Fundu lagoon is located at the south of the island where as the manta is on the very north tip so it gave me a great chance to see Pemba island. Compared to Zanzibar, Pemba only sees a very small fraction of the number of tourists. This is a real tropical island with hilly areas, a tropical forest and untouched natural coastline. A lot of the coast line is made up of mangrove but there are a few pristine white beaches and manta has one of these. The drive from chake chake is 1 hour on tar road and then last 30 minutes is on sandy tracks through local villages.
The manta (formerly Manta Reef) has been here for a long time but changed hands in 2008, originally it was a very basic dive hang out with basic facilities but now it is more established as a mid budget beach resort for people who really want to get away and really enjoy diving and snorkelling.
The rooms are clean and comfortable as opposed to overtly luxurious and the general vibe is very relaxed, the all inclusive basis also includes one massage per day.
In terms of diving and snorkelling the beach has a few spots on the house reef in front of the resort and there are plenty of other dive spots you can go out with the manta dive boat.
There are currently some good deals on offer which makes manta a good value beach get away on Pemba.
I am off for a massage now and then I am kayaking to the reef for a snorkel before heading off to fly down to Zanzibar for my last two nights at the residence…
