Name: Thumbi View Lodge
Address: Village Road, Monkey Bay, Monkey Bay, Monkey Bay, 0157, Malawi
Rating: 9

Shopping on site

Smoking areas

Smoke-free property

Gift shop

Garden

Terrace

Outdoor furniture

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Family room

Shower/Bathtub

Shower

Linens

Mosquito net

Rooms

Laundry

Services and amenities

Diet menu (on request)

Restaurant (buffet style)

Snack bar

Poolside bar

Packed Lunches

Bottled water (at extra charge)

Meals

Internet

Transfer services

Transfer

Library

Hiking

Recreation

Parking

Swimming pool

Outdoor pool

Beach facilities

Water sport facilities

Private beach

Beach/pool towels

Next to the beach

Pool and beach

Business center

Business

Diving

Snorkelling

Yoga

Sports

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Location

At the hotel

Room amenities

Thumbi View Lodge

Monkey Bay

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Thumbi Lodge is a great place to stay in Cape Maclear: it is well located with lovely friendly staff and a good standard of budget friendly accommodation. Contrary to some of the other reviews below, we found that good quality Wi-Fi was available at very minimal cost (with great connection albeit subject to the various regular power cuts that are common in the area!). Drinks and food are also well priced. The staff were extremely friendly and very accommodating of requests. We chose one of the garden rooms and were very pleased: the shower had hot water and the room was comfortable. Highly recommended for a good value stay in Cape Maclear.

To note more generally, activities such as sunset cruise and kayaking can be booked through the lodge at good prices. For tours, right beside the lodge on the beach are the Tour Guides who organise activities - they are independent of the lodges but well organised and helpful. We did the full tour (Ilala Gap, Thumbi West Island, Otters Point etc.) with Symone and had a really great time. The tour guides do accept card payments but at a rate that is not so good: would highly recommend bringing US dollars in cash to pay them or plenty of Kwacha (note: there is NO cash machine in Cape Maclear, the nearest one is in Monkey Bay, so withdraw before arriving!). 

Great stay at Thumbi View: friendly staff with great location

Thumbi View was a great choice to stay in Cape Maclear. I initially booked a different accommodation, but once I discovered Thumbi View with its beautiful veranda overloking the beach, and the nice pool and sun beds to hang out, I quickly relocated. 

The staff is very friendly and always ready to help, and the food was delicious.

I stayed in a dorm room, which was very good value for the price.

It is also a great place to meet other travellers. I strongly recommend!

Best experience in Cape Maclear!

We have just returned home after an absolutely amazing stay at Thumbi lodge.
The facilities throughout the lodge are immaculate. The staff are so welcoming and accommodating especially Joyce,and Akim. Breakfast each morning was a delight with the freshly baked muffins. They even have a catamaran you can hire . We spent two fabulous afternoons snorkelling around the island with Maurice showing us the sights. I really can’t recommend Thumbi highly enough. We will definitely be back.

Wonderful family friendly lodge in the beautiful Cape Maclear .

One of the nicest places in Cape Maclear. Well stocked bar. With ice cold beer. Nice rooms. Infinity Pool overlooking Thumbi Island. Lunch menu consists of burgers & sandwiches. Boat rides to the island are possible.  Kayaking also. A Curio Shop at the entrance 

Beautiful Bar Overlooking Thumbi Island 

Excellent location, lovely staff and very affordable. Rooms were basic but comfortable and good value for money. Swimming pool area is lovely with great views of the beach. 

Breakfast is really good and dinners too. Very nice place to meet locals and tourists alike

Lovely hostel

We live in Malawi about an 1.5 hour away from Cape Maclear.  Home for 8 1/2 years so far.  We can usually do day trips to the lake so we don’t often stay at the lake. But once in awhile (like for our 18th wedding anniversary!), we like to go to Cape Maclear for a weekend. We kept it low-key this year but it was still so special b/c of our stay at Thumbi View. The staff was professional and friendly.  The lakeview room was comfortable, the pool was refreshing, the view was amazing and the ambience was both great for meeting new people or just chilling.  Just wonderful! We usually like to do snorkeling at Thumbi Island or a sunset cruise but this time we focused on hiking, swimming and lounging.  But what really stood out for us was the delicious food!  The unique spice combinations of the South African-style Indian buffet night still linger memorably on our palate even a week later! Loved Noleen’s creative expression of Indian food.  And I also personally enjoyed the veggie burger and Thumbi Sunset cocktail for lunch.  And the grilled kampango (catfish) dinner with fresh salad for our second dinner was fresh and scrumptious! This catfish was done excellently! And last but not least, the snacks for sale are authentic biltong, including chili bites! It doesn’t get better than this!

Quintessential Cape Maclear getaway!

We stayed at Thumbi View just before Christmas 2021. We chose it as it has a lovely open view of the lake, whereas some lodges are overgrown with trees. The view from around the pool is spectacular and the first lodge we have been to in Malawi with really comfortable sun loungers! We were lazy and just wanted a rest. The pool area was perfect for this.

Our room was behind the dive school with a nice view of the beach. It had a double and a single bed and was spacious. It was also en-suite which was a nice surprise at this price.

We ate almost all our meals at the lodge looking over the lake and were pleasantly surprised with each meal. It really is good value. The owners had, very kindly, got some special wine for us as it was my wife's birthday. The owners, Noleen and Chris, were very friendly and helpful throughout, as was the super-friendly cook who chatted to us every day and the barman, Ackim.

I have stayed in several places in Cape McClear over the years but this takes some beating for the location, layout and friendliness. It is now my go-to place!

The best location in Cape McClear

Stunning lodge! The owners and staff are super helpful and lovely people.  The food was great! Exquisite view of the lake and islands. The swimming pool is the best place to be in the Malawian heat. Highly recommended! Tour to the island with traditional fish barbecue was a great experience.  Walking distance to many bars and lodges for pub crawling and exploring.  We've met amazing people from across the world at Thumbi View. Will definitely visit again when we're in Cape Maclear.

Loved everything about Thumbi View Lodge!

Assisted us on arranging all transportation in Malawi. Both dialouge with other hotels and drivers. Very helpful to answer questions we had before arriving in Malawi.  Couldn't have asked for better service.

Extremely helpful staff

Good food, friendly staff, funky rooms. No internet, but cell tower nearby with occasional data service for T-mobile. Well-located on the lake in best part of Chembe. Hot water available mostly in the morning. Touts will approach you on the lodge's "private" beach. Only some of the upscale rooms have seating outside. Pathways, parking and approaches to the lodge are dusty sand. Skies and air are smoky during the dry season.

Thumbi View Lodge

Main amenities of the hotel

Available rooms