Overview
Mnemba Island 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. Mnemba is encircled by a sandy white beach and surrounded by a dazzling turquoise ocean. Palm matting, wood and thatch have been handcrafted to create a banda, which fits perfectly into its surroundings. Exclusivity is assured as day visitors are not allowed and guests are kept to a maximum of 20. 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.

Accommodation
• There are ten unique en-suite banda cottages on the beach bordered on either side by tropical vegetation. The cottages have been crafted 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.

• A palm-covered walkway leads from your banda to an en-suite bathroom. 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.

• All the rooms are equally delightful. Their interiors are spacious and stylish. Huge beds have white cotton bedspreads and mosquito netting even though apparently it's 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.

Facilities
• 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.

Activities
• 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.

• 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 Tthe best diving reefs in Zanzibar at Mnemba Atoll, which teems with colourful marine life,