HOTELS & CAMPS

&Beyond Mnemba Island

Ultra-luxuryZanzibar

An entire private island, shared with barely two dozen other guests and the team looking after you. Bare feet on white sand, and the Indian Ocean the moment you step out of your banda — the ceiling of what Zanzibar can offer, and the most luxurious way a safari can end.

Why we chose it

What is rare here is that the whole island is yours. Mnemba is about 1.5 km around, takes a maximum of roughly 24 guests, and its 12 bandas are spaced out between tropical forest and beach, built so open that they barely have walls — you can see the sea from the bed. That privacy is not something the big resorts on the main island can reproduce. And this white beach lets you snorkel straight off it at any state of the tide, unlike the tide-bound east coast of the main island.

The sea is the real subject. The island is ringed by one of the finest coral reefs in Africa, with a dive centre on each side so there is always a sheltered option, a PADI school, snorkelling, diving (two dives a day for certified divers) and dhow sailing. Dolphins turn up regularly, and divers occasionally meet whale sharks. The island itself is a green turtle nesting site — at the February-to-March peak you can watch turtles come ashore, something most people see once in a lifetime, if ever.

The stay is all-inclusive: meals, drinks, water activities and laundry are all covered, there is a Wellness Banda for yoga and treatments, and a private beach sala with its own bar. Getting there is arranged end to end by the lodge, finishing with a private speedboat — once you land, nothing is left for you to organise.

If this camp is the one

If it is &Beyond’s lodges that appeal to you, you can also book a safari package run by &Beyond itself — and we can add a few nights at Mnemba onto the end of it.

See its safari packages →

Before you book

Travelling with children needs to be confirmed in advance: as a private island, the lodge holds to two firm rules — no more than 2 children under 12 on the island at any one time, and a maximum of 2 adults plus 1 child per banda, beyond which the party is split across two. If anyone in your group is under 12, tell us early and we will check availability against those limits with the lodge before we book.

Our verdict

Mnemba suits treating the Zanzibar nights as the climax of the whole trip: chasing animals in the bush first, then withdrawing to an Indian Ocean island that is effectively yours — barefoot, in the water, watching turtles, doing nothing at all. It is our top recommendation in Zanzibar at this tier.

If it is full

· Families with children: Baraza Resort & Spa (a family-friendly luxury resort on the main island)
· Adults-only parties: Kilindi Zanzibar (adults only, quieter and more private)

The whole island from above: Mnemba ringed by its own white beach, a reef flat so shallow it reads green, and beyond it water that turns abruptly deep blue — that colour line is the edge of the coral. Casuarina forest covers the island with a few thatched roofs hidden in it; dugouts and a row of loungers sit on the sand. One circuit of the island is about 1.5 km.

A sala on the beach: a deep curved sofa and two day beds under thatch, white sand and the Indian Ocean directly in front, and a member of staff walking along the water’s edge with a tray. The sand is bright enough to glare; the water grades from pale green to deep blue — and here you can swim off the beach on any tide.

Inside a banda: the whole structure woven from palm and built out of raw timber, a four-poster hung with printed netting, and a full window on the left opened right up to forest and sand. A round cane swing chair hangs just outside. This is what "so open it barely has walls" means.

The living half of a banda: under a conical thatched roof, a long curved sofa banked with white cushions and a woven mat laid straight onto the sand, with a cane swing chair on the right. Look at the floor — past the matting it is simply sand, with no threshold and no continuous wall.

A private dinner: one white-clothed table and two wooden armchairs set on the sand, champagne on ice, hurricane lamps planted all around and fairy lights and white coral-shaped cut-outs strung through the trees. On an all-inclusive island, a table like this can be laid anywhere you like.

Official websitehttps://www.andbeyond.com/our-lodges/indian-ocean-islands/zanzibar/andbeyond-mnemba-island/(opens in a new tab)

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