Mnemba Island, Clear Kayak, Cooking Class, Horse Riding, Emerson

This excursion was really amazing, but the itinerary varied vastly from what was advertised. Traffic around the island is horrible, so getting around to the different locations is a challenge. However, despite the derivative, my husband and I had a great time. We were picked up from our Hotel RIU Jambo at 8am. Our tour guide, Mohamed, informed us as soon as we took off that we probably wouldn’t visit all of the stops listed in our itinerary. From reading previous reviews, we knew this was a possibility. Before heading to our first stop, we informed Mohamed that my husband wouldn’t be able to participate in horseback riding due to the weight restrictions (90kg is the max and I myself am just below that), so we were ok with skipping that stop. We also hoped that would free up time to ensure we were able to hit all of the other locations. Our first stop was Mnemba Island. My husband was able to swim with the dolphins, we dined on some fresh fruit and took pictures on the sand bank. The island was really amazing. The water is gorgeous blue and crystal clear, it reminds me of the waters at Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos. Our next stop would have been Kendwa beach, but we were told that the beach was closer to our hotel which was over 45 minutes away from Mnemba. We were also told taking pictures in the clear kayak were extra and may not even have been available. So we decided to skip Kendwa, again, hoping to save time. It would have been nice to have visited this beach first though, since it was so close to our hotel. Our next stop was to the spice farm. I believe that it was called Kidichi. The tour was wonderful. It was fun guessing the different spices through feel, smell and sometimes taste. It was very interesting to see how spices are grown before they hit our kitchen cabinets. Unfortunately, there were no ATVs. After the tour, we went to the Swahili cooking class with Murtala. This was our favorite stop in the tour! Cooking in the jungle kitchen was most certainly a different, yet highly welcomed experience. We learned a lot and the meal we created was so delicious and packed with maximum flavor!! While the cooking class was an amazing experience, it lasted over three hours. So we decided to just end the tour there. As mentioned before, despite the varying schedule, this tour was really amazing. Many thanks to our tour guide, Mohmed and our driver Haji for showing us an amazing time! My final thoughts, booked the excursion, but we opened-minded and flexible.

This excursion was really amazing, but the itinerary varied vastly from what was advertised. Traffic around the island is horrible, so getting around to the different locations is a challenge. However, despite the derivative, my husband and I had a great time. We were picked up from our Hotel RIU Jambo at 8am. Our tour guide, Mohamed, informed us as soon as we took off that we probably wouldn’t visit all of the stops listed in our itinerary. From reading previous reviews, we knew this was a possibility. Before heading to our first stop, we informed Mohamed that my husband wouldn’t be able to participate in horseback riding due to the weight restrictions (90kg is the max and I myself am just below that), so we were ok with skipping that stop. We also hoped that would free up time to ensure we were able to hit all of the other locations. Our first stop was Mnemba Island. My husband was able to swim with the dolphins, we dined on some fresh fruit and took pictures on the sand bank. The island was really amazing. The water is gorgeous blue and crystal clear, it reminds me of the waters at Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos. Our next stop would have been Kendwa beach, but we were told that the beach was closer to our hotel which was over 45 minutes away from Mnemba. We were also told taking pictures in the clear kayak were extra and may not even have been available. So we decided to skip Kendwa, again, hoping to save time. It would have been nice to have visited this beach first though, since it was so close to our hotel. Our next stop was to the spice farm. I believe that it was called Kidichi. The tour was wonderful. It was fun guessing the different spices through feel, smell and sometimes taste. It was very interesting to see how spices are grown before they hit our kitchen cabinets. Unfortunately, there were no ATVs. After the tour, we went to the Swahili cooking class with Murtala. This was our favorite stop in the tour! Cooking in the jungle kitchen was most certainly a different, yet highly welcomed experience. We learned a lot and the meal we created was so delicious and packed with maximum flavor!! While the cooking class was an amazing experience, it lasted over three hours. So we decided to just end the tour there. As mentioned before, despite the varying schedule, this tour was really amazing. Many thanks to our tour guide, Mohmed and our driver Haji for showing us an amazing time! My final thoughts, booked the excursion, but we opened-minded and flexible.

We had the most incredible day on this excursion with our guide Mohamed and our driver Haji! The snorkeling was absolutely amazing, with crystal-clear waters and stunning marine life. The cooking class with Murtala was so much fun and engaging that we completely lost track of time, and unfortunately, we couldn’t make it to the last stop at the Emerson Hotel. However, the day was still fantastic overall and we had the best dinner. After the cooking lessons, it was getting a bit late, but Murtala was incredibly kind and opened his spice farm just for us. He even brought a fresh jackfruit for us to try, which was such a special touch. They were all so thoughtful and attentive throughout the entire day. I would definitely do this again — it was a truly unforgettable experience!