Tanzania
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
433km²
Area
156km
Coastline
41m
Highest point
40,801
People
29°C
Warmest sea
March
14km
To the mainland
When to go to Mafia Island
Best for the beach from June to October.
The sea is warmest in March (29 °C) and coolest in August (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island off Tanzania
Mafia Island is an island in Tanzania. It covers 433 km², with 156 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 41 m. About 40,801 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 14 km away.
Getting there
- Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 126 km in a straight lineCar hire at DAR airport (Dar es Salaam)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries1 ferry terminals on the island
- 14 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Mafia Island.
- 1beachesKanga beach
- 1viewpoints
- 1lighthousesRas Mkumbi Lighthouse
- 1ferry terminals
- 3dive centresBig Blu Mafia Island Diving Center, Mafia Island Diving, Dive Planet Mafia Island
- 23hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 10restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 13 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Kilindoni23,426 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 102 | 98 | 162 | 242 | 120 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 44 | 68 | 98 |
| Wet days | 18 | 16 | 24 | 26 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 20 |
| Sun h/day | 8.3 | 8.5 | 7.9 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 9.4 | 9.9 | 9.7 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| Wind (km/h) | 22 | 19 | 15 | 21 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 18 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.3 |
| 2021 | +0.2 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.1 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | −0.1 | −0.3 | +0.4 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.1 |
| 2023 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.8 |
| 2024 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q713391) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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