After a morning of game activities, you will take a light aircraft flight from the Selous to Mafia Island via Dar es Salaam, enjoying views of the turquoise Indian Ocean as you fly. Mafia and its surrounding islands are covered in rich rainforest, thick grasslands, and giant baobab trees, and dotted with tiny villages. Sunbirds flit through the trees, five species of endemic butterflies can be found and bushbabies call at night.

All that said, it is in the turquoise waters that you’ll find the islands’ biggest attractions. Unspoiled barrier reefs surround the islands, rich in soft corals, sea anemones, and sponges, and attracting a dazzling array of fish. From sunrise to sunset Mafia is magical and as yet little visited. Overnight Butiama Beach Bungalows