The Nautilus Hotel

​The central lounge's high thatch ceilings and tiled floors keep things nice and cool in these steamy tropics. Wicker furniture provides great spots to chill inside and on the canvas-shaded veranda. Poolside sunloungers are even better. The on-site Dhow restaurant serves up traditional Mozambican cuisine (think grilled fish, peri-peri chicken) three times a day, though sometimes lacks the ingredients and service to make things happen. Hang out at the beachside bar – it's conveniently beyond the reach of sales-hungry hagglers.

Twenty-one thatched bungalows sit in two rows under coconut palms, just back from the beach. (The front row is massively preferable to the one behind it, which backs on to Pemba's main coastal road.) A wooden walkway links the units to the covered, furnished veranda and pool. Each hut has two bedrooms with double or twin beds and a small lounge with air-conditioning, a TV and bar fridge. There is one bathroom per hut, with a shower and a loo.

​The beach in front of the hotel is lovely for long walks, especially when the tide is out, making a pristine, pearly sandbank about two kilometres east of the lodge accessible (it's much less crowded). The ocean is warm enough for swimming all day all year, so pack a mask and snorkel for underwater exploration. Longing to SCUBA dive, deep-sea fish or explore the mangroves? You'll need to organise a charter, which can be expensive, but is worth it.