The Best Time for Diving and Snorkeling in Zanzibar

Plenty of professional scuba divers consider Zanzibar as the world’s best destination for enjoying marine life and for its underwater environs.

There is so much marine life to see here and coastal reefs that are home to some unique animals.

If you have chosen Zanzibar for your scuba diving and snorkeling adventures, make sure you bring an awesome camera to capture images of shrimp, pipefish, lungfish as well as larger animals such as dolphins and sharks.

Speaking of large marine animals, why not head out to Leven bank where you will treat yourself to sights such as the Barracuda and even spot some moray eels.

And if that is not big enough for you, the humpback whales and sperm whales pass through these waters around September and October making these months among the best time of year to visit Zanzibar for scuba diving and snorkeling.

All through December up until the month of April is a perfect time to spot the manta rays as well as the largest shark of all, the whale shark.

Then there’s Nyange reef near Stone Town where you can capture some spectacular shots.

But these are far from the only places for scuba diving in Zanzibar. Check out Kizimkazi and Hunga along the south coast and Kichafi and Haji along the east coast.

When you want to go out diving in the beautiful coastal waters of Zanzibar, there are few things you must know. It very much comes down to the tides, water visibility and the winds.

There are two major winds that you need to be aware of and these are Kaskazi or the northern winds which come in from November till March and the southern winds also known as Kusi which comes in during the months of August and July.

The calmest seasons happen between the Monsoon and there are two of them. Since there are rains during April May, these are not the best times for scuba diving or snorkeling.

You want to find seasons that are warm and when the weather is calm. These are from mid-November all through to January and the second from June to August.

If you were to avoid the rains, you would still find ideal conditions for diving from June all through to March.

Mnemba Island is a perfect destination for snorkeling and is easily reachable through boat; a journey that should take 1 hour. Granted it is a private island but is it is still possible to snorkel around its shores.

Other excellent spots include Tumbatu island, Prison Island which you can easily access by boat from Unguja and features huge giant tortoises is always a great choice, Chumbe island has 90% of all the coral in East Africa and is definitely a must see.