andBeyond Mnemba Island

Mnemba is a private island off the northeast coast of Zanzibar, and you arrive by boat to a beach of white coral sand. The first sound you notice is the sea against the shore.

The accommodation is a row of bandas, twelve in all. They stand among casuarina pines just behind the beach. Windows are open and free of glass, so the breeze and the surf come straight into the room. A covered walkway leads to a shuttered en-suite bathroom with a shower, and the veranda has built-in barazas for long, unhurried mornings. Each banda has its own beach sala with traditional Zanzibari loungers, set apart for you.

The reef is the island's other front door. Snorkelling and diving start from the beach, and the lodge also offers stand-up paddle boarding and sea kayaking for the calmer hours of the day. Between sessions, learn Mbao, the traditional Zanzibari board game, from the staff.

Green turtles lay their eggs on the island's beaches. Laying peaks from January to August, and the hatchlings emerge roughly two months later, so what you see depends on when you visit. Staff patrol the beaches to monitor nesting, and guests can follow turtle tracks along the sand. At low tide around the full and new moon the whole atoll is exposed, and a walk along the shoreline looks very different from the same beach at high water.

Meals are served in thatched dining and sitting areas that open onto the beach. Fish, lobster, crab, prawns and fresh fruit arrive each day by traditional ngalawa outrigger, and dinners can be candlelit and served on the sand, including private dinners for two.

Mnemba suits couples planning a honeymoon or anniversary, and solo travellers who want a quiet stretch by the sea after the safari. The days follow the tide and the light rather than a timetable, which makes it a good closing chapter for a longer trip across Tanzania.