Reviews of Chole Mjini

"A beautiful camp with extremely relaxed vibe. We loved the the eco feel with tree houses and eco toilets etc and enjoyed meeting new people at the communal meals .

We felt that there could be more information about the trips that they organise on your behalf as the welcome pack in our room felt out of date. Sometimes the staff who dealt with these were not very forthcoming with information eg for a snorkelling trip - where the boat takes you, how long for and that one of the boatmen gets in the water with you and guides you around." See all these reviews: 13n in Tanzania

"An idiosyncratic lodge with tree houses accessed by ladders. If you are used to safari life style, you will enjoy as we did. We were fortunate that the owners were in residence as they are very welcoming and get all the guests involved socially. You are close to nature with fruit bats in the trees, mice (rats) that may visit you in your house." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania

"We did not fall in love with the place as so many other guests apparently have. Our stay was spoilt a bit by too much rain, and everything was damp all the time.

The tree houses themselves are very cool, enjoyed those a lot. Food was OK, sometimes good to very good but generally not very impressive. We did not see much of the owners, they never joined meals. Anne joined us for two minutes at one breakfast and about 15 minutes before dinner once. There was Dim, a young and very helpful Dutch acting as assistant manager who was very keen and did everything he could to help and make our stay enjoyable. Still, we found it weird that the people in charge showed zero interest in their guests. Not the most welcoming atmosphere.

And while we appreciate they keep things more basic it would have been nice to get a cocktail on a tropical island, and at least some ice with G&T and Amarula. Laundry was something that quite irked us, we put it in immediately after arrival. The next day was dry. It was returned to us only the following evening - completely wet and impossible to wear! Obviously they had let it hang in the rain. So we had no clean stuff for our flight home. Pretty embarrassing to travel in our smelly safari stuff.

Those complaints aside, still enjoyed the Mafia Island Marine Park a lot. We loved snorkeling (like swimming in an aquarium) and the sandbank and sunset sail cruises. Also enjoyed really good birding. No Whale Sharks - we did not try. Chatted to a number of people, and none had been successful during and before our stay.

One reason why we´re not really sold on Chole is the island itself. We love to walk, and love remote places. We had read in the description of Chole that there's a village nearby. Which is fine. What we had not anticipated however is that there are locals everywhere all over the island. Every path leads through the villagers backyards, and we were not completely comfortable with that. Many people probably will enjoy that aspect a lot but not entirely our cup of tea.

To sum up, we could easily see returning to Mafia but it will be a different lodge then." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania

"What a fun and original place to stay - we LOVED the fact that it was so eco - with no electricity and living in baobab tree houses - we loved the fact that we had to heat our own shower water with a Heath Robinson contraption - The beds were so comfortable, it was so luxurious just listening to the doves each evening and morning, and to be woken naturally by the early morning light.

This was the equivalent of glamping - it felt wild and adventurous and very very cool to be staying there - but it had that little touch of sophistication - Each evening we had a dinner party with Anne and Jean, our hosts - with lots of lively conversation - the culmination was a birthday party or one of the other guests - under the star lit sky we danced to a kind of African gamelan xylophone ! great fun -

WE did a dive organised by Butiama/ Big Blue from here - and also did a wonderful trip to the sandbar where we lazed around and drank coke and beer ! We also really loved being introduced to the eccentric game Viking Chess - just wished we'd had more time to play ! Next time maybe" See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"I had read about treehouse lodges, but this one was a lovely surprise. Sleeping halfway up a huge baobab tree on a platform reached by wooden stairs. No doors or windows.....just open to the sounds and smells of the outdoors.

The 'room' was simple but comfortable with a hammock, comfortable bed, washing facilities....and a ground level composting toilet and a wonderful outdoor shower heated by a kerosene burner....not sure about health and safety, but I loved it. No electricity, although solar lamps were issued...but we were encouraged to enjoy the dark. I also loved the meals at a communal table, where we met some very interesting guests.

I like the ethos of this lodge ....the owners encourage an eco friendly style of living. They also support the local community and the marine conservation park. I loved walking along the sandy paths linking the treehouses to the communal areas and seeing monitor lizards, huge hermit crabs and other wildlife. We stayed two nights here and I wish it could have been longer." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania; 2n in Zanzibar

"The tree house accommodation built around a large Baobab tree with views of the sea was absolutely unique and quite wonderful - even in the dark when quite windy! We slept really well and were very comfortable. The "plumbing" was basic. We were prepared for it and so it was as expected but it may not suit all tastes and this would be a shame as the overall experience was exceptional.
Apart from the activities which I will turn to next our fondest memory will be of the way we were so well looked after by Celine and by Jay, who were unfailingly kind and thoughtful.
We had a wonderful whale shark trip with Jean's team based on Mafia island. Our briefing from Sami was excellent and made us fully aware of how to swim with whale sharks without distressing them, thereby getting the best experience (for them and for us)! We got the impression that each of our four guides that day were all equally well informed and responsible and that added to our enjoyment. Sadly no other boat seemed to take this more responsible attitude with examples of others diving into the water right over the fish, causing it to dive deeper and to change direction. Hopefully this will be addressed. In spite of this we had a truly wonderful morning, seeing three whale sharks, a very large Ray and a large number of fish. Our only regret is that we failed to see that you could hire an underwater camera (which could have been terrific as our sightings were wonderful, especially when we were first to find a whale shark and had about five minutes swimming alongside it before the irresponsible hoards arrived).
The next day I tried an experience dive with the diving operation just across the water. They were very professional and ensured I was well prepared for my two dives before we left for the first dive site. It was worth every dollar! Luke spotted a huge number of interesting fish and was able to point most of them out to me, as well as a turtle I was thrilled to see.
We cannot recommend our stay too highly if you enjoy water based activities. It was a quite brilliant part of my trip - even better than I had hoped." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania

"The Tree House was an extraordinary place to stay. We loved the outdoor shower! We had great views over the sea and the forest with frequent sightings of Amethyst Sunbirds. The food was good. The staff were friendly and helpful. The option of dining with the other guests proved very enjoyable.
The sandbar trip and picnic was great fun and allowed us to see some other birds. The village tour was very interesting.

Species seen included Hermit Crabs and Monitor Lizards.
Birds seen included Black-bellied Starlings, Golden Weavers, Brubrus, Common Bulbuls, Amethyst Sunbirds, African Paradise Flycatchers, Bronze Mannekins, Common Waxbills, Black-headed Weavers, Tawny Eagles, Whimbrels, Pemba Green Pigeon, Emerald-Spotted Dove." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania

"The treehouses at Chole Mjini are pretty magical and kept us dry even in a torrential storm!

We loved the experience of staying in the treehouses and Chole Mjini has clearly been lovingly built and looked after by Jean and Ann. The staff were friendly and the food tasty. We liked that locals from Chole Island appeared to make up the majority of the workforce.

We enjoyed a couple of very good snorkelling trips during our stay but were unsuccessful in our bid to swim with the whale sharks.

If we were to come up with any particular criticisms of Chole Mjini it would just be that the toilets were a little too dark and the showers were powered by kerosene which does not particularly fit with the eco nature of the resort.

Overall however, it was a very relaxing, rustic but beautiful lodge that we would definitely recommend to others." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

"Repeat guest - that should say it all.

Only complaint, like last time, quality of dinner food average; with all the fresh seafood around, could definitely be improved.

Great everything else - the tree houses are off the charts worth alone a trip to Mafia." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania

"Chole Mjini Lodge is a wonderful opportunity to be away from the hustle and bustle of life. The pace of life slows down and the activities are quite flexible with meals are provided to suit. The owners, Ann and Jean are keen to share their experience of living on Chole with guests. There are a number of trips or activities you can take part in.

The tree houses are all different and although accommodation is very simple, all have ingenious facilities including long drop toilets and hot open air showers. They have fantastic views and you wake up to sunrise at tree canopy level with bird song disturbing the stillness.

Taking a boat to a nearby sandbank, (which we had to ourselves, along with birds and crabs) was wonderful if not a little surreal. Spending an hour or so on a white sandy beach with sunshade and drinks provided before a boat comes to collect you was fantastic.
We used our days to scuba dive but had the rest of the day to relax.

Meals were served in different locations on the site. Whether it be in the historic ruins, on the dock if the tides allowed, on under a Tamarind tree with a view, the food was superb. All locally sourced food meant that meals were mainly seafood based but there were always vegetarian options." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania