Reviews of Chumbe Island Lodge

"Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful. Best snorkeling I have ever done. The eco-lodges are clean and comfortable, and ours (#7) had a great view of the ocean. Private and intimate setting.

The food was great, especially the lunches, with fresh seafood every meal. Dinner was outside, which was a little windy, but still excellent.

Great staff from the waitresses to the guides, and overall a must-visit for at least two nights." See all these reviews: 10n in Zanzibar; 7n in Tanzania

"Very friendly staff, great location and fabulous Robinson Crusoe huts. It would have been nice to have had more activities, e.g. longer walks around the island, bird watching etc. The activities were also at set times so not all could be done as they sometimes overlapped.

I think you should warn people more clearly regarding the possibility of a wet crossing and definite wet landings. We were luckily wearing shorts but otherwise you would get very wet!" See all these reviews: 15n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar

"Very friendly manager and staff generally, great chef, chilled atmosphere, impressive green credentials, nice food, enjoyable activities (walks, snorkelling) with friendly and knowledgable guides, great beach." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar

"We really enjoyed staying at Chumbe. The architecture of this Eco lodge is really thought through and inspires you just to relax, sit back and enjoy the vistas or read a book. The place is full of charm.

The staff is very friendly, service minded and flexible and the rangers very knowledgable. Food was good, but mostly buffer style - one of the few areas that we felt might be improved.

Coral reef is very impressive with a big variety of corals and fish. We saw sea turtles, rays and octopus. We stayed 2 nights, but 3 nights would probably have been better as it would have given us more time to properly enjoy all activities and just relax a bit." See all these reviews: 4n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar

"The perfect desert island (well, coral rag anyway).

I thought the individual 2 story huts were very comfortable and elegant and the view from my upstairs bed was magical.
The snorkelling was excellent. There were fewer fish than in the South Pacific (it was more like the Carribean) but the corals were more varied than I have ever seen before and bursting with health.

I found the educational efforts of the lodge well worth supporting. The tour of the coral rag forest was fascinating to me, although I was glad that I wasn't taken to see the coconut crabs until the last night I was there. The crabs are huge and much “brawnier” than I imagined!

The staff was all friendly and helpful. One day my stomach was giving me some trouble and when I didn't attend breakfast, the manager known as Obama (Kenyan father and ears a bit prominent) came around to make certain I was ok and brought me a thermos of ginger tea and toast with honey.

The food and the setting made meals a delight and I could have happily stayed longer than the 3 nights I was there." See all these reviews: 11n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania

"A very different experience for someone not of an 'eco' frame of mind. the whole experience was great, the staff went out of their way to assist and the food was excellent.

Three nights is about the maximum I would recommend as the island is so small, unless lying on beach is your thing in which case stay as long as you like. Totally laid back, relaxing and the whole pace of life was designed just to make you forget about life in the rat race." See all these reviews: 3n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar

"We all loved it !! A real adventure being one of only 7 tourists on our own island.

Although aspects were quite basic such as the compost lavatory it was a memorable place to be, woken by the dawn chorus of the african birds and did all 3 snorkelling trips while there seeing the turtles, stingrays, lion fish, moray eels, some reef sharks and an incredible array of smaller brightly coloured coral reef fish.

Food was good and enjoyed the reef walk at low tide, the other walk was a bit limited and could perhaps we combined with birdwatching and at an earlier time of day when the birds are more visible.

Staff were great there too." See all these reviews: 10n in Zanzibar

"What a jewel this little eco camp is. We loved our eco hut which was very stylishly decorated and quite comfy. However, the beds on the floor and the nighttime trip down the stairs to the bathroom were a tad challenging for the 60+ set.

A few more beach chairs at certain peak times would have been nice. The snorkel trip and the tidal pool walk were excellent and shouldn't be missed. Here, as at most places we stayed, I was glad to have my own tea bags and instant Starbucks (I hate instant nescafe) which came in handy for the early morning coffee/tea room service and sometimes at breakfast.

It was a bonus to know that our tourist dollars support the educational efforts of the not-for-profit." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 8n in Zanzibar

"We packed the walks and a couple of snorkelling trips into one day here. It is great to know that by staying here you are directly supporting the conservation of this remarkable little island and marine park. The coral here is very beautiful, and the inter-tidal walk is fascinating.

There are a couple of places where the "eco" thing should probably be relaxed a little:
(1) you need flashlights. An oil lamp outside the huts in the evenings would be nice.
(2) bring insecticide. the inside of the mosquito nets if you want to avoid being bitten." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar

"If one goes to a marine park lodge one does not expect a 5 star hotel, and Chumbe will not disappoint. I am reminded of the song the "Bare Necessities" when thinking of the earth toilet in our chalet which was a one room accommodation for those who know each other.

This not for profit operation was to protect the marine park and guests were a route to this objective. The guides were very friendly and everyone was keen to ensure that we had an excellent holiday with them. The snortellng was first class on a fantastic corral reef. We will never forget swimming with a large Hawkbilled turtle.

Chumbe Island Lodge did not disappoint but it would not be to everyones taste." See all these reviews: 10n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania