SSI - Your choice for certification

Kichwani is the most popular dive site in Mnemba. It is formed by a big coral reef that starts from the surface and goes to 30 meters depth. The reef is formed by a good mixture of hard and soft corals of different colors. Don’t miss the glassfish shelter at 25 meters!

This place is formed by a coral reef that, from the surface, decreases very gently in the water. The environment is formed by many species of hard corals of different shapes and colors.

The site starts with some beautiful bommies randomly placed across the white, sandy bottom. The reef itself starts with plenty of hard corals around 5 meters and slowly continues to around 17 meters.

Coral Gardens is home to coral bommies teeming with life, which act as mini cleaning stations with shrimps, crabs, and cleaner wrasses. The coral bommies develop into beautiful coral gardens filled with healthy hard coral species.

Mwana Wa Mwana is a favorite local dive site. Depth ranges from 2m to 15m. The name of this site means baby of the baby in Swahili. Mwana wa Mwana is a small island north of Tumbatu; in low tide, the two islands are connected by a sandbank.

This dive site is formed by a coral drop off that starts at 15 meters deep. For this reason divers should be at least advanced certified to dive here. Follow the reef to find two big formations of Turbinaria full of amazingly active fish life.

Shane’s is one of the most special reefs to locals in this area. It always surprises with weird, rare marine life. This is a must dive for photographers and macro lovers! Depth ranges between 6 to 25 meters.

A sloping reef running parallel to the northeast coast from 10 meters. A big variety of hard and soft coral with a big section of plate coral. The visibility is almost always good.

Levenbank is a deep dive and is best for advanced divers. It is in the middle of the Indian ocean with a maximum depth of 35 m. You will dive from the deep area to the shallow area where a pinnacle can be found covered in hard and soft/sponge coral.

Milimani means ‘the place of mountains’ in Kiswahili which very aptly describes this dive site with its impressive hard coral formations - towering up from 18 metres to just below the ocean’s surface in some areas.

The whale shark is not only the largest of all sharks, but also the biggest fish in the world. It can grow up to 20 meters long, weigh 34 tons, and live for over 100 years. Its back can appear gray, brown, or blue in color and is covered with bright white stripes and spots arranged in transverse lines.

The leatherback sea turtle is the largest of all the turtles on earth, both aquatic and terrestrial. It is easily identifiable by its massive, inky-blue leathery shell, different from all of the other sea turtle’s shells which are hard and bony. The leatherback is a massive, ancient relic; the only remaining species of the Dermochelys family of turtles. It can grow up to seven feet long and weigh over 2,000 pounds!

Not to be confused with the freshwater angelfish of the Amazon Basin, marine angelfish are brilliantly colored and live on the warm, shallow water reefs of the Atlantic, Indian, and western Pacific Oceans. This beautiful family of reef fish consists of about 86 different species, the most well-known being queen, king, french, royal, and grey angelfish. With their large, laterally compressed bodies, small, up-turned mouths, and bright colors, they are hard to miss and a favorite sighting for most divers.

Not the best swimmers, Clownfish seek shelter in their anemone homes throughout most of the day. These distinctly colorful fish have developed a highly intricate and mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with their anemone homes, earning them the nickname: anemonefish. Due to this sophisticated relationship, they tend to stay within a maximum radius of four meters to their anemone host in order to hide quickly within its tentacles in case of danger. If you’re lucky enough dive with clownfish you could experience these cute little fish attempting to “attack“ you to defend their anemone.

Despite their protruding teeth, menacing grin, and aggressive predatory status, barracuda are actually completely passive towards divers and snorkelers, although passing by a large adult can still be intimidating to the most experienced scuba diver. They are found in tropical and temperate oceans throughout the world, preferring to cruise over coral reefs, seagrass beds, and near the surface of the water, never venturing very deep; therefore, they are commonly sighted while scuba diving.

An octopus has eight arms with suction cups which it uses as powerful tools for hunting prey, defense against attackers, and locomotion along the seafloor. They are one of the most fascinating marine animals on the planet. Every octopus has a designated “arm“ that it favors and uses most often. Because they have no inner skeleton, they are extremely mobile and can slip through the narrowest gaps and holes. Some species can even survive and move on land for a short time. Scuba diving with an octopus is an amazing and rewarding experience.

The world’s oceans are home to a wide variety of rays; over 500 different species spanning 13 families to be exact. With their cartilaginous bodies, rays are close cousins of the shark. They do differ, however, in their body shape, number of gill slits, and ways in which they swim and breathe. A ray’s tail is generally very long and skinny, and in many species equipped with a sharp, venomous barb which they use as their main line of defense. This makes it very important for divers who may be shore diving in areas containing stingrays to do the “stingray shuffle” when entering the water: they simply shuffle their feet along the bottom so as to gently push a stingray out of the way instead of stepping right on top of it.

Who doesn’t dream of diving with dolphins? Not shy and very playful, they are as curious about us as we are about them. What would be better while diving than playing with dolphins? These toothed whales are highly intelligent animals with a personality all their own, often living together in large pods. They exhibit many human traits such as mourning the dead of their conspecifics, learning from one another, trying to impress their females with gifts, joy, playfulness, empathy, etc.