Dive Review of Mafia Island Diving/Mafia Island Lodge in
Africa/Mafia Island, Tanzania

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Mafia Island Diving/Mafia Island Lodge: "gorgeous reefs but watch out for the current!", Nov, 2015, by Beverly Sobelman, WA, US ( Reviewer 6 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 8649 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The sea life around Mafia Island is world-class - everything from seahorses to whale sharks (although the latter are found on the opposite side of the island from most of the dive sites). Gorgeous, healthy coral, huge schools of small fish, giant grouper and Napoleon wrasse, turtles, etc. The bigger pelagic critters are mainly outside of the protected Chole Bay, so access will be subject to the whims of the weather - the one day we went outside the bay, conditions were rough, rainy, and cold. Currents were mild to very strong - all 10 dives we did were drift dives. Vis was not as good as I'd hoped, probably due to storms they'd had prior to our arrival. Mafia Island Diving is a solid, well-intentioned operation that could use some maturing. Their boats are hand-crafted wooden crafts with both motors and sails - charming and roomy but lacking much in the way of creaure comforts. Do bring a dry bag as there is no dry area on board. We encoutered some equipment issues - a leaky BCD here, an under-filled tank there, swapped weight pouches another time - so I'd recommend bringing your own gear and checking everything before each dive. There's a 15kg weight limit to get to the island, but we were able to bring everything but our fins. The divemasters were all good although one of them was not especially communicative and they were not always great about keeping tabs on everyone. Our group were all advanced divers except one who completed her open water cert with them. I imagine that advanced divers will have a somewhat better experience with this outfit than would beginners. Lastly, the Mafia Island Lodge is rustic but generally well-appointed and comfortable. The food was fine, sometimes excellent, but vegetarians may find themselves short on protein sources. Rooms are air-conditioned, electricity is available 24/7, and there was plenty of hot water for post-dive showers.
Websites	Mafia Island Lodge
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Hawaii, Australia, Puerto Rico, Dominica, Honduras, Costa Rica
Closest Airport	Dar es Salaam	Getting There	charter flight to Mafia Island
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy, dry	Seas	calm, choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	26-28°C / 79-82°F	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	10-15 M / 33-49 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	All dives limited to 60 min.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	> 2
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	No rinsing stations provided for camera gear.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Mafia Island Diving/Mafia Island Lodge in Africa/Mafia Island, Tanzania

Mafia Island Diving/Mafia Island Lodge: "gorgeous reefs but watch out for the current!", Nov, 2015,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Mafia Island Diving/Mafia Island Lodge in
Africa/Mafia Island, Tanzania