Sunbathing, beach volleyball, diving and snorkelling are the main activities in Kendwa – it's a terribly laid-back beach hangout. The vast majority of the hotels and guesthouses will hire out basic snorkelling gear, organise day trips by boat to Tumbatu Island, and offer sunset dhow cruises; some will rent out kayaks too.

Watersports

For fun below the water line, Kendwa's only dive operator is currently:

Scuba Do Diving

PO Box 3546, Stone Town, Zanzibar; Ø 0777 417157/0748 415179/UK +44 (0)1326 250773; e info@scubado.demon.co.uk/doscuba@ scuba-do-zanzibar.com; www.scubado.demon.co.uk/www.scuba-do-zanzibar.com (SCUBAD 5º45.071'S; 39º17.387'E). Owned and operated by a British couple, Christian and Tammy, Scuba Do appears to be a highly professional and well-equipped dive centre, based on the beach in front of Sunset Bungalows. The 4 permanent dive leaders take a max of 6 divers each to one of their repertoire of 15 reef sites, chosen according to conditions and diver experience. Diving is done from 2 high-powered RIBs (rigid inflatable boats), allowing fast access to dive sites (Mnemba is reached in 30 mins, as opposed to nearly 2 hrs by dhow), and n navigation pinpoints precise dive entry points. There's plenty of good equipt – 'Buddy Explorer' BCDs, Mares regulators, masks and fins, and Reef wetsuits – and they have a code of stringent safety procedures. We were impressed to be told that all divers are issued with surface marker buoys and marine radios maintain contact between boats and base. Their on-site Bauer air compressor is regularly tested, and there's an emergency oxygen re-breather and a full medical kit. As part of this adherence to safety, Scuba Do will not take any divers below water without proof of their qualification. When outof the water, the team here are also involved in community work. Sep 2005 saw the first event of their annual Beach and Underwater Cleanup project. As part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), the dive team galvanised 82 people (75% from the local community) into clearing Kendwa Beach: 108 bags of rubbish were collected. Plans are now under way to educate local school children about the effects of rubbish on the environment.

Scuba Shack

Scuba Shack's name is a little misleading as it no longer offers diving activities. It has changed ownership and is now part of the Kendwa Rocks empire, offering only basic snorkelling equipt and boat trips.