Africa

Zanzibar

Tanzania! Words just cannot express the beauty of the nature… any attempts to describe seem empty and pale in the face of the splendor and variety of this wilderness. Try to picture peaceful herds of elephants along a riverbank. You are not dreaming, you are in the Tarangire national park! Raise your head and open your eyes and ears: in the Ngorongoro preservation area you can observe 400 species of birds. Lift the head again and Mount Kilimanjaro will catch your eye. Once a myth it is now accessible in six days by the Machame route! Return to the ground in the Serengeti plains. The oldest and without a doubt the most popular of the Tanzanian parks: You will find hundreds of thousands of zebras, gazelles and gnus which migrate annually in search of greener pastures. Elephants, giraffes and elk are in constant movement...
Your tailor made holiday to Tanzania doesn’t only cover natural wildlife. It also includes meeting with unique ethnic groups, like the Maasai, the proud semi-nomadic people. Tanzania is also a place to kick back and relax along the superb beaches of Zanzibar.
Luxury travel or beneath a tent, for a safari between friends or a honeymoon, a trip to Tanzania is a dream come true!

Tanzania

Forêt de Jozani

Prison Island

Kizimkazi

Stone Town

Only a 20 minute flight or 2 hour boat trip from Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar is typical of the spice-filled islands found in the Indian Ocean.  

Ghana

Mozambique

Rwanda

Uganda

Europe

Central America

North America

South America

Asia

Middle East

Oceania

Don't miss Stonetown, the "stone town" as Ibn Battuta, a medieval Arab traveller, named it. Losing yourself in the labyrinth of streets which make up the old town is a delight. Stopping to drink a kahawa ("coffee" in Swahili and in Arabic) in the surrounding areas of mosques is quickly becoming an absorbing activity. Stonetown is also the town where people eat the best in all of Tanzania. Enjoy tasting dishes from the Forozani night market. Advice from a friend: despite what anyone tells you, seafood is not the freshest!
Outside of Stonetown, the beaches are magnificent and are interspersed with palm tress, the sand so white it sometimes hurts your eyes, and the turquoise waters. But the reverse side of the postcard is less charming: the seaside resorts often form barriers between tourists and inhabitants, like in the city of Nungwi in the North of the Island, creating an atmosphere that I really didn't like. On the East coast, apart from places a little way away like Michamvi, you have the choice between several seaside resorts that I didn't want to go to, out of fear of recreating a touristic ghetto . But if you want to party with white people, it seems that it is the right place!
In brief, Zanzibar is undeniably a must-see location, you will not be disappointed, providing that you are prepared to support or avoid touristic pollution.

Zanzibar is one of the symbols of exoticism. With African, Arabic, Indian and Portuguese influences, the Island has something to dream about, if the dream wasn't ruined by the realities of mass tourism.

After safaris in the Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, and the Kilimanjaro climb, Zanzibar is the place to relax and enjoy a bit of culture during a <a href="/tanzania/">trip to Tanzania</a>. I suggest that the first thing you do when you reach Stone Town, is to explore its labyrinth of small streets. I loved wandering around aimlessly - you get a real feel of their daily life. When evening came, I ate grilled fish on the harbor, whilst watching the sun go down. And then I went looking for Red Colobus monkeys (and the even rarer Blue Colobus) in the Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park. I also visited a spice garden. And when I had finished touring, I found a hotel and spent the rest of my holiday on a white, sandy beach by the azure waters of the Indian Ocean. Even though big hotels are beginning to line the coast, you can still find small charming guest houses.

Only a 20 minute flight or 2 hour boat trip from Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar is typical of the spice-filled islands found in the Indian Ocean.

On arriving at Unguja, the main island, I found myself mesmerized by the capital, Stone Town, and its relaxed atmosphere. It's a place of culture, with live entertainment and museums, as well as the starting point for day tours exploring the spice plantations. The tour I went on also took us to visit Mangapwani, where I learned about the island's slave trading history, which is how it built its wealth. There are several sides to Zanzibar. The north, around Nungwi and Kendwa, is more focused on mass tourism, with a number of large hotels located next to the beach. You can go diving and snorkeling there. I adored seeing the fish, with their blazing colors. I enjoyed a more relaxed time at Jambiani, on the island's east coast. You may encounter Masai people selling jewelry on the beaches. Astonishingly, some of them wear traditional dress yet use smartphones! At night, I contemplated a superb and truly cloudless starry sky, with constellations visible that can only be observed in the Southern Hemisphere.

Zanzibar, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean famous for its heavenly beaches, draws its charm from its culture, which shows a wide variety of influences, and its exotic fruits and spices.

Zanzibar Vacations

Zanzibar: How to get there?

Zanzibar: See when to go ?

Zanzibar: For how long?

Zanzibar: What to see nearby?