Zanzibar Island
Zanzibar is the perfect definition of a tropical island. Turquoise oceans, pearl-white beaches and loads of palmtrees. On top of that the island and its ocean are filled with gorgeous wildlife and empty beaches waiting to be explored.
Zanzibar is your ideal destination to relax after your exhausting trip in the main land of Tanzania, but is also an amazing place for loads of water activities and great parties!
The best Zanzibar holiday trips in Tanzania
Our specialists have explored from coast to coast and can help you make the most of your stay. They can arrange everything from snorkeling and diving trips exploring coral reefs to spice plantation tours, guided forest walks in search of red colobus monkeys, sailing trips to secluded sandbanks, and an evening food tour around Stone Town’s historic streets.
Depending on where you stay on the island, you can easily spend whole days enjoying Zanzibar’s beaches — swimming, sunbathing, and making use of your resort’s pools and rental bikes. But, we also recommend delving deeper to discover the island’s spice-trade roots and the mix of African, Portuguese, Omani, British, German, and Indian influences on its culture.
Our guides can take you on a walking tour of Stone Town to see significant buildings like the Portuguese-influenced House of Wonders and the houses where Freddie Mercury and Livingstone lived. They’ll also show you a darker side to the island as you visit museums that tell you about the island’s ties to the slave trade. In the evening, watch dhows sailing at sunset as you sip a rooftop drink.
Places to visit in Zanzibar Island
Stone Town
Zanzibar Beach
Zanzibar island
The port city of Stone Town dominates the west coast, and although the beaches of Mangapwani, where slave caves are visible at low tide and nearby Bububu are less than half an hour’s drive away, a night or two spent on the east or north cost is well worth the extra hour it takes to drive there. That said, the Chole Island Marine Park just off Stone Town – and nearby Prison, Grave, and Snake Islands – make a refreshing day-trip and a good break from exploring the winding passageways of the old city.
On the south coast of Zanzibar lies the Menai Bay Conservation Area, a sea turtle protection area for the endangered species that come to breed on the island
Best TIME TO VISIT
Zanzibar is a perfect location for those looking for a great island. The best time for island is December to mid-March and June to October
ACTIVITIIES
- Spice tour: walk with a guide through spice plantations where pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and fruit grows.
- Kitesurfing: at the beaches Paje, Kiwengwa en Nungwi.
- Mountain bike excursion
- Stone Town excursion: stroll through the narrow streets of this lively town and visit some local markets and the former slave market.
- Prisoner Island excursion: take a 30 min. boat trip to this island, which once was a place where slaves were detained. Nowadays it is a nature reserve for giant tortoises and a place to see the ruins of the former prison.
- Safari Blue: during this excursion you visit 3 islands where you can swim, snorkel and have a nice BBQ.
- Visit Jozani forest: a great jungle walk through the last indigenous forest on Zanzibar with lots of monkeys, like the rare red colobus monkeys.
- Snorkeling and scuba diving at one of the many great reefs.
- Cultural tour: this excursion gives you an insight in the way of life of the local people.
- Mnemba Island tour: snorkeling trip to the most popular snorkeling spot in Zanzibar.
