FAQ’s

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BOOKING AND CANCELLATION QUESTIONS
 

• CAN I BOOK MY DIVES SEPARATE INSTEAD OF TAKING A DIVE&STAY PACKAGE?

  • Yes. We only organise Dive&Stay to ease the comfort of our divers. Many people take care of their hotel bookings and flights themselves, this is absolutely fine.

 

• DO I NEED TO PAY NECESSARILY IN ADVANCE ?

  • For Dive&Stay packages yes, in oder to secure bookings in hotels and airlines it is crucial to pay up front in order to seal the booking. For diving itself there is not so much urge.  

 

• HOW CAN I PAY ?

  • You can pay in different ways. In our invoice our bank details are always shown so you can simply wire the money through a bank transfer. 

  • We can send you and online payment link for VISA and MasterCards. 

  • You can pay in cash: US$ or Tanzanian Shilling. 

  • On credit card payments there is a standard bank commission of 3% required. 

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TRAVEL TO PEMBA​

• INSURANCE?

• As it is not mandatory we highly recommend each individual to have an up to date travel/medical insurance that covers diving accidents and hyperbaric treatment. This is often included in a regular travel insurance policy, even on your Credit Card (mostly American Express) travel insurances have these insurances. If you need to be evacuated from Pemba for medical reasons it can turn out very costly. 

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• HOW DO I GET TO PEMBA?

  • Pemba is reachable by plane or ferry from Zanzibar, the main island. The preferred option would be to fly. 

  • Whether you are or landing in Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, Arusha or Kilimanjaro there are always connecting flights to book to Pemba. Simply drop us an email and we will help you out with finding flights as well as booking the flights. 

 

• ARE THE SMALL PLANES TO PEMBA RELIABLE?

  • Several airlines fly from Zanzibar to Pemba. Not only are all the airlines very professional and safe, it is extremely fun to fly the plane to Pemba and the view will be something you won’t see a lot in your life (after saying this we hope not you only will see clouds).

  • In Tanzania flight schedules change more easily than in Europe however the rescheduling of flights is goes very quick here and they make sure everybody will get where they have to be. 

 

• WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PEMBA AND THE MAIN ISLAND ZANZIBAR?

  • Pemba is much more remote, no important historical city centre and neither many tourists. Even in the high season it is impossible find a crowd of tourists. Zanzibar is very busy instead and offers lots of restaurants and tourist attractions. When it comes to diving Pemba really is the place to be! The nature in Pemba is just stunning. It is harder to get to but the reward is bigger as well. 

 

• HOW LONG SHOULD I BOOK MY STAY IN PEMBA?

  • For a good stay we would recommend a minimum of three nights. The reason for that is that you will need a couple of hours (or much longer) of travelling to get here so you should not be travelling more than resting. You can dive here for more than ten days and see different dive sites all the time as our diving area is huge. 

 

 

• WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO TRAVEL 

  • The best time to travel is between June and beginning of April. For May we are closed. The busy times are the holiday periods and usually we have really good diving conditions for those times. July and August are the coldest months and from January to March it is the hottest. 

 

DIVING WITH AFRO DIVERS

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• WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO DIVE IN PEMBA?

  • May we are closed due to the raining season. The diving conditions are bad.

  • June, the wet month after the big rains. However we can do great dives during this time.

  • July can be windy, so choppy conditions. This is also the coldest month of the year.

  • August is warming up however the water is still cold. This is the season to see Humpback Whales. You can have beautiful dive conditions during this month.

  • September/October is usually a quiet month with beautiful diving conditions. Still a good chance of seeing humpback whales. 

  • November is “small raining season” with temporary rains pouring down. When the rains come we get really good diving conditions and we have a good chance of seeing big fish!

  • December is top month to dive. Christmas time and New Year are busy so make sure you book in advance.

  • January and February are the windy month, but these are occasional. When lucky you have zero wind during your stay.

  • March is wind still and hot. We don't need a wetsuit to dive. Also bigger chance of spotting sharks and rays. 

  • April is a tricky month. Until the rains start you will have the best diving conditions, as well as few tourists. 

 

• CAN I DIVE IF I AM NOT CERTIFIED?

  • Yes, we put you through a program which is called Discover Scuba Diving and you will be able to explore the underwater world of Pemba

  • Or you can start your PADI Open Water Course with us. This a 3-4 Day entry level course. 

 

• I CAN’T SWIM, CAN I STILL REQUEST A DIVING OR SNORKELLING EXPERIENCE?

  • No. Unfortunately this is a core requirement for scuba diving as well as a house rule of Afro Divers .

    

• CAN I SHARE A DIVING PACKAGE WITH ANOTHER PERSON?

  • No, a package for example two days (four dives) need to fulfilled by the same person. 

 

• WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING WITH ME ON MY DIVING EXCURSION?

  • If it is your first day please bring a proof of your diving certification

  • Sunscreen can be a good idea. Also a hat or sunglasses as we will be exposed to the sun a lot. 

  • Afro Divers provides you with drinking water, tea, coffee, snacks towels as well as dry bags. 

 

• HOW DOES A TYPICAL DAY OF DIVING LOOK LIKE WITH AFRO DIVERS?

  • Pick up time from the hotels is 8:00. 

  • We gather at the dive centre to do the check-ins, briefing time and getting in our wetsuits. 

  • Around 09:00 we head out with our speed boat. The closest dive sites are 5 minutes away. The furthest dive sites are 60 minutes away.

  • We do two dives around an hour each, with a surface interval break of at least 1h15min.

  • We are usually back at the dive centre around 13:00. After some juice, a shower and logbooks signed you go back to your hotel. 

  • For the fanatic divers we organise a third dive in the afternoon. This will be a 14:30. Please book in advance because we will be organising lunch. 

  • We will always inform you if we do a different plan. If we go to far dive sites we probably will arrange lunch and make it a full day. 

 

• DO YOU DO NIGHT DIVES?

  • Yes, we do. We need a minimum of two participants to organise a night dive. Also we should have mild ocean conditions, this is something out of our control. 

 

• ARE THERE DANGEROUS ANIMALS OR ALGEAS IN PEMBA?

  • The most dangerous jellyfish are (not actually jelly fish) called blue bottles. They leave a nasty sting for an hour or so but cannot be considered dangerous. 

  • Sea urchins can penetrate through your reef shoes when you are unlucky. However we never experienced a diver who got hurt really bad from that either. You shouldn’t do it on your bare feet. 

 

• IF I HAVE A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER WHO WANTS TO JOIN ON THE BOAT, WOULD THAT BE POSSIBLE?

  • When the dive boat is not fully booked we allow people to join us for snorkelling. This is at a fe of US$45,- per person per day. This includes wetsuit, equipment and a guide. 

 

• WHAT SIZE OF SCUBA CYLINDERS DO YOU HAVE. ALSO WHAT VALVE FITTING DO YOU HAVE?

  • We have 11.1L (or 80 CuF), Aluminium. With these scuba cylinder we can last easily 50min-60min

  • We have DIN fittings to our scuba valves. Our rental equipment has only DIN connectors. If you are travelling with YOKE (or A-Clamp) we provide you with an insert.