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Zanzibar Islands Tours

Zanzibar – Beaches

The Northern beach area extends up from Kendwa to Nungwi village. Kendwa is an excellent beach, but traditionally the location for hippy ‘traveller’ style accommodation and reggae bars. Further up, but benefiting from the beautiful beach aspect here, are big hotels, such as the whopping Gemma dell Este, mainly populated by package tours and a large Italian clientele; not everyone’s cup of tea. Further on and you reach Nungwi village, a built up version of Kendwa and one of the few places on the entire island where there is any form of nightlife beyond your hotel. The Z Hotel is the best westernised lodge here and would suit a group of young professionals seeking a party. On the very northernmost pinnacle of the Island, 30 minutes walk from Nungwi Village, is Ras Nungwi beach, arguably the best on the island. This area has smaller, more discreet hotels and less people. Ras Nungwi is the best lodge here and a lodge that over the years has proved to offer reliably good service and accommodation standards. It is one of our favourites on the island, and the clear leader in its price bracket. The North East beach runs from Matemwe to Pongwe…

The beach is more deep set and properly shaded by palm trees. At either end of this stretch you’ll find beautiful, secluded areas and smaller accommodation. The central stretch is dominated by big hotels like the Fairmont, Ocean Paradise and the Kempinski. Right up the top end of the beach, Matemwe Bungalows and the exclusive Matemwe Retreat are the best lodges in the area and again, two of our favourite lodges on the island.

Further down the beach lies Mchanga Beach Lodge, a fairly new eight roomed lodge that has a beautifully laid back atmosphere and doesn’t permit children! All the hotels here head out to the Mnemba Atoll for Zanzibar’s best snorkelling and diving. At the other end of this beach region is Pongwe Beach Hotel, a highly recommended no-frills little beach lodge in a remote spot with a fantastic beach. In the middle section of the beach, perched on a cliff top is Shooting Star , another excellent mid-range hotel perched over a beautiful stretch of beach.

The South West is not blessed with beach. There are a couple of nice lodges in Fumba and Unguja and the snorkeling is pretty good. But for people after that picture postcard beach idyll and the promise of certain paradise….this is not where we’d recommend!

The Mainland offers 800 km of blindingly white beaches, coconut groves and mangrove swamps, but much of it is virtually undiscovered by modern tourism. Generally overlooked in favour of Zanzibar, the coast (away from Dar es Salaam) is rarely visited. With little development of any kind (tourist or otherwise), the coast has just a few farming and fishing villages dotted along its shoreline with nearby coral reefs and natural lagoons. Yet there are vivid reminders of the Swahili past to be found and the coast has a bloody and fascinating history. Palatial remnants of Persian and Omani kingdoms still remain and ancient mosques dating from the 12th century testify to the far-reaching roots of Islam. Bagamoyo was the last point reached by slave caravans before shipment and fortified houses still stand, as does the tree under which they were brought to be sold. There is also the fading grandeur of Tanga in the north, and the relatively undiscovered island of Mafia, location of the newly gazetted marine park and a wonderful place for scuba-diving. Towards the Mozambique border there is the historic ruined city of Kilwa.

Things are beginning to change, however, and there is now a clutch of upmarket beach resorts, and a new road from Dar es Salaam to Bagamoyo has recently been completed thanks to an EU grant. Also the beaches around Pangani have recently seen some tourist development and now offer some excellent rustic beach resorts, which you should enjoy while tourism there is still in its infancy. In the future this part of Tanzania could attract many more visitors.

The Stone Town

The Stone Town offers a chance for history lovers to know and understand the history of Zanzibar through time. Lots of key buildings are still in place, some being turned into great museums like the infamous House of Wonders and the neighboring Old Fort.

The best part of all is exploring the multi-cultural and multi-religion communities living together in harmony. The Stone Town Tour in Zanzibar will make sure you’re not missing a thing.

Visit the Anglican Church of Christ built by Bishop Steers in 1874 and get a chance to walk through the streets of Stone Town and get to buy tropical fruits and spices, while hearing different dialects being spoken by the people of the town at the market.
– House of wounds
-Old Forty
-Tip Tip house
Etc.

The Spice Tour

This tour is a walking tour in a spice farm (shamba). While there, you shall see how the spices, herbs and fruits grow and are cultivated. Your tour guide will describe how the crops can be used.

You will be smelling and tasting spices, herbs and tropical fruits such as clove, lemongrass, nutmeg, cinnamon, turmeric, vanilla, coconuts, papaya, chili, black pepper, jackfruit, cardamom, cassava and oranges. After the tour you will enjoy a traditional swahili lunch at the farm. Here is when you can really taste the different ways of using spices.

Prison Island

The 30-minute boat ride from Stone Town soon leaves behind the narrow streets of the old city, bringing you to the shores of one of Africa’s more notorious islands.

Once on Changuu Island, your guide will explain the colourful history of the area, including the prison building – which still stands. Today the island is home to some of Zanzibar’s oldest residents – descendants of the Aldabra giant tortoises that were a gift to the people of Zanzibar from the Seychelles government; some of them are rumoured to have reached over a hundred years old. Look a little harder and you may also spot butterflies, bats and even the very shy duiker.

The island is fringed with coral reefs and your guide will make sure you have snorkelling equipment so you can potter around in the shallows, marvelling at the colourful marine life, or simply soak up the sun on the soft sands surrounding the island.

Jozani Forest

Jozani Chwaka bay national park or shortly Jozani forest is Zanzibars only national park, and although quite small, 50 square km only, it’s bursting with life in all its forms.

Amazing sky-high trees, mangrove areas, and the Medicine jungle are a tranquil home to rare red Colobus monkeys and even rearer, hard to spot endemic Zanzibar Sykes’ monkey, two endemic antelope species, Zanzibar leopard, blue monkeys, chameleons, mongoose, tree hyrax, bush pigs, civets, 50 different species of butterflies and 40 species of birds.

Jozani forest is also a natural pharmacy, an amazing source of natural remedies! Every tree or plant cures something. Your experienced guide will lead you through the network of paths and give you some surprising information on the plant’s use. The path will lead you through the mangrove habitat, where you can easily spot some fish

5 Days Zanzibar Beach Holiday

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3 Days Zanzibar Beach Holiday

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Jozani Forest Tour

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Prison Island Tour

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4 Days Zanzibar Beach Holiday

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