Pemba Channel Lodge Hotel is tucked away in the tiny fishing village of Shimoni on the southern Kenya coast, not far from the Tanzania border, 80 kms south of Mombasa.
Founded over 40 years ago, the rustic simplicity of The Pemba Channel Hotel Lodge combines African tradition with its Colonial Heritage and is comfortable and friendly. The feel of the place is low-key, informal and casual. The lodge is small, so attention to detail from the decor to the services and facilities is high. Being small, the Lodge can be very flexible in accommodating the wishes and needs of the guests. The setting of the Lodge is picturesque and very tranquil making it easy to relax and unwind.

Pemba Channel Lodge Hotel Accommodation
Pemba Channel Lodge Hotel has 6 private cottages, all in a much loved tropical garden setting, each with a verandah which overlooks the sea or the swimming pool. Each bungalow is light and airy, is individually furnished and is spotlessly clean.
The beds are larger than average and all cottages have huge mosquito nets. Each cottage is en-suite with the best showers on the coast! Plenty of fresh water is supplied from our water desalination plant, which is capable of producing 10,000 ltrs of fresh water per day.

The lovingly maintained gardens have over 100 indigenous tress and scented shrubs and, in season, we are able to pick our own mangoes, citrus, pineapples and papaya (that is if we get there before the Columbus Monkeys and the Bush Babies). The bird life is prolific and we have identified well over 150 species. The forests to the north of us are also teeming with bird life. We have an independent power facility of 64 KvA in the event of power outages.

There is no restaurant per se. There is a dining room but dining might take place alfresco by the pool or elsewhere on the grounds - under the Baobab or Tamarind trees in the daytime and on the cliff edge, under the stars at night. Food at the Pemba Channel Lodge is one of the lodge’s passions! Using a combination of Swahili, Indian, Mediterranean and Eastern Cuisines, the cooks produce exotic and imaginative faire - fresh seafood is one of our specialties, light and succulent salads, delicious dressings for pasta and super sauces for balmy evening bar-b-q’s served with home baked breads, fruit and fresh salads from the garden.
The bar is, as it has been for over 40 years, the place for some extreme stories. The swimming pool is big (250 sq. meters), family friendly and overlooks the waterfront and Wasini Island. The steps of the pool are the perfect place to relax and enjoy a cocktail or a Pemba sunset over the channel, or both.

The Pemba Channel Lodge is in a tranquil setting and its elevated position ensures privacy and excellent views across the Channel to Wasini Island with the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania as a back-drop. The grounds are quiet and peacefully secluded. Central to the garden is a large fresh water swimming pool on the edge of a small cliff, the steps of which are the perfect place for evening sundowners!
Your hosts at the Pemba Channel Lodge are Peter and Sandra Ruysenaars, both proud Kenyans, who have a wealth of African experience and will enrich your stay with their warmth and hospitality. Peter’s family goes back a long way in Africa. In 1935 his uncle, together with 2 friends, set off from Holland on their pushbikes to look for a new life. They arrived in Kenya a year later, fell in love with the country and settled in Eldoret. In 1947 Peter's parents made the journey south by boat and joined the family on the farm in Eldoret.

Peter was educated in Kenya and had his own successful accountancy practice in Mombasa before buying The Pemba Channel Fishing Club. In 1992 he sold his practice and came to join Sandra in Shimoni full time. Sandra's father left the UK in 1947 and together with 3 friends and an old Austin A made their way down the west coast of Africa, along the equator eastwards and finally, they too, arrived in Eldoret, fell in love with the land and settled there. Sandra's mother arrived 2 years later, from the UK and married Monty. Peter and Sandra look forward to welcoming you to their home and country.
PICNIC AND SUNDOWNER CRUISES
The Lodge can arrange both picnic and sundowner cruises. For a sense of real peace and a feeling of content it’s very difficult to beat a sedate sail on one of the local dhows to secluded beaches or sand bars.

DIVING AND SNORKELING
Pemba Channel Lodge is extremely lucky. On its doorstep it has spectacular and unspoilt dive and snorkeling sites. The waters are warm, clear and safe (shallow with little or no tidal currents). The coral heads and drop-offs of the Kisite Marine Park (rated one of Kenya's best coral gardens) teem with color and abound with fish and other marine species. Often divers and sorcerers are privileged to see and to swim with Dolphins - an exciting, often humbling, but always majestic experience. During the months of mid July through to mid November spectacular sightings of whales are a common occurrence as these magnificent mammals make their way south. Whale spotting trips can be arranged through the Lodge.

DEEP SEA FISHING
The Pemba Channel fishing grounds are ranked with the World's best. Proven and famed for big bill-fish (Dec - March) and big yellow fin tuna (July - Nov). The Pemba Channel Fishing Club, which is an integral part of the Pemba Channel Lodge, has three well-maintained big game fishing boats; two 33 ft Bertrams and the one and only White Otter, a 44 ft Sports fisher. Experienced, knowledgeable, safe and friendly crews man all the boats. The boats are fully equipped with top of the range equipment (GPS's, fish finders, radios) and are in constant communication with the Lodge base. The Pemba Channel Fishing Club and the Pemba Channel Lodge operate strict environment and conservation (tag and release) policies.

Manta Reef Lodge Hotel

Manta Reef LodgeHotel lies at the North Western tip of Pemba Island, looking straight across the Pemba Channel towards the Shimoni area of Kenya. Manta Reef is ideally located between a tropical rain forest, a 10 kilometre stretch of white sand beach and the gentle turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, in an elevated position on the island's northern most point, commanding stunning view across the Pemba Channel.

Manta Reef Hotel offers a unique wilderness resort, set in an idyllic hideaway location (which is prefect as there is not another development within 50 kilometers), with a great beach and superb access to the dive sites of Njao. One of the best features of Manta Reef Lodge and that of Pemba Island is that there is an incredibly relaxed and easy going atmosphere throughout the whole area, providing you with a peaceful and care free holiday while being served by genuine smiles of the Manta Reef Lodge staff that remain loyal and proud to serve its visitors, t o make you feel at home, in an informal, yet efficient atmosphere.

Manta Reef Lodge was introduced in 1993, starting off as a simple camp site, and slowly progressing to what it is today, making this one of the characteristics that has managed Manta Reef to retain the raw flavor of the Pemba wilderness, and develop excellent relations with the local communities. Ongoing sustainable fishing and forestry projects in conjunction with the government and concerned parties has meant that the future looks excellent for the environmental health of the region, and they take pride in being part of that success.

Pemba Island has remained a closely guarded secret with travelers "in the know" for over 10 years now, and at present Pemba Island is a tropical Eden, practically untouched by tourism and commerce.