Recently I visited both Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara. As the former is already covered in many reviews I will focus om the later. Through Elisabeth, the owner of the highly recommended Kimbilio lodge in Kilwa Masoko we got into contact with Osman, a very enthousiastic and knowledgable guide. The boat trip from Kilwa Masoko to Songo Mnara takes about 1,5 hour. You arrive at a rather primitive settlement of local fishermen and after passing through some mangrove forest on foot you reach the ruïnes of the former palace dating from 11 th century. Big baobab trees have partly taken over the buildings, but there is still quite a lot to see. The site was very quiet, our group of 3 had the place to ourselves, as was also the case when we visited Kilwa Kisiwani the next day. On the way back we did some great snorkelling. It was a great trip and the ruins were quite interesting.