Mafia Island

Mafia Island is the larges island in the Mafia archipelago and sits approximately 160km south of Zanzibar and 21km off the Rufiji River Delta. Although not a major player on the tourism map it still receives a steady number of travellers who enjoy the simple, traditional way of life the island offers.

That said, the main reason most travellers make the trip to Mafia is to indulge in the excellent diving and snorkelling opportunities the island has to offer. The island is surrounded by a barrier reef that is teeming with marine life. The reef is thought to be home to over 400 species of fish and 5 different species of turtle. In addition divers and snorkelers alike can enjoy over 50 types of coral.

The island also offers opportunities for nature trekking including the Chunguruma Forest and a series of lakes in the centre of the island that are thought to be the remains of an old lagoon. The forests, bush and mangrove swamps are home to a number of animals including flying foxes, several species of bush babies, monkeys, squirrels and lizards. Lucky visitors to the old lagoon may also see the small population of small hippos that are thought to have arrived on the island following floods from the Rufiji river system.

Mafia has its own airport with good accessibility from Dar es Salaam (approximately 45 minutes), Zanzibar (approximately 1 hour) and from the Selous. Additionally for those travelling from one of the other Game Reserves, flights with same day connections are available.