What are the possible activities in Zanzibar?
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Many people visit Zanzibar and spend the majority of their time at beach locations. For those who want some activity, some hotels can provide water-sport centres mainly offering scuba diving and snorkelling. A few offer also offer dingy sailing, wind surfing, kayaks, etc.
A reef, especially the north and east coast where the nicest beaches are located, surrounds Zanzibar. At low tide the ocean recedes a long way, which means that at these times swimming at the beach and water activities, are limited.
This is the time to go for long walks; on the north-east and south-east coast you can walk for about 10 miles along the beach calling in at fishing villages, watching village ladies harvesting seaweed for export, the fishermen preparing their nets/boats, children catching fish in the pools of water.
Some hotels offer excursions including village visits where you can have a peek into village life, visit a school and meet local people. Part of the cost of the excursions goes towards funding projects in the village.
Beware of the “swimming with dolphin” tours at Kizimkazi; we feel that the people who drive the boats do not respect the dolphins, driving their boats at them and chasing them; then encouraging people to jump in beside the dolphins, which should not be done.
To really appreciate what Zanzibar is all about you should plan, at the very least, a couple of days in or near Stone Town. This really is the essence of Zanzibar with its maze of narrow streets bustling with local people on foot, cycles and motor-cycles; appreciate the different forms of architecture and the magnificent Zanzibar doors with their brass spikes; visit the markets, though the meat and the fish markets are not for the faint hearted!
There are a couple moderate, but interesting museums and learn about the history of Zanzibar at the exhibition at the House of Wonders. It was the former ceremonial palace of the Sultans and later the headquarters of the British Administration and it is so named because it was the first establishment in East Africa to have electric lights and a lift.
An organised Town Tour will take you to the former slave market, the dungeons where slaves were held before being sold as well other interesting parts of Stone Town.
No visit to Zanzibar is complete without a spice tour, best organised from Stone Town rather than beach location. We give you information about how best to arrange a dhow safari to the islands off Stone Town; unfortunately much of Prison Island has been handed over to a hotel development, leaving only a small part of the island to casual visitors.
Zanzibar also has a spectacular turquoise ocean full of marvellous marine life and exquisite coral formations. Other places of interest include the Jozani Forest Reserve, which is home to the rare red Colobus monkey.
I would like to combine a safari with an island experience, is this possible? Absolutely, it’s a fantastic package that most visitors opt for. You can come for a week or 10-day visit starting with a safari and then end if off with a couple of days on Zanzibar, which offers a lovely and relaxed island experience.
Zanzibar is a tropical island with white, sandy beaches with palm trees and the warm Indian Ocean lapping at its shores. Equally lovely are the islands of Pemba and Mafia just off the Tanzanian mainland, which can easily be combined with a safari package.
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