Mnemba Island

Blissfully sublime, Mnemba Island is the ultimate barefoot paradise frequented by the very rich and oh so famous.

Mnemba is an exclusive, privately owned island, which lies two kilometres northeast of Zanzibar. It's the playground of celebrities such as Bill Gates and Naomi Campbell and was voted by Conde Naste Traveler magazine as one of the three most romantic places in the world. And, that doesn't begin to describe it.

First of all, you couldn't be closer to the best diving reefs in Zanzibar at Mnemba Atoll, which teems with colourful marine life. Secondly, exclusivity is assured as day visitors are not allowed and guests are kept to a maximum of 20. Thirdly, Mnemba has been declared a malaria-free zone, so you won't have to spend your holiday plastered in insect repellant.

Mnemba is encircled by a sandy white beach and surrounded by a dazzling turquoise ocean. There are ten unique en-suite banda cottages on the beach bordered on either side by tropical vegetation. Palm matting, wood and thatch have been handcrafted to create a banda, which fits perfectly into its surroundings. Here, you awake to sounds of the red-eyed doves in the forest and a beach filled with possibility. You can spend your days snorkeling, diving, sailing, kayaking, fishing or just lazing on the wood-and-leather sun loungers softened by white cushions. Relaxation and great diving is what Mnemba is all about. 

The main lodge with dining room and lounge/bar is open plan, letting in those balmy island breezes. From here, you have good views of the beach and coral reefs beyond. You can watch television, play board games, read books from the library or watch a great selection of wildlife videos.

In the beach forest situated in the middle of the island, you'll find timid suni antelope and white forest vagrant butterflies. Amazingly, there are no snakes, mosquitoes, scorpions or snakes on the island. Birders can look out for the purple-branded sunbird, bar-tailed Godwit, Eurasian oystercatcher, crab plover and paradise flycatcher. Along the shores, you'll see curlew sandpipers, sanderlings, ruddy turnstones and Mongolian sandplovers.

Mnemba Island is the perfect place to do nothing at all but live out your Robinson Crusoe fantasies of being stranded in paradise. However, this rustic fantasy comes at a very steep price tag making Mnemba Island the most expensive place to stay in the whole of Zanzibar. 

You won't be expected to build your own lodgings, Robinson Crusoe style, on this castaway island.

The 10 beach bandas, or cottages, have been crafted for you by thatching experts and tucked discretely in between the casuarina trees on either side of the lodge to ensure privacy. Natural materials such as wood and palm branches have been hand-woven to create the ultimate beach banda, the epitome of understated island elegance. The windows are open allowing the balmy breezes in. A palm-covered walkway leads from your banda to an en-suite bathroom, where an occasional ghost crab may make an appearance. The water for the shower comes from the island's well or rainwater and is heated by solar panels. There is a spacious outdoor veranda on which to mentally replay days spent diving among exotically coloured tropical fish on the magnificent Mnemba reefs.

The interiors are spacious and stylish. Huge beds have white cotton bedspreads and mosquito netting. The netting is apparently not necessary as the island has been declared malaria-free, but they're great for romantic ambiance. Besides this, the rooms are very simply furnished and don't have any of the facilities usually associated with top lodgings. This fits perfectly with the island theme. After all, would Robinson Crusoe have had air conditioning, mini-bars and televisions? 

All the rooms are equally delightful, so we can't recommend any favourites.