Matemwe vs. Pongwe?

Hello,

Our family of four, girls 9 and 11, have a brief visit to Zanibar in early July. We have only enough time for one beach location.

Matemwe seems to have better access to snorkeling and cultural (village) experiences, Pongwe seems more pristine, clean and quiet.

Any advice to help with a hard choice?

Thanks,
Katharine

Honestly you cannot go wrong other way. I visited just outside of Matemwe. It's beautiful and quiet and I didn't think it felt very touristy (esp. compared to my experience on the NW coast). The snorkeling was amazing. You can snorkel around Mnemba although you cannot set foot on the atoll. I did not do any of the cultural visits because I was living in TZ. It was clean with no touts on the beaches. I was torn between Pongwe and Matemwe and made the decision based off of the snorkeling options, but I have a friend who went to Pongwe and they loved it as well.

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