Scuba diving at Mnemba Atoll

Coral walls, turtles, white-tip reef sharks and twenty-metre visibility. Mnemba's oval reef, seven kilometres by four in a protected conservation area off Matemwe, is Zanzibar's best-known dive: walls dropping from two to forty metres, coral blocks full of frogfish and morays, schooling snappers and fusiliers, Napoleon wrasse, white-tip reef sharks and green turtles, which have nested on the island since monitoring began in 1996. Dolphins often join the boat ride out. Matemwe and Muyuni are minutes away by boat. One Ocean (Zanzibar's first PADI five-star centre, since 2001), Dive Point and Scubafish all run two-dive morning trips, with try-dives for complete beginners and four-day Open Water courses. How to book: Book with One Ocean (zanzibaroneocean.com) in Matemwe or Kiwengwa, Dive Point (divepointzanzibar.com) in Muyuni or Scubafish (scubafishzanzibar.com) in Matemwe. Trips leave around 08:00 and are back by early afternoon. From Nungwi and Kendwa it's a long boat ride.