Kilindoni (Mafia Island) - General Info

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Mafia Island is the largest in the Mafia archipelago which includes several smaller islands. It lies 21km east of the Rufiji delta in central Tanzania.

Mafia Island is noted for its large concentration of whale sharks and the abundance of coral reefs in the marine park, which covers most of the southern part of the island.

Entrance Notes and Cautions:

The anchorage is +-1nm off shore and security even during daylight is dicey as lots of prawn fishermen pass by coming from the prawn banks off the Rovuma River mouth.

Cruiser Highlights:

Kilindoni, with a population of around 12,000 is the main town of Mafia island and although there are a number of shops in the town they offer limited supplies. It is only a 1km from Mafia Island international airport.

Read Des Cason’s Tanzania Cruising Notes for the latest updates (July 2023)

Position:

07° 54’ 24” S 39° 39’ 43” E (anchorage NW of the end of the pier).

Last updated:  August 2023

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Kilindoni (Mafia Island) was last updated 7 months ago.

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  1. August 16, 2018 at 10:32 AM
    Data Entry3 says:

    Reported by SV Toybox – 6 August 2018
    We visited Kilindoni (Mafia Island) on route from Mayotte to Dar Es Salaam. We used Kilindoni as a point of entry to Tanzania.

    A bridge was built during 2014-2015 from the port length of 1200 m to the sea. Currently, a vessel can anchor near the end of the bridge (07 54.2437 S 039 39.0875 E) and there is a barge which enables boarding from a dinghy or in good sea conditions even alongside docking. From there it’s a walk to the port or you can order a tuk-tuk.

    Formalities:
    The officials on the island are not accustomed to visiting yachts hence the formalities can take a while. In our case, we had a visit on the boat of the immigration, customs and local police. All were polite and helpful, though they insisted on searching the boat. Overall the process took 4-5 hours.

    The customs office is a small hut near the port gate. From there you can initiate the process of clearing into Tanzania and the port. Eventually, that is where you will get the transire.
    Documents Required: ship papers copy, crew list, list of equipment and goods aboard, last port clearance.

    The cost of the clearing was 12,000 Shillings – about 5 USD.
    The transfer should be filled by 3 copies and one of them will be kept by the boat together with the clearance documents. None of the offices has means of providing the forms, so you better prepare in advance.

    The immigration office is uphill. You go up till the roundabout, take left and then at the bank again left, the immigration office will be on the left about 200 m from the bank at the back of the building.
    Documents Required: passports, vaccinations cards.
    Cost of visa is 50 USD per person.

    The village has multiple shops though not too much to offer.

    Udy Yosha
    SV Toybox
    Kilindoni Bridge/wharf

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