Diving in Mafia Island with Big Blue
Almost all of Mafia’s diving is at depths of less than 30 metres making it a sport diver’s paradise. The reefs of the archipelago offer a staggeringly beautiful and varied display of marine life. The excellent condition and high diversity of the reefs stimulated the creation of the Mafia Island Marine Park, Tanzania’s first. Examples of most kinds of tropical marine habitat occur here, including exposed fringing reefs, rock walls and soft coral and algae-dominated reefs.
The diversity of animal and plant life is hard to match, with 48 genera of coral and 400 species of fish so far identified. All dives are extremely tide dependent and therefore departure times change slightly with every day. All our dive trips go by traditional dhow and wind allowing we hoist the sail for a lazy trip back, making the whole experience that more sweeter.
Below the different diving options and packages.
Fun Dives (for Qualified Divers)*
Fund Dives (for qualified Divers)*
Single shore-entry dive – $40
Single boat dive -$50
Double tank boat dive – $90
6 dives package* – $240
8 dives package* – $310
10 dives package* – $380
*Includes tank & weights, tea, coffee, water & biscuits on the boat
**Packages are per person and cannot be shared with others
Diving Surcharges **
Night access (incl. torch) – $20
Refresher course access – $20
Mange picnic access – $40
Equipment
Full set (excl. torch / computer) – $20
Mask & snorkel – $5
BCD – $6
Regulator – $8
Wetsuit – $6
Fins – $5
Padi Dive Courses
Course prices include instruction, diving equipment, PADI materials & certification.
Try Diving (PADI Discover Diving)
Per person (1 dive) – $110
Per person (2 dives) – $165
Beginner Qualifications
Scuba diver (2-3 days) – $385
Open water diver (4 days) -$525
Open water referral (2 days) – $350
Continuing Education Courses
Adventure diver (3dives + 1 free) – $300
Advanced diver (5 dives + 1 free) – $424
Rescue diver (2-3 days) – $400
Emergency First Response (First Aid) – $175
PADI speciality courses (from $50)
PADI Divemaster – on request
A $10 donation to Project AWARE-Charity for ocean conservation, will be added to all dive course prices, excluding the PADIDSD (TryDivingDives)
NB:The above rates do not include the daily marinepark fees.
Excursions
Snorkeling Trip (Chole Bay) – $20
Chole Island – $10
(Excluding $4 community fee)
Kua Lagoon & Ruins
(Excluding $4 community fee)
Mange Trip (snorkeling & lunch) – $60
Price based on min. 4 people
Whale Shark snorkeling trip – $70
Fisherman Island (snorkel and lunch) – $40
Mariambani Sandbank Picnic – $25
Whale Watching – $70
Seasonal Availability (Aug – Oct)
Turtle Hatching Tour – $25
Seasonal Availability (June – Aug)
Bird Watching Tour – $10
Lighthouse, Kanga Beach & Hippos – $70
(excl. community fee | Min. 2 people)
All activities, excursions and courses are subject to availability and have to be planned accordingly to the weather and tides. Please speak to the diving deparment for times and availability for the following day. Big Blue Diving reserve the right to cancel activities if conditions are unsuitable for safety reasons.
if your trip is within the Marine Park you will be required to pay the fee. The fee is currently $20+ per adult. We cannot accept payments of this fee. The marine park does not accept cash. Please bring your creditcard or buy a pre-paid creditcard in Kilindoni.
Sandbank diving
We also have opportunities for full day diving trips to sandbanks on the southern outskirts of the archipelago. These adventures leave around 7am and arrive back around 6pm. They are extremely weather and tide dependent and require a minimum number of guests to be planned. These trips also incur dive site surcharges because of the distance.
These sandbank reefs are suitable for both divers and snorkellers and are an excellent excursion to pair with whale watching during their migration season. Quite often we are also accompanied by dolphins and depending on the species we can attempt to swim alongside them.
Depending on the tides and clients we plan these trips for single or double dives. The icing on top of the cake is having a BBQ lunch on the pristine white sandbanks, a true Robinson Crusoe experience with a splash of Mafian luxury.
Exploration diving
A big part of our passion is exploring the unknown, stumbling upon new reefs, new species – big fish and little creatures. We invite our experienced divers to have the opportunity to embark on an underwater adventure of exploration. Although not guaranteed to find anything, the thrill of swimming into the blue over rubble never ceases to excite.
This offer is for those who want to do something new or for those who have always fancied themselves as somewhat of a Cousteau. These rips are open to Advanced Open Water divers only with proof of at least 80 dives.
