Explore underwater:

If you are a diver then you are going to be in heaven; there are many excellent Dive Centres around Nosy Be – many at the hotels themselves. The diving here is unsurpassed and boasts more diversity than the Red Sea. Whale shark (Oct – Dec), manta, humpback whales (Sep – Dec), turtles, dolphins, macro and micro, superb unspoilt coral reefs (although a bit of bleaching over the past summer) and dive sites that are hardly explored. Make sure you choose a reputable dive centre (Sakatia Dive or Forever Dive) or go the whole hog and do a private, fully crewed catamaran charter.

For those that prefer to bob along the top - note that not all hotels have great snorkelling right in front of their doorstep. But some do! (Sakatia, 293 On Komba, Tsarabanjina, Nosy Saba and Zahir Iranja are a few). It is always preferable to take your own gear with you but most hotels or excursion boats can hire to you. If you are NOT at a hotel where you can walk out of your bungalow into an underwater wonderland then there are many companies that will arrange to take you to all the good snorkeling spots. The most famous is Tanikely Marine Reserve. And, at last, there is a properly equipped liveaboard dive boat capable of reaching the dive sites that the regular dive clubs cannot reach. Maki Cat can sleep up to eight people and comes with her own hugely experienced dive guide, Stephan, to lead the charter and enjoys the support of Sakatia Lodge Dive Centre.

To the north of Nosy Be is the Mitsio archipelago with four islands similar to that found in the Galapagos Islands – known locally as the Four Brothers. There are over a dozen different dive sites here, ranging from beginner level to extreme advanced level. In the south are the Radama islands – best for experienced to advanced diving they are famous for beautiful and untouched wall diving, as well as the world renowned "Greg's Wall"; a 10 metre plateau with a vertical drop to 320 metres.

For the more experienced divers there is also a cave at "Greg's Wall" with an entrance at 32 metres and exiting at 42 metres with a giant pinnacle on the left as you come out of the cave. The pinnacle is 54 metres straight up to 23 metres.

The local waters of Nosy Be offer beginner to experienced divers over 30 dive sites to choose from. Maki CaT offers an exclusive circuit not offered by most other operators, and will include places such as Castor Banks, a near atoll rising from 2300 metres up to 8 metres in the centre. Maki CaT can also get to Nord Cap Sebastian which no other boats do.

Charter Holidays include many different snorkeling spots which you can enjoy without other tourists.