Zanzibar
Stone Town's old streets, long white beaches and the reef offshore, about an hour's flight from Arusha. The place to let a safari settle.
Why it ends so many safaris
A safari asks a lot: early starts, long hours in the vehicle and a lot of attention. Zanzibar asks nothing. A few days on the coast at the end lets what you saw settle, and lets you sleep before the long flight home.
It is part of Tanzania, so there is no second visa, and it has its own international airport, so you can fly home from the island rather than going back to the mainland.
Stone Town
The old town on the west coast is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: a maze of narrow alleys, carved wooden doors, mosques, markets and merchants' houses built over centuries of Indian Ocean trade. It is a working town, not a museum, and best explored on foot with a local guide who can explain what you are looking at.
One night is enough for most travellers: an evening walk, the food stalls at Forodhani Gardens, and a morning in the alleys before the heat.
The beaches
The north (Nungwi and Kendwa) is the busiest stretch, and the one where you can swim at almost any tide. The east (Paje, Jambiani, Michamvi and the coast around them) is quieter, with wide tidal flats: at low tide the sea goes out a long way, which is lovely for walking and less so if you want to swim before lunch.
Which suits you matters more than which hotel you pick, and we will ask about it before we suggest anywhere.
Beyond the beach
- Jozani Forest: the island's one national park, home to the Zanzibar red colobus, a monkey found nowhere else. Groups are often seen near the paths, though as with any wild animal, never guaranteed.
- Spice farms: a walk through a working farm, tasting cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla where they grow. The reason Zanzibar was once called the Spice Island.
- Snorkelling and diving at Mnemba: the reef around Mnemba Atoll, off the north-east coast, by boat from the shore. Booked with a dive centre on the island.
- A sunset dhow trip: an evening sail on a traditional wooden boat.
Seasonality
The best months are June to October, when it is dry and the heat is gentler, and December to February, which is hot, mostly dry and calm at sea. Both line up well with the best months on safari.
Avoid April and May: the long rains bring heavy, frequent rain and rougher seas, and some beach hotels close for those weeks. November can bring short rains, usually in showers rather than whole days.
How it fits a wider journey
Safari first, then the coast. Three nights is the least we would suggest, so you get two full days that aren't about travelling; four or five is better after a busy safari. Add one night in Stone Town either end, or skip it if the beach is the point.
Gallery
Questions travellers actually ask
North (Nungwi and Kendwa) if you want to swim whenever you like: the tide there goes out far less. East (Paje, Jambiani, Michamvi) if you want quiet, long walks at low tide and a more local feel, and don't mind the sea retreating a long way twice a day.
One, yes. The old town is best early in the morning and in the evening, when it is cooler and the alleys are busy with people who live there. More than one night suits travellers who like cities more than beaches.
April and May, the long rains. It rains hard and often, the sea is rougher, and some beach hotels close. November can bring short rains too, usually in brief showers rather than whole days.
It can be. The reef around Mnemba has shallow sites that suit snorkellers and newly qualified divers, and deeper ones for the experienced. Visibility and what you see vary with the day, so we book it with a dive centre we trust rather than promise particular fish or turtles.
Ask about this journey
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The journeys that end here, and the parks to see first.
