Tanzania's Mainland Coast

Mainland Tanzanian beaches tend to be more private than those in Zanzibar, but do not offer diving. The ocean here tends to waves, even allowing for the possibility of boogie-boarding at times - should you feel the need!

The joy of heading for a hideaway on this glorious stretch of white-sand mainland coast is that it is logistically easily accessible, and provide very fine standards of beach luxury.

Click here for Mainland Beach Lodges

Secret Beaches for Ultimate Respite

Anyone dreaming of absolute seclusion far from the madding crowds should consider heading to these beaches south of the Dar es Salaam, where the sea has invigorating waves and the sand is fine and lies in huge, soft drifts... From here, the coast extends in many hundreds of miles of absolutely unspoilt glory from here all the way to Mozambique.

Where possible, we highly recommend a short stay on these beaches at the beginning of a honeymoon; it is a wonderful recuperative place, highly romantic and easily reached from Dar es Salaam, following or prior to an international flight.

Ras Kutani and Amani Beach Club offer totally different styles of accommodation, although both are extremely comfortable and provide a very high level of service and cuisine.

Mainland Beach Lodges

We have included all the hotels below ordered by our ranking, and by price. Clicking on any of the links will bring up more information; our detailed view of the lodge, video, photos, key facts etc. However, since we have been to all these lodges ourselves, we would recommend a phone call or an email to help you to decide where to go.

Ranking

- Outstanding

- Very good

- Good

- Average

- Poor

Ras Kutani
A simply outstanding beach lodge certainly worthy of our 5 paw rating. Great rooms, deserted beaches and good levels of food and service make Ras Kutani the perfect place to start or end a holiday. It really is just SO good.

$250pp

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The Tides
We love Tides and just wish it had better access to link off BA flights arriving into Dar. The subsequent charter costs, takes Tides up to roughly the same price as Ras Kutani (over a 3 night stay) and Ras Kutani is our preferred. However Tides is certainly worthy of 4 paws....a great lodge for families.

$150pp

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Amani Beach Club
Amani is a good option for a low cost stay on the mainland coast and also a surprisingly excellent choice for families. The fact that the lodge shares the same outstanding beach as nearby Ras Kutani means that Amani gets our 3 palm rating due to the quality of the beach, if nothing else!

$240pp

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Lazy Lagoon Island
Refreshingly well priced lodge just north of Dar. Unlike other lodges on the mainland coast Lazy Lagoon is easy and costs little to get to. The result is the most economical lodge in the area. It is however very rustic and so only gets 3 paws....but a little TLC and this place would easily be 4.

$150pp

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