Butiama Beach

a great base for whale sharks and culture

Butiama Beach Lodge is located on Mafia Island off the Tanzania Coast.

This place is owned and hosted by Italian expats Maura and Moez, who are very pleasant and hands on.

The majority of the lodges here on Mafia are situated in the marine park around Chole Bay to the south of the island. This lodge is nearer to the main town of Kilindoni, close to the whale shark locations, but away from the diving.

It is set at the back of a long beach, on a large open plot under palm trees. A shaded walkway leads from the reception to the main dining area and out towards the lovely swimming pool, close to which there is a lovely sunken lounge and bar area.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Butiama Beach Lodge is in 13 rooms, each with an indoor bathroom and private verandah.

Activities

Butiama Beach Lodge provides access to the following activities, not all of which are necessarily included in the usual room rate …

– Swimming

– Swimming with whale sharks

– Cultural interaction

– Snorkelling

– Diving

– Sailing

– Walking

– Sandbank picnics

Mafia Island tends to feature relatively rarely in trips, since the allure of Zanzibar is too great for most first time visitors to resist. That is what keeps the place so blissfully quiet.

The usual stay duration is 4-6 nights.

Seasonality

The climate on Mafia Island is tropical, with predominantly hot, humid and sunny conditions.

There is rain on most days of the year, usually taking the form of light showers. During the Nov-Dec and Mar-May rainy seasons these can turn into heavy and persistent downpours.

There can also be very strong winds during the May-Jun early dry season period.

The best times down on the coast are therefore considered to be Jul-Oct and Jan-Mar, when there is usually slightly less rain and wind.

Unfortunately these best periods happen to coincide with the two peak seasons for visitor traffic, although that is far less of an issue here than on Zanzibar Island.

Getting there

The vast majority of visitors to Mafia Island arrive via the international airport at Dar es Salaam, from where there are regular scheduled light aircraft services into the main airstrip at Kilindoni.

Once on the island it is usual to travel around by guided overland transfers.

We always include all connecting transport in your trip unless you specifically ask us not to.

Where to stay

Mafia Island has only a limited range of accommodation options.

If your primary interest is diving, then most likely you will want to stay in the Chole Bay area to the south, where the stand-out option is Chole Mjini Lodge, with its quirky treehouses. Other decent options include the dive-oriented Shamba Kilole Lodge and the reliable Kinasi Lodge.

If you are more interested in swimming with whale sharks and/or the cultural aspects of the main town Kilindoni, then you might choose to stay in that part of the island, with Butiama Beach Lodge being the lead option.

blissfully quiet due to the irresistible allure of Zanzibar