Zanzibar & the coast
Six island itineraries and a dozen excursions — and the direct Serengeti flight that gets you here without passing through Dar es Salaam.
The island
Zanzibar is not simply a beach. It is Unguja and Pemba and forty smaller islands, a former Omani sultanate, the historic centre of the East African clove and slave trades, and a place where the call to prayer, Swahili, Arabic and Hindi have overlapped for a thousand years.
Stone Town's alleys are too narrow for cars and the doors are carved with the histories of the families behind them. Ninety minutes north, the tide barely moves at Nungwi and the water is bathwater warm. In the east, at low tide, the sea walks out several hundred metres and the reef flats fill with women farming seaweed.
Most of our guests come here after a safari, and almost all of them tell us afterwards they should have added two more nights.
Island itineraries
3 daysTwo nights inside the old town, a spice farm morning and a sunset dhow. The right length for a safari add-on that is not just a beach.
$590per person, from
Enquire5 daysNungwi and Kendwa on the north tip, where the tide barely retreats and the swimming is good all day. Simple, sunny and easy on the budget.
$980per person, from
Enquire7 daysSix nights on the quieter east coast in an ocean-front suite, with a private sandbank picnic and a table booked at The Rock.
$2,750per person, from
Enquire
6 daysMnemba's wall, Leven Bank's current and Kizimkazi's dolphins. For certified divers, with open-water courses available if you are not one yet.
$1,690per person, from
Enquire
7 daysA resort with a shallow lagoon and a kids' club, plus the two excursions that children genuinely enjoy: Safari Blue and the Jozani red colobus.
$2,180per person, from
Enquire10 daysSix days on the northern circuit, then four on the coast, connected by the direct Serengeti–Zanzibar flight so you never pass through Dar es Salaam.
$4,250per person, from
EnquireNothing in that category yet — tell us what you had in mind.
Where to stay
Zanzibar's tides vary enormously by shore. This is the single most useful thing to understand before booking a hotel.
NorthMinimal tide movement, so you can swim at any hour. The liveliest end of the island, with beach bars, dhow yards and the best sunsets. Best for first-timers and anyone who wants the sea available all day.
EastQuiet, low-rise and the closest coast to Mnemba atoll. The Rock restaurant sits in the tide here. This is honeymoon country, and where we send couples who want nothing scheduled.
South-eastA vast shallow lagoon that empties dramatically at low tide and fills turquoise at high. The kitesurfing capital of the island, with a young, barefoot, budget-friendly scene.
WestA UNESCO World Heritage old town of coral-rag alleys, carved doors, Omani balconies and the Forodhani night market. One or two nights here is plenty, and it should not be skipped.
Excursions
Prices are per person, from, and assume a shared departure. Any of these can be arranged privately.
Three hours through the alleys with a local historian: the Old Fort, the House of Wonders, the Anglican cathedral built over the slave market, and the carved doors that tell you who lived behind them.
Kizimbani or Tangawizi: cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, lipstick tree and a fruit tasting. Zanzibar ran the world clove trade — this is where you see why.
A full day by traditional dhow across Menai Bay: sandbank stops, snorkelling on the reef, a grilled seafood lunch and dolphins if the day is kind.
The clearest water on the island, on the private atoll's outer reef. Turtles are close to a certainty.
The last stand of the endemic Zanzibar red colobus, plus the mangrove boardwalk. Ninety minutes, easy walking.
A short boat hop to giant Aldabra tortoises, some over a century old, and the quarantine station that never held a prisoner.
Early boat out of the southern fishing village to find bottlenose and humpback dolphins. We use operators who keep their distance.
The photograph everyone knows: a restaurant on a coral outcrop, reached on foot at low tide and by boat at high. Book weeks ahead.
A sandbar that appears at low tide off Stone Town. Lunch is grilled on the beach and served on the sand.
Ninety minutes under a lateen sail as the fishing fleet returns, with the town going gold behind you.
A sober hour at the coral cave and the holding chamber north of town, used after abolition to hide the trade.
A freshwater cave in the south-east, then the shallow lagoon at Paje that made the island a kite-surfing destination.
Timing
June to October is dry, breezy and reliably sunny — the best all-round window. December to February is hotter and calmer, with the clearest water for diving and the peak Christmas rush in between.
The long rains fall from late March into May and many smaller hotels close entirely. November brings short, sharp afternoon showers that rarely spoil a day. Kitesurfers want the kusi winds from June to September, or the kaskazi from December to February.
Weather, sea conditions and crowds on the Zanzibar coast.
Safari and sand
Add four nights on the coast to any northern circuit safari. We book the direct Serengeti–Zanzibar flight so you never backtrack through Dar es Salaam.