Mafia Island

Verified2026-09-30 checkedReefWall

A marine park with whale sharks that do not migrate away, and no crowd at all.

Depth: 5–30 m16–98 ft
Difficulty: Beginner
Entry: Boat
Typical current: Moderate
Coordinates: 7°55.002′S 39°45.000′E
Activities: Scuba · Snorkelling · Freediving

Mafia is Zanzibar's quiet neighbour: a marine park, a handful of lodges, and a population of whale sharks that stays put rather than passing through, feeding in the plankton the Rufiji delta pushes out from October to March. They are snorkelled, not dived, and the boats work to a code of conduct. The reef diving in Chole Bay is easy and unbroken — the park has been protected since 1995 — and the currents outside are strong enough to make Kinasi Pass a real drift. Getting there is a small plane from Dar es Salaam.

Twenty-five minutes by light aircraft from Dar es Salaam, then road to Chole Bay.

Best season

ExcellentOct–Feb
GoodMar
FairApr–Sep

Before you get in

A wall. There is no bottom in sight to judge against, so depth is kept by the gauge alone — and it is easy to end up deeper than intended.

Taken from this site’s recorded depth, type and current, and nothing else. An empty list is not a safe site — the sea on the day, the local geography and the boat traffic are not in it. The briefing on the spot comes first.

Conditions

Water temperature: 27.3°C81°F
Wave height: 0.9 m3 ft
Air temperature: 25.7°C78°F
Wind speed: 13.8 km/h8.6 mph

Updated 2026-10-07 15:45 UTC · Source: Open-Meteo

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Conditions are reported for information only. Assess the site yourself and follow your guide and your training.

No live conditions for this site yet.

We only show numbers we can attribute to a source.

Sea state and tide

On a date

Tide · 10/7

High01:241.41 m
Low07:32-0.47 m
High13:401.67 m
Low19:56-0.69 m

Forecast heights against mean sea level. Real tides in a bay, a harbour or over a flat can differ — check an official tide table before you get in.

Pick a day to see its tide

Only wave height and wind are scored, because those are what close a boat ramp or a shore entry. Water temperature is reported and never scored: 12°C is an ordinary dive in a drysuit and punishing in a 3 mm, and a number that cannot see your suit has no business marking it down. Stars do not decide whether you get in — you and your guide do, on the day.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Marine life you may see

Whale sharkRhincodon typusOct–MarSeasonal
Green turtleChelonia mydasCommon
Hawksbill turtleEretmochelys imbricataSeasonal
Staghorn coralAcropora spp.Common
Bigeye trevallyCaranx sexfasciatusCommon
Giant morayGymnothorax javanicusCommon
Bluestripe snapperLutjanus kasmiraCommon
Feather starCrinoideaCommon

From divers

What people who were in the water reported. Not a forecast, and not a judgement about whether the site is safe to dive.

No recent reports from divers. If you dived here in the last two weeks, you can say how it was.

How divers rate this site

Nobody has rated this site yet.

Log a dive here and you can be the first.

Log a dive here

Rating is open to divers who have logged a dive here.

Who is going

Nobody has planned a dive here yet.

Somebody reading this page is the most likely person in the world to organise one.

Create a plan

Dive shops here

How we check

No dive shop has claimed this site yet.

Be the first shop to join BubbleSong Diving World.