clothes that cover shoulders and knees. Alcohol is only available in the lodges, and during Ramadan you do not eat or drink in the street during the day. Always ask before you photograph someone, especially women.

There is no nightlife. Travellers who have been there write that the quiet is exactly what they came for. If you want small restaurants, beach bars and an evening in Stone Town after your safari, you are better off on Unguja.

Diving and snorkelling

This is why most visitors come. Between Pemba and the mainland lies the Pemba Channel, deep water that drops away steeply just off the west coast. Divers find walls, currents and larger fish. Well-known sites are Misali Island, the Njao Gap and the Fundu Gap.

Misali is a small uninhabited island off the west coast, inside the protected Pemba Channel Conservation Area. You snorkel there from the beach, and turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. Ask your lodge what entry to the protected area costs, as the amount changes from time to time.

Because of the currents, many dive sites in the channel are not for beginners. If you prefer to snorkel in calm, shallow water, Misali and the bays near the lodges are your place. There is more about diving and snorkelling around the islands in our knowledge base.

On land

The Pemba flying fox lives nowhere else in the world. It is a large fruit bat with a wingspan of up to about one and a half metres. In the Kidike reserve, near the village of Kangagani between Chake Chake and Wete, around four thousand of them hang in the trees. At dusk they fly out.

In the north lies the Ngezi Forest Reserve, one of the last pieces of the original forest that once covered the whole island. With a guide you walk among red colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys and small blue duikers, and the flying foxes hang in the treetops again.

If you like history, you can visit the remains of an old trading town at Chwaka, with houses and mosques from the time when the Swahili coast traded with Arabia and India.

Where to stay on Pemba

There are few lodges on Pemba, most of them in the north and on the west coast. The best known is The Manta Resort, at the very north, with its underwater room. In May 2026 a new version opened there, where you sleep three metres below the surface, with the fish of the reef outside your window. For one night that is an experience. For the rest of your stay you sleep better in a regular room by the beach.

On the west coast lies Fundu Lagoon, which you reach from the airport partly by car and partly by boat. We work with all the accommodation on the island and look at which suits you best for each trip.

In the north east lies Vumawimbi, the beach travellers mention most when they describe Pemba. Long, empty and without buildings.

When to go

June to October. Dry and a little cooler. The best visibility under water and the best time to walk in the forest.

January and February. Also dry, and warmer. Good for beach and snorkelling.

March to May. The long rains. Fewer flights operate and some lodges close.

November and December. The short rains, with showers that usually pass quickly.

How to get there

You fly from Unguja to Pemba in about half an hour. From Dar es Salaam it takes longer. These are small planes, so you can bring little luggage, preferably in a soft bag. Your lodge picks you up from the airport.

Do not plan your flight too late in the day. A lodge like Fundu Lagoon does not collect guests after five in the afternoon, because the last stretch is over water.

There is also a ferry from Unguja to Mkoani. Travellers describe the crossing as rough and the timetable as unreliable, which is why we recommend the plane.

Pemba belongs to Zanzibar, so you need the same Tanzanian visa as for the rest of your trip. Which mandatory travel insurance you need depends on where you enter Tanzania, you can read about it in our knowledge base. There is malaria on Pemba, as on the rest of Zanzibar.

The hospital in Chake Chake is basic. For anything serious you go to Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam, so make sure your travel insurance covers medical evacuation.

Who Pemba suits

Pemba suits you if you are an experienced diver, if you already know Zanzibar and want something quieter, or if after your safari you mainly want rest and need little else. And if you want to see an island as it lives, with the ox cart on the road and the call to prayer over the clove fields.

Pemba suits you less if you want long white beaches, want to go out in the evening or want a wide choice of restaurants. Or if you only have three nights by the sea, because every extra flight costs you half a day.

Pemba after your safari

Most travellers combine Pemba with a safari. After your last game drive you fly via Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam to the island. If you also want to see Stone Town, spend a few nights on Unguja first and then fly on to Pemba.

Our Safari and Zanzibar itinerary shows how such a trip is put together. We add Pemba to it, tailored to you. Tell us what you are looking for, and we will see together whether Pemba fits.