overview
This stylish little beach lodge on Pemba island offers some of the best diving in Zanzibar.
Combining simplicity with style, Fundu Lagoon is a remote and peaceful resort that is only accessible by boat. Set on a beautiful beach on the south west of Pemba Island, it is privately owned and run with a love for the natural environment that surrounds it; and is the epitome of shabby chic.
There are sixteen Makuti thatched tented rooms and suites at Fundu, with sun-warmed showers and comfy beds that look out past the long palm-fringed beach onto the turquoise waters of the Wambaa gulf.
All of the spacious tented rooms have private chill out areas and plunge pools and the superior suites offer larger accommodation with a choice of outdoor areas as well as their own super sized plunge pools. Ocean view accommodation is set on the hillside and enjoys fantastic views of the Indian Ocean as well as a cooling night time breeze. Beachfront accommodation is shaded by tropical trees and shrubs and with the sandy beach literally on your doorstep, the noise of the ocean will lull you to sleep.
There are three bars, an excellent restaurant, a beautiful infinity pool and a calming spa offering a variety of beauty and massage therapies including reflexology, head massages, facials and manicures. Sandy pathways lead guests past thatched sitting-areas, to the beach where, at low tide, a stream of brightly-dressed local women walking along the beach to market beats any fashion parade.
But it’s for the diving and water sports that most guests come here. With pristine reefs, plunging walls, drift dives and a stunning wreck just a short boat-ride away, there are a multitude of bright tropical reef-fish, crustaceans and starfish; and, going deeper, tuna, barracuda, giant groupers, manta and eagle rays, hawksbill and green turtles. Non-divers can enjoy some fantastic snorkelling, dhow cruises, canoeing safaris, game-fishing; coasts walks at low tide, or even take a PADI course with resident instructors Russell and Cindy.
Meals are served in an open-sided, palm-thatched dining area with views over the woods and the sea. The cuisine, which varies daily, is basically international in style, but using local ingredients, especially seafood. Breakfast is a buffet spread with an excellent array of cakes, biscuits, croissants, fruit, fresh juices, teas and coffee, cereal and yoghurt. A cooked breakfast can be ordered. For lunch and dinner, there is a choice of 3 or 4 dishes for each of the 3 courses, with a vegetarian option always available. Fresh passion & mango juice make an abstemious alternative to the (mostly South African) wines – especially if you’ve indulged on the pre-dinner cocktails served at the jetty bar during sunset. All meals and drinks (except champagne) are included in the rates.
Being the only resort on Pemba island, you meet few tourists and lots of Zanzibaris. With world-class diving, snorkelling, fishing, canoeing, water sports, and very comfortable tented rooms by the beach, this is one of the top beach lodges in Tanzania.