With a name that’s synonymous with spices and mystique, Zanzibar is a beguiling destination. Few may realise, however, that this is an archipelago rather than a single island. Instead of staying on Unguja, the largest island, choose its quieter northern neighbor, Pemba. Thanks to long-running marine conservation programmes designed to protect its coral, this is one of East Africa’s best diving and snorkelling spots. Migrating humpback whales cruise the Pemba Channel in the summer, whale sharks are regular visitors in January and February and the newly classified (and endangered) Indian Ocean humpback dolphin feeds offshore.

Home to just a handful of guesthouses and resorts, Pemba’s rural landscapes were largely unknown to tourists until relatively recently. The Manta Resort began to change all that, however, in 2013 when, amid a flurry of publicity, it launched the Underwater Room in a pristine lagoon just off the island’s northwestern tip. Those with US$1,700 (Find Air Tickets to Zinzabar), (TRANSFER FROM ZINZIBAR AIRPORT)