Overview
Pole Pole Resort at Mafia Island's Marine Park is a new kind of resort. Situated in the Utende area of Mafia, the resort is the archipelago's main base. It is set in a shady, breezy spot facing a sea of the deepest blue and looking over at the islands of Chole, Juani and Jibondo. Owned and operated by a young Italian couple, Pole Pole Resort is a new kind of luxury travel experience that combines the principles of ecotourism, a small resort setting and one of the most pristine and exotic environments in the world. A small and intimate retreat located in Chole Bay in Mafia Island Marine Park with daily flight connections to Dar es Salaam and the Selous Game Reserve. "Pole Pole" means "take it easy" in Swahili.

Accommodation
• The resort consists of only seven luxury bungalows that are spacious and elegantly furnished with carved and antique pieces and all with a large balcony overlooking the sea. All linen is imported from Italy.

• Each bungalow has twin and double mahogany beds on wooden slats with high quality spring mattresses elevated on stilts so to catch the breeze from the private shaded balcony.

• The bungalows are self-contained with en suite bathrooms that are both spacious and comfortable with washbasins, king-size showers, bidets and toilets.

• Two bungalows are ‘family’ type with two rooms separated by the bathroom and a small corridor for privacy. The large private verandahs are furnished with a Zanzibari bed, chairs, table and an armchair.

Facilities
• The lodge is a low environmental impact resort with a state-of-the-art phyto-purification plant which is a special process of treating wastewater to prevent environmental pollution.

• The resort has a fully equipped dive centre offering PADI and NAUI dive courses and there are a wide variety of good diving and snorkelling sites in Mafia Island Marine Park.

Activities
• The activities in the marine park are scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing and visiting the local villages. Pole Pole Resort organises boat excursions and picnics to isolated islets, sandbanks or islands every day, according to the tide. Dives are conducted from dhows.

• Full ($450) and half ($250) day sports fishing trips are organised from the resort.

• Several sailing trips by dhow of different duration are offered to outlying islands and sandbars and shaded picnic areas are set up on these ‘desert islands’.

• A cultural visit to Chole island is also organised from the resort. Land excursions on Mafia include trips to the north of the island and to local markets.

Dining
• The main restaurant and bar serves outstanding cuisine with seafood a speciality. The cuisine is a combination of diverse culinary traditions and cultures, with an Italian style touch of class.

• The resort caters for special dietary requirements whenever possible. Most of the food served is organically grown and bought on the island to help fishermen and farmers benefit from tourism development.

• A selection of alcoholic beverages, wines, beers, juices and cold drinks are always available at the bar.