Sunshine Marine Lodge. Sunshine Marine Lodge is right across from Mnemba Atoll and is the best place to dive in Zanzibar, unless you stay on Mnemba itself. There isn’t a beach here, just a small cliff, but 600 m to the north is a beautiful, untouched beach that makes up for it.It’s a great deal, just like its sister hotel, Sunshine Hotel. This is mostly for divers, but the three diving pools and peaceful atmosphere make it a good choice for everyone.

Sunshine Marine Lodge: What You Need to Know

This lodge is a lot like its sister hotel, Sunshine Hotel. It is a simple, pretty hotel with a laid-back vibe that is out in the middle of nowhere, north of Matemwe. We don’t know of any other place on Zanzibar that is as good value.

The scrubland on the way to the hotel isn’t very nice, but once you get inside, the well-kept gardens and cool Zanzibari style make it feel like a bigger place than it really is.

There are three pools. The main pool, which is 20 meters long and right on the cliff with a view of Mnemba, is in the middle of the house. The second pool is more like a spa tub. The third is the practice pool at the dive center. The diving center is small, but it has brand-new gear and offers lessons for everyone, from complete newbies to Diver Master courses. Its best feature is that it is right next to Mnemba. It is the only dive shop that can get to the island no matter what the tide is like.

Since it’s an eco camp, none of the rooms have air conditioning. The rooms are instead made so that they can stay cool with the ocean breeze. The parks’ Sunshine Suites are the best deal. The rooms are a good size and are simple, but the Blue Breeze or Panorama Suites are better and would cost a few dollars more. These rooms are right on the ocean and have bigger bathrooms and patios with views of Mnemba.

If you only want to be on the beach, this is not the right place for you because the hotel does not have a beach in front of it. Muyuni beach, which is close by, is the last great beach on Zanzibar that hasn’t been ruined by a big building project. At low tide, you can walk there in 15 minutes or ride a bicycle from the hotel for 10 minutes.

Overall, Sunshine Marine Lodge is a nice little hotel that does a great job of being a quiet place with great diving at an amazing nightly rate. It only has a pool, though, so it doesn’t have a beach.