Matemwe Beach Village

Matemwe Beach Village is a small guesthouse located out on its own on an idyllic, long stretch of palm-lined, white sand beach on the the North East coast of Zanzibar Island. Just off-shore from the guesthouse is the world-famous Mnemba Atoll, whose circling reef has some of the best diving in East Africa. Along the beach lie palm-thatched villages, where the local people live a traditional life dominated by fishing; Matemwe Beach Village really is set in a classic tropical paradise.

Many of the guests come here primarily for the diving at the renowned Mnemba Atoll; Matemwe Beach Village has its own full, 5 Star IDC PADI dive school. Others come here to relax after having climbed Kilimanjaro, or having been out on safari in the Serengeti. The atmosphere is very congenial, and guests often find themselves striking up friendships with fellow travelers.

There are seventeen very comfortable, thatched ensuite cottages, grouped at varying distances from the beach. All cottages have fans and two have air conditioning, though this is not usually necessary, as there is nearly always a sea breeze. The cottages include five suites, suitable for small family groups, and a secluded, very stylish, highly romantic Honeymoon Suite, with large Jacuzzi.

The lodge is centred around a single large open-sided space looking onto the beach, which serves at the lounge, bar and restaurant. As one guest put it: "This is the most chilled chill-out spot I have ever found". There are books and games to entertain guests who want to take a break from the beach and sun, and two new inter-connected swimming pools have been built this year, providing additional facilities for guests and allowing Matemwe Beach Village to offer novice Scuba diving trial sessions on site.

Salum, the chef at Matemwe Beach Village uses a lot of fresh products provided by people within the community. The menus are small but good, and change daily for every meal. Favourites include grilled fillet of fish with a passion fruit sauce, and chicken kebabs with a chilli garlic dressing. Vegetarians are also well catered for. The atmosphere at Matemwe is chilled and laid-back but this does not mean you wait half an hour for a beer; the staff are friendly and attentive.

The journey from Stone Town to Matemwe is about 1 hour by car.

Activities: one of the main reasons for coming to Matemwe is for the world class diving at Mnemba atoll. There is enough variety on Mnemba for about 4 to 5 days worth of good diving, maybe 8 to 10 dives, although the reef is always ready to spring a surprise or two. Mnemba is a circular reef, with aquarium conditions on the inside and some good wall-diving on the outer. Diving here is a year-round event, with reasonably good conditions to be found on the atoll under almost all weather conditions and visibilities of 20 to 40 metres are the norm. They regularly see turtles and dolphins here and are often lucky enough to see (or even get a tow from) whale sharks and pilot whales. The on-site diving school is able to offer the full range of PADI certificate courses, as well as try-dives and snorkelling trips for the non-divers. Other activities include beach walks, reviving early-morning ocean swims, snorkeling, sailing, fishing and bicycling.