Diving the north coast and Leven Bank

Frogfish and seahorses close in; sharks and big currents at Leven Bank. Off Nungwi, Kendwa and Tumbatu Island, the shallow, sheltered reefs are some of the best places on the island to learn and to look for small things: frogfish, seahorses, ghost pipefish, leaf fish and nudibranchs. Further out, Hunga and Nankivell are patch reefs with schooling snappers and rays, dived on slack tide. Leven Bank, a pinnacle in the Pemba Channel with walls dropping past 160 metres, is the island's big-animal dive — sharks, rays and big game fish in strong current, for experienced divers only. How to book: Zanzibar Watersports in Kendwa runs dives from dhows and a speedboat; One Ocean has a Kendwa base. Spanish Dancer Divers in Nungwi is well reviewed, but its website is currently down — confirm it's trading before you book.