Description

Pemba Island is widely recognised as one of the most spectacular, unspoilt diving regions in East Africa. Our Pemba Island Yacht Live Aboard is very well known for stunning marine life, spectacular lagoons, tropical islands and a lush rainforest in the north! Cruising this beautiful island from one of our catamaran yachts, truly feels like you are on an adventure or expedition into an untouched Paradise! If you have a love for the ocean and tropical island beauty, Pemba is a SCUBA Divers Dream, a Sportfishing Adventure, a Romantic Get Away, or all of the above!

Pemba Island, known as “The Green Island” in Arabic (الجزيرة الخضراء), is an island forming part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, lying within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean. Pemba lies 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of mainland Tanzania, across the Pemba Channel. Together with Mafia Island (south of Zanzibar), these islands form The Spice Islands. Most of the island, which is hillier and more fertile than Zanzibar (Unguja), is dominated by small scale farming. Additionally there is also large scale farming of cash crops such as cloves. Pemba Island is separated from Zanzibar by the famous Pemba Channel where sheer drop-offs reach in excess of 800 meters. Surrounded by numerous small islands Pemba offers some of the best diving in the world along with some spectacular Sport Fishing opportunities.

The most important towns in Pemba are Chake Chake (the Capital), Mkoani and Wete, which is the largest city. Furthermore, the centrally located Chake-Chake is perched on a mound with a view to the west over a stunning bay and the tiny island of Mesali. Unlike Zanzibar, Pemba is relatively untouched by tourism and has barely changed in the last three hundred years. For the most part, the ox & cart is still the fastest mode of transport around the island, famous for its clove plantations. Furthermore an 18th century Muslim Fort guards the island’s main town of Chake Chake. However it lacks the labrinth of winding, cobbled streets associated with Old Stone Town Zanzibar.

Typically our Pemba Yacht Live Aboard Charters depart from Nungwi, here on the northern tip of Zanzibar Island. Once we have slipped our mooring, we spend the day sailing up the Pemba Channel with some help from the Indian Ocean current pushing us along to the north. Enjoy great service, delicious food, and ice cold beverages whilst fishing along the way or relaxing on the trampolines watching the dolphins surf our bow wave. From the north of Pemba Island we will work our way back to Zanzibar over the next few days, fishing, diving or just cruising the spectacular islands and inland lagoons that make Pemba such a sought after destination.

The big game fishing in the Pemba channel is as good as it gets! The area’s pristine coral is home to some of the widest varieties of marine life. There are no less than 6 varieties of Billfish in the Pemba Channel, huge sharks (Mako, Tiger, Thresher and Hammerhead to name a few), Tuna, large Wahoo, King Mackerel, Dorado, Barracuda, Giant Trevally, Dogtooth Tuna plus many others. Furthermore, close to shore along the west coast, immediately off Pemba’s beaches, regular catches of lesser Game Fish species include Rainbow Runners, Bonito, Skipjack, King Mackerel, Barracuda and Wahoo. Additionally, in peak Marlin season, the billfish and tunas move right up to the coast line making Pemba very interesting for fishing enthusiasts.

The coastline of mainland Pemba drops steeply into the Indian Ocean, whilst the outlying islands tend to have the endless beaches dotted with palms trees. This provides the perfect getaway for anyone looking to experience a true Tropical Island adventure! Typically, most of the dives in Pemba are wall and drift dives. For this reason, some of the more spectacular and challenging sites require an Advanced Open Water diving qualification. However, there are more than enough dive site options for Open Water divers to enjoy.

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