gallery of 7 photos

Zanzibar, Tanzania

Matemwe Beach Guesthouse

We think Matemwe Beach Guesthouse offers good value for those looking for a simple, laid back beach experience.

While there is no swimming pool or A/C, the beach is great and the location looks out at the Mnemba Atoll which is fabulous for snorkeling and scuba diving.  — Mango's view

Matemwe Beach is a small guesthouse which is located out on its own on a long stretch of classic palm lined, white sand beach on the northeast coast of Zanzibar Island. Just offshore from the guesthouse is the world famous Mnemba Atoll, whose circling reef has some of the best diving in East Africa. Along the beach are palm thatched villages, where friendly local people live a traditional life dominated by fishing. Matemwe really is close to the classical notion of paradise. The lodge is owned by Zanzibarian Suleiman Nyanga and managed by South Africa born, Gail. Gail's husband Gary runs the Matemwe Dive operation.

There are 17 rooms at Matemwe, all of which have ensuite bathrooms and hot water. The hotel makes a great effort to make the rooms a little bit special and guests will find various little touches around the place. All rooms have fans. There are also two rooms which we have fitted with air conditioning, but again this is not usually necessary as there is almost always a sea breeze.

The guesthouse is centered on a single large open-sided space looking onto the beach, which serves as the lounge, bar and restaurant. The guesthouse uses a lot of fresh products provided by people within the community. The menus are small but change daily for every meal. Favorites among guests have been the grilled fillet of fish with a passion fruit sauce, chicken kebabs with a chili garlic dressing. Vegetarians are not neglected either and Chef Salum will chat with you to explore special needs.

One of the main reasons for coming to Matemwe is for the world class diving at Mnemba atoll. There is enough variety on Mnemba for about 4 to 5 days worth of good diving, maybe 8 to 10 dives, although the reef is always ready to spring a surprise or two.

Mnemba is a circular reef, with aquarium conditions on the inside and some good wall-diving on the outer. Diving here is a year-round event, with reasonably good conditions to be found on the atoll under almost all weather conditions and visibilities of 20 to 40 meters are the norm. Turtles and dolphins are seen regularly here and often guests are lucky enough to see whale sharks and pilot whales. The guesthouse has a full 5-star IDC PADI dive school, which works in conjunction with their dive office in Stonetown. We are able to offer the full range of PADI certificate courses, as well as try dives and snorkeling trips for the non-divers. There are books and games to entertain guests who want to take a break from the beach and sun.

Includes: Breakfast & dinner