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Matemwe

Zanzibar North · North-east coast · Kaskazini A

Part of Nungwi →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

lagoonnot for beginnerslow crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Jan, Feb, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Dec

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-25 kt

Character: trade

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

lagoon

26.3 °C in summerEast-facing Indian Ocean beach

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

low crowds · busy Jan Feb Jul Aug

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

70 min

Zanzibar Airport (ZNZ)

When it fills in

Builds through the day rather than switching on: the strongest wind comes in the late afternoon and into the early evening. Kusi-season afternoons are the dependable window.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Nungwi15 km

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Muyuni Beachno page yet
Mnemba Island areano page yet
Kiwengwano page yet
Pwani Mchanganino page yet
Paje
Jambiani

The spot

Matemwe sits on Zanzibar's north-east coast looking out at Mnemba Island, and it is the quiet option next to Paje.

Everything is tide

Everything here is tide. Inside the coral reef the flat goes shallow and dries out at low water; the reef about 700 m offshore is where the waves are, and where you want a plan before you go.

Wind seasons

Wind runs on Zanzibar's two trade seasons: Kusi/Kuzi from the south-east through roughly June-October, Kaskazi from the north and north-east around December-February or March. Expect 14-25 kt, with July-September the most reliable stretch.

Learning vs. intermediate

Sinajambo Kite School teaches here and advertises beginner practice, but the tide window, the exposed reef flat and the seaweed lines make this a harder place to learn than Paje. Come for intermediate freeride and reef waves with nobody else on the water, and only after somebody local has told you where the seaweed stakes are that week.

The wind

locals call it Kusi/Kuzi and Kaskazi trade winds

Direction

cross-on

Direction to shore

Mostly side-onshore, as along the rest of the Zanzibar east coast. For Matemwe itself the working directions are N and SE/SSE/S.

Dominant direction

SE to S in Kusi/Kuzi season; N to NE in Kaskazi season

Kite sizes

567891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

12, 10 and 9 m are the most common Zanzibar kite sizes, with occasional 7 m depending on rider weight and wind speed.

Character

trade

When it fills in: see above ↑

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic (south-east trade winds)

Average strength

Typical strength

15-25 kt on a good Zanzibar trade day. Kaskazi often runs 15-18 kt and Kusi/Kusini often 15-25 kt, with 18-20 kt quoted as the wider Zanzibar average.

Seasonal trade wind; stronger and more reliable in Kusi/Kuzi, lighter in Kaskazi, with lower reliability outside the main seasons.

Best beginner months run mid-June to mid-October and late December to mid-March, with July-September the most reliable. Matemwe's own best months are also given as January, February, July, August, September and December; the seed record left out the December-February Kaskazi window.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month44
Feb, riders' month48
Mar39
Apr24
May43
Jun, riders' month62
Jul, riders' month72
Aug, riders' month72
Sep, riders' month76
Oct, riders' month54
Nov20
Dec, riders' month19

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Dec.

11 ktJan30°
11 ktFeb30°
11 ktMar30°
10 ktApr29°
11 ktMay29°
12 ktJun28°
12 ktJul27°
12 ktAug27°
12 ktSep28°
12 ktOct29°
10 ktNov29°
9 ktDec30°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	44%	10.8 kt	NE	27.4 °C	29.6 °C
Feb	48%	11.1 kt	NE	28.2 °C	30 °C
Mar	39%	10.5 kt	NE	27.8 °C	30.1 °C
Apr	24%	9.7 kt	S	26.2 °C	29.2 °C
May	43%	10.8 kt	S	26.3 °C	28.6 °C
Jun	62%	11.6 kt	S	25.4 °C	27.8 °C
Jul	72%	11.9 kt	SSE	24.7 °C	26.9 °C
Aug	72%	11.9 kt	SE	24.8 °C	26.8 °C
Sep	76%	12 kt	SE	25.3 °C	27.6 °C
Oct	54%	11.6 kt	SE	26.1 °C	28.8 °C
Nov	20%	9.7 kt	ESE	26.6 °C	29.4 °C
Dec	19%	9.2 kt	NE	27.3 °C	30 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2022-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

lagoon

Standing depth

Riding runs from mid tide to high tide only.At low water the reef flat is exposed and you walk on it, coral, seaweed lines and all; from mid tide the lagoon inside the reef is shallow and standable across much of the flat.No measured depth exists for the lagoon, so treat the standing area as tide-dependent rather than fixed.

Tides

The tide runs the session here. The reef flat dries at low water and only mid to high tide is rideable, because the seaweed plots occupy the flat and there is not enough water over them otherwise. High water opens the most room inside the lagoon.Between one tide and the next the spot changes shape.

Temperature

26.3 °C summer · 28.7 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 27–30 °C

Wetsuit

No wetsuit normally needed; rash vest/boardshorts are enough for most riders because Zanzibar water stays warm year-round.

Conditions

East-facing Indian Ocean beach. Inside the coral reef it is lagoon and reef-flat water; chop and small to medium waves build near the reef, with the best wave area about 700 m from shore.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Matemwe is listed for any level and beginner practice on the wide empty sand is advertised locally, but the tide and the reef flat run the session, which puts the spot at intermediate. This record keeps beginner=false for unsupervised use; supervised lessons with a local school may still work.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavesfreeridequiet sessionsdownwind baselessons with local school

A quiet north-east Zanzibar village beach near Mnemba, with fishing and seaweed farming going on around you and far less kite traffic than Paje or Jambiani.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

4 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

1 spot nearby

Nungwi15 km

The one spot within 40 km is under Nearby

Rescue

+255 778 464 928 +255 774 706 317

Rescue — full text1 min read

No lifeguard, no public rescue service and no confirmed safety boat for independent riders. The nearest help is the two schools working this stretch: Sinajambo at Matemwe village (+255 778 464 928) and Sea Breeze at Muyuni Beach on the same coast (+255 774 706 317).

Sea Breeze watches its own students with an assistant on the beach rather than from a boat, so cover for a visiting rider is unconfirmed either way. Ride with someone, and tell a school or a hotel when you go out to the reef.

Launch

Beach launch on Matemwe's east-facing sand, a medium-size launch and landing area on a wide, empty beach.

Hazards riders report 10 reported

Crowds and zones

No safety boat: the schools cover their own students from the beach, not from the water

Bottom

coral reef and shallow reef sections
seaweed farming and fishing activity around Matemwe village

Waves and currents

seaweed-farming lines/stakes at low tide
shallow reef exposure at low tide
reef flat exposed at low tide
waves breaking on the reef about 700 m offshore
Riding window limited to mid and high tide; low water is not rideable

Protected areas and rules

tide-dependent access and rapidly changing lagoon depth

Other

formal rescue coverage unconfirmed

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: no Matemwe kite permit, launch zoning or seasonal restriction is published. No particular rules are reported; talk to someone local before you go on the water.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Read the tide before you rig. The reef flat dries at low water and the launch moves with it.
Ask Sinajambo or a fisherman where the seaweed lines and stakes are sitting that week, because they move.
Bring booties. Any walk across the reef flat is a walk on coral.
Do not ride out to the break at 700 m alone unless boat cover and the tide window are both clear.
Bank the no-wind days for Mnemba: snorkel or dive the atoll, or walk the reef at low tide.
Plan the session for mid to high tide and the late afternoon, when both the water and the wind are there.
Save the school numbers before you drive out: Sinajambo +255 778 464 928, Sea Breeze at Muyuni +255 774 706 317.

Getting there

Airport

Abeid Amani Karume International Airport / Zanzibar Airport (ZNZ)

Route

Taxi or private transfer north-east from Zanzibar Airport. The drive is listed at 50 km and about 59 minutes; transfer operators usually quote 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes depending on pickup point and traffic.

Transfer

70 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Beach lodges, hotels and quieter high-end resorts around Matemwe and nearby Kiwengwa and Muyuni. More than 500 places are listed in the area.

No-wind days

Snorkeling and diving around Mnemba Atoll, reef walks at low tide, village/seaweed-farming visits, dhow trips, spice tours and Stone Town day trips.

Photos

FAQ

Is Matemwe suitable for beginners?

The atlas record marks Matemwe not ideal for unsupervised beginners because tide and reef-flat exposure dominate sessions, though supervised beginner lessons may be available locally.

When is the best time to kite in Matemwe?

The main windows are Kusi from around June to October and Kaskazi from December to February, with July-September the most reliable stretch of typically 14-25 knot trade wind.

What is the water like?

A coral reef about 700 m offshore shelters a lagoon/reef flat that can become shallow or exposed at low tide, so checking the tide before rigging is essential.

Are there kite schools nearby?

Yes, Sinajambo Kite School is based locally, with Sea Breeze Kite School and Duotone Pro Center Zanzibar also nearby.

What are the main hazards?

Hazards include seaweed-farming lines and shallow reef exposure at low tide, plus waves breaking on the reef about 700 m offshore that should not be ridden alone.

The bigger pictureEverything about Nungwi

Last updated: August 2026