Tanzania

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Pemba Island

Zanzibar's quiet green island

Visa & entry checker Plan a trip to Pemba Island Plan a trip around Tanzania

Best time to visit: Jan, Feb, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Currency: TZS
Time zone: UTC+3
Country: Tanzania

Photo: Marcel Oosterwijk from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0

Pemba is the hillier, greener island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, known for clove farms, quiet beaches and some of East Africa's best diving. It sees few tourists, so the Swahili culture and small towns feel untouched.

Largest cities

Dar es Salaam
Dodoma
Mwanza
Arusha
Mbeya

Quick facts

Figures are rounded recent official estimates.

Country: Tanzania
Capital: Dodoma
Island population: 406,808
Population of Tanzania: 57.3M
Country area: 947,303 km²
Official language: Swahili and English
Currency: Tanzanian Shilling (TZS) · 1 USD ≈ 2,635 TZS
Time zone: UTC+3
Calling code: +255
Drives on the: Left
Elevation: 43 m
Plugs: D / G · 230V
Emergency numbers: 112 · 114 · 115
Best time to visit: Jan, Feb, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct

Temperatures through the year

Average daily high and low for each month in °C. Months marked with a drop are often rainy.

Temperatures through the year

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High	32°	32°	32°	29°	28°	27°	27°	28°	29°	30°	30°	31°
Low	26°	26°	26°	24°	24°	24°	23°	22°	23°	23°	24°	25°

Best time to visitOther months

Approximate daily cost

Per adult per day: food, local transport and half a double room, without activities or flights.

ConservativeSimple stays, free and low-cost sights first.$27
HighComfortable hotels, a balanced mix of sights and trips.$85
LuxuryLuxury hotels, more paid experiences and day trips.$250

Plan a trip to Pemba Island

Top things to do

Free
Chake Chake town and market
Walk the capital's market and old streets below the mound with views over the bay; go in the morning when the market is busiest.
- Half day
- Chake Chake
- Good for kids
Free
Ndagoni ruins, Ras Mkumbuu
Some of the oldest preserved Swahili ruins in the islands, on a peninsula west of Chake Chake; check the tide before walking out.
- Half day
- Chake Chake
- Good for kids
Free
Mkama Ndume ruins, Pujini
A 15th-century fortified site south of the airport and the only known early fortification on the Swahili Coast; reachable by road from Chake Chake.
- Half day
- Chake Chake
- Good for kids
≈ $20
Clove and spice farm tour
Visit working clove and fruit farms on an island that grows millions of clove trees; arrange through your lodge and bring water.
- Half day
- North Pemba beaches and forest reserves
- Good for kids
Free
North coast beaches
The island's best beaches and most lodges sit on the north end; stay for sunset, which is the easiest arrival-evening outing.
- Half day
- North Pemba beaches and forest reserves
- Good for kids
- Good in the evening
≈ $10
Forest reserve and Pemba flying fox
Forest reserves in the north shelter endemic wildlife including the Pemba flying fox; a guide is needed to find the roosts.
- Half day
- North Pemba beaches and forest reserves
- Good for kids
Free
Wete harbour and old town
Pemba's largest town has a working dhow harbour and a lively evening food scene along the roads; the nearby islets are visible from the waterfront.
- Half day
- Wete
- Good for kids
- Good in the evening
≈ $90
Dive or snorkel Misali Island
A marine reserve with rich coral and abundant fish, reached by boat from the west coast; book with one of the island's dive operators.
- Full day
- Misali Island
≈ $150
Game fishing in the Pemba Channel
The deep 50 km channel between the island and the mainland is one of the Swahili Coast's best game-fishing grounds; trips leave from the south coast.
- Full day
- Mkoani

Before you go

Entry and visas

Most visitors need a visa for Tanzania. Apply for an e-visa before you travel, or get a single-entry tourist visa on arrival at the main ports of entry if you meet all immigration requirements; multiple-entry visas are not available on arrival. All visitors must have a passport valid for at least 6 months after arrival with one blank page, proof of onward or return travel, and mandatory Tanzanian government inbound travel insurance. If you buy this insurance after 1 October and arrive first in Zanzibar, buy it from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC); if you arrive first in mainland Tanzania, buy it from the National Insurance Corporation (NIC). A yellow fever certificate is required if you are arriving from a country with a transmission risk. Rules vary by nationality, so check the official Tanzanian Immigration Department page before booking.

Official website

From the airport

Pemba Airport (PMA), about 7 km from Chake Chake, has daily small-plane flights from Zanzibar (about 30 minutes) and Dar es Salaam. Ferries from Dar es Salaam, Stone Town and Tanga dock at Mkoani in the south, taking 2 to 7 hours depending on the route.

Getting around

Daladala minibuses run frequently and cheaply along the main roads between the towns; taxis cost about ten times as much and are best arranged through your accommodation.

Local tips

Pemba is strongly Muslim: dress modestly in public, avoid alcohol outside the lodges and do not eat in public during Ramadan.
Carry cash in Tanzanian shillings; card payment is rare outside a few lodges and ATMs are limited.
Learn a few Swahili greetings such as 'Jambo' and 'Asante'; English is limited outside the lodges.
The driest, coolest months are June to October; April, May and November are the wettest.

Areas worth knowing

Wete
Misali Island
Mkoani
Chake Chake
North Pemba beaches and forest reserves

Official travel advice

The UK Foreign Office last updated its advice for this country on October 9, 2026. The advice includes warnings against travel to some areas. Read it before booking.

Read the advice on GOV.UK