Diving from Pemba, Mozambique

Pemba scuba
diving features

Muck diving

Seahorses

Pristine hard corals

Anemones and clownfish

PEMBA'S TOP DIVE SITE: Playground

DESTINATION OVERVIEW
Not to be confused with Pemba island in Tanzania, the small coastal city of Pemba sits right at the northern tip of Mozambique and is the gateway to the Quirimbas Archipelago. Pemba is also located on the edge of the world’s third largest bay – local residents claim only Sydney harbour and Rio are larger. Pemba has an international airport and is a fairly neat town despite also being the major port for the region. Tourism is still in its infancy with just a couple of top calibre hotels and a few small ones.

The reefs are fairly unexplored and the diving is unexpected. Around the outer edges of the massive bay are small cliff walls, lush mangroves and beautiful white sand beaches that lead to prolific, small reefs consisting of hard corals and masses of small fish.

Most dives are shallow but there are a variety of sites and even some incredible muck diving if you head inside the bay and past the shipping port. The visibility tends to be low, especially in the rainy season as several rivers dump freshwater and sediment into the bay, but the critter life is unbelievable. Seahorses and octopus jostle with juvenile lionfish and flying gurnards.

Seasons:
Best from Nov – April
Visibility:
10 – 30 metres
Water temperature:
25 – 29º C.
Deco chambers:
Durban

Flights with Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique

Dive operators and accommodation options Only a handful in his developing area but a choice of options according to budget. We stayed at the Pemba Beach Hotel, owned by Rani Resorts

PROS AND CONS
It's not easy to get to northern, or indeed any part of Mozambique as the lone national airline only connects with other regional cities just once or twice a week. The tourist infrastructure is minimal but what is there is good quality and good value.

SCUBA DIVING
This part of Mozambique has yet to hit the diver radar while further south (near to South African border) has become quite popular. That seems like a big positive to us – no crowds, no boats, almost no divers! There isn't a huge variety of dive sites as yet as this is still a developing area, but that seems like the best reason to go.

OPINION
There is nothing quite like finding a destination that is so under-dived, even the divemasters are surprised by what they see. Our only real disappointment was not having enough time to do all the available dive sites. We dived from the Pemba Beach Hotel, a top-notch resort style complex with a very good on-site water sports operation.