Mafia Island

About Mafia Island

Mafia Island lies in the Indian Ocean off the Rufiji delta, about 130 km south of Dar es Salaam, and is reached by a short scheduled flight. The main island covers 394 km² and had 66,180 residents in 2022, most living from fishing and small-scale farming around the town of Kilindoni.

The island's southern and eastern waters form the Mafia Island Marine Park, Tanzania's first multi-use marine park, established in 1995 and covering 822 km². Its core is Chole Bay, a deep, reef-sheltered anchorage dotted with islets and sandbanks, where the diving and snorkelling are concentrated. Off the west coast a resident population of whale sharks is seen from around October to March, and swimming with them is the island's best-known activity.

On Juani Island the ruins of Kua, a Swahili trading town, and on Chole Island the remains of a nineteenth-century settlement give historical interest. Lodges are few and small, so the island stays quiet compared with Zanzibar.

Highlights

• Whale shark swims off Kilindoni (Oct–Mar)
• Chole Bay diving and snorkelling
• Mafia Island Marine Park (est. 1995, 822 km²)
• Kua ruins on Juani Island
• Green turtle nesting beaches
• Short flight from Dar es Salaam