The Island of Zanzibar is considered the best scuba diving and snorkeling spot in East Coast Africa.

It is 40km from Dar es Salam and 15 minutes flight only. It retains its old world charm in the by lanes of Stone Town, you can see the old Fort built by Omani kings and the remnnent of 19th century slave trade market where a church is built now.

Zanzibar is a beautiful island which offers good sites for diving and snorkeling with great adventure. The best diving is in the north end where there are several good resorts but if you fancy a swim with dolphins its in the south. The temperature of water ranges from 25oc to 29oc and the visibility is 15m to 60m.It is advised to snorkel when the tide starts to come in instead of when it’s outgoing because it brings sediment and lowers the visibility. Some consider snorkeling and diving best months to be between September to march but anytime is good time.

Here is a list of a good places,

Chumbe Island Marine Sanctuary- the best place for snorkeling about 35m N W of the main beach. A permit is required at the Marine park but worth it ,it serves two purpose, conservation and good snorkeling.

Leven Bank- north of Ras Nungwi is the best dive spot on high slack tide. Boat dives are also available here but no snorkeling.

Mnemba Island-south-east of Nungwi high tide current offers very good diving and okay for snorkeling.

Bawi Island-near Stone Town , divers have to overcome high current tide but the best dives in the east of the island.

Nyange- south west offers excellent marine life with stone fish, scorpion fish

Pwaku, murogo and mwamba ukombe- south of Stone Town where big parrot fish and jelly fish can be seen.

Hunga sekina, Pembe- excellent subject to current. Intresting fish like large spinney lobster, crocodile fish, scorpion fish, dusky batfish, eagle rays and barracuda can be seen.
Mbwangawa, chakatuni Ametatu Kitchafi, Haji- north east of island well known for good ranges of reefs suitable for all levels of diving.

The highlight or the treasure of snorkling is to spot Hippocampus the seahorse,a very hard to find species sometimes transparent because it changes color. It has armoured plates all over their body and belong to Syngnathide family which include pipefish. They are notably the only species in which the males get pregnant while the females produce eggs.The males carry the eggs for 40-50 days.

Although it is claimed the salty waters of the Indian Ocean corrodes every skeleton of a ship or a plane at an amazing speed, there is hope. In the form of a the Great Northern sunk in 1900.The hull is broken in two pieces and the shape is intact .It has become part of reef of Stone Town and can be enjoyed.The other search is for a small plane that crashed in 2004 in the channel between Dar es Sal;am and Zanzibar.Some independent divers are still looking for the whereckage.