Pemba Island
Pemba is reached by a thin, irregular set of ferries and a handful of daily flights, all funnelled through the Karume airport near Chake Chake or the port at Mkoani well to the south; once ashore, a single spine road strung with dala-dalas is what actually moves people between Wete, Chake Chake and Mkoani.
- Researched
- 28 September 2026
- Reviewed
- not yet
- Ways of moving
- 7, 10 sources
- Not confirmed
- 9
- Fares seen
- 2019–2026
7 ways of moving, each with its rule
We confirmed six ways of moving to, from or around Pemba Island: one by water, two by air, two by road and one under your own steam, from 10 sources. One entry is not a service at all but a rule that decides whether travel happens: a permit, a closure, a border, a season or an authority's say-so. Two of them run only on demand or when the seats are full, so there is no timetable to show; the rule is written where the timetable would be.
The fares were seen in 2019 to 2026; a fare from an older year is a floor, not a price. Four fares carry no year, because they could not be confirmed and the field says so. We rate 1 of the 7 high confidence, our own judgement of the sources. The entry was checked on 28 September 2026, and ends with nine things we could not confirm.
By water
Azam Marine Ro-Ro ferries, Dar es Salaam, Unguja and Tanga to Mkoani
Dar es Salaam and Stone Town (Unguja) to Mkoani, and Tanga on the mainland to Mkoani
Buy at Azam's own office or kiosk in Dar es Salaam, Stone Town or Pemba, or the approved agents the company names on its site; the operator itself warns against buying from anyone else. Passport and Zanzibar arrival/departure cards are needed even travelling within Tanzania, because Zanzibar runs its own immigration. In Mkoani the terminal is the small port building on the jetty; there is no separate ticket hall like Stone Town's
- When
- Only a few times a week on the Pemba legs, and departures often run late; there is no daily fixed schedule the way the Dar–Unguja run has
- Takes
- About 5 hours Stone Town to Mkoani, about 7 hours Dar es Salaam to Mkoani, about 2 hours Tanga to Mkoani
- Fare 2026
- Azam's site quotes one flat 2026 tariff for its network (economy TSh 40,000/US$35 non-resident, business TSh 50,000/US$40, VIP TSh 80,000/US$60, royal TSh 120,000/US$100) without breaking fares out by route; Wikivoyage separately gives Pemba-specific figures of US$75 Dar–Mkoani, US$35 Stone Town–Mkoani and US$35 Tanga–Mkoani, undated beyond a 2019 page edit. Treat the Wikivoyage numbers as the older reference point and confirm the Pemba-route price before travelling
SeasonNo source found naming a seasonal Pemba closure; the wider Wikivoyage Pemba page says only that sailings run a few times a week and are often late, not that a monsoon shuts them. BookingSeparate resident and non-resident online portals linked from azammarine.com, plus walk-up at the offices above. 25 kg baggage allowance; cancellations must be notified at least 2 hours ahead and there is no refund for a missed sailing. Run byAzam Marine (Bakhresa Group); Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries is the same operator's other brand name.
By air
Coastal Aviation to Karume Airport (Chake Chake)
Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar (Unguja), Tanga and Arusha to Pemba, and back
Book through Coastal's own reservations desk; the airstrip served is Pemba's Karume airport near Chake Chake
- When
- Daily; the operator's own timetable lists two Dar–Pemba departures (07:30 and 14:00), one from Zanzibar (08:00) and one from Arusha (12:45), with return legs to Dar, Tanga and Zanzibar around 08:45
- Takes
- About 1h05m Dar es Salaam to Pemba by the published timetable; roughly 30 minutes Zanzibar to Pemba by Wikivoyage's estimate
- Fare
- No fare table found on the operator's site; contact reservations for current pricing
SeasonYear-round; the operator's own page names June to October as the best (driest) months to visit rather than a closure. BookingThrough reservations@coastal.co.tz or the airline's booking site. Run byCoastal Aviation.
ZanAir to Pemba
Unguja (Zanzibar) and other ZanAir points to Pemba
ZanAir lists Pemba among its scheduled destinations from Unguja; book through the operator
- When
- Not published on the operator's destination page; scheduled flights exist but timetable and days are not stated there
- Takes
- Not published on the source checked
- Fare
- No fare found; ask the operator
SeasonNo seasonal restriction stated. BookingThrough zanair.com booking system or agent. Run byZanAir.
By road
Dala-dala along the Wete – Chake Chake – Mkoani spine road
The single main road running the length of Pemba, linking Wete in the north, Chake Chake in the middle and Mkoani in the south, with branches to Konde and the beach lodges
Flag one down anywhere along the spine road, or pick one up at the stand in whichever town you start from; Wikivoyage describes them as ubiquitous on the main roads
- When
- Frequent by day; no source found giving a last-departure time, but rural Tanzanian dala-dalas generally thin out well before dark and this file cannot confirm an exact stop time – ask locally
- Takes
- Varies by leg; not given by the source
- Fare 2019
- "rarely cost more than a few thousand shillings", undatedSeen in 2019: a floor, not a price.
SeasonYear-round. BookingNone, pay the conductor on board. Run byIndependent owner-drivers.
Taxis between Pemba's towns
Chake Chake, Wete, Mkoani and the airport, and out to the north-end lodges
Best arranged through your accommodation, per Wikivoyage; there is no meter and no posted tariff
- When
- On demand
- Takes
- Not given
- Fare
- About ten times the dala-dala fare for a comparable trip, undated, no absolute figure given
SeasonYear-round. BookingArrange through a hotel or lodge, or flag one in town. Run byIndependent drivers.
On foot, by bike, or otherwise
Bicycle hire around Pemba's towns
Short trips around Chake Chake, Wete and the small towns
Wikivoyage lists renting a bicycle as possible and a way to see the smaller towns; no named shop or rate is given
- When
- On demand
- Takes
- Not applicable
- Fare
- Not found
SeasonYear-round. BookingNone stated. Run byNot named.
Rules, permits and closures
Resident/non-resident fare tier on Azam Marine
Applies to every Azam Marine sailing that touches Pemba, the same as on the Unguja crossings
Azam's own site states that a non-citizen holding Tanzanian residence documents can be charged the citizen (shilling) fare rather than the dollar fare; carry proof of residence or citizenship if you qualify, since the two tiers are roughly double one another
- When
- Applies at every booking
- Takes
- Not applicable
- Fare 2026
- Citizen/resident fares are quoted in TSh, non-resident fares in USD, at roughly double for the same class – see the ferry option above
SeasonYear-round. BookingDeclare residency status when buying the ticket. Run byAzam Marine.
What we could not find out
9 things the researcher looked for and did not find, in their own words, with where to ask instead. None of this goes into the planner; it stays here until someone confirms it.
- 01
No timetable found for the Wete–Chake Chake–Mkoani dala-dalas, and specifically no source states when the last one of the day runs; the brief's claim that they 'stop early' could not be confirmed or dated, so it is not stated as fact above – ask at the Chake Chake or Wete stand.
- 02
No boat operator, price or schedule found for trips to Misali Island; the dive shops most likely to run them (Swahili Divers, Manta Reef) returned dead or unrelated pages when fetched directly, so this option was dropped rather than guessed.
- 03
No source found for piki-piki (motorbike taxi) hire specifically on Pemba, despite it being common on Unguja; not included as an option because nothing confirmed it exists here as a formal hire service.
- 04
No source found describing a monsoon-driven cancellation pattern specific to Pemba's ferries, despite the brief expecting one; Wikivoyage's Pemba page only says sailings are infrequent and often late, without naming a season as the cause. Do not take the Unguja file's monsoon language as evidence for Pemba.
- 05
Azam Marine's own rates page (azammarine.com/rates) publishes one flat fare table for its whole network and does not break out a separate Pemba fare; the Pemba-specific figures used above come from Wikivoyage's older text (last edited 2019) and are marked accordingly. Confirm before travelling.
- 06
No fare or timetable found for ZanAir's Pemba route beyond its listing as a destination; ask the operator directly.
- 07
The resident/non-resident two-tier fare mentioned in the brief is confirmed for Azam's general network tariff but the source found does not break it out by the Pemba route specifically.
- 08
No source found for vehicle-hire (car or 4x4) rates on Pemba, despite this being a plausible option for a place this size; not included rather than invented.
- 09
The brief expected Zanzibar's separate immigration formalities (arrival/departure cards, passport on a domestic sailing) to apply at Mkoani and Karume airport the same way they do at Stone Town; no source specific to Pemba's own ports was found to confirm this, so it is left out rather than assumed from the Unguja crossing.
What the planner can route today
The options above live on the place page, not in the departure board: a boat that comes when you phone has no time to show. What the board can do for Pemba Island is this.
- Y
- Scheduled flightsMombasa (MBA), 128 km
- N
- Trains and coachesno timetable feed known for this country
- Y
- Ferriesferry terminal, 12 km; sailings estimated
- Y
- Driving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
- N
- Bike and scooter shareno share feed known
- N
- Cruisesno open itinerary source anywhere
Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known. Nearest place with more: Chake Chake, 9 km.