Zanzibar Experience

The highlight of our trip was the spice tour and the quick visit to Mangapwani Beach on the west coast above Stone Town. The north (Kendwa) of the island was also a pleasure. Although the road is rough, the beach and atmosphere was terrific. It is a lot less touristy than Nungwi, which is about 5km north of Kendwa. Food at the Forhodhini Gardens in Stone Town was also great, and the atmosphere at sunset is terrific.

Quick Tips:

You can bargain with anybody selling curios. It’s a lot of fun - just don’t take the locals too seriously. There are plenty of restaurants in Stone Town, but Forhodhini Gardens has the best and cheapest food! Ladies, be sure to dress modestly unless you want to be ogled.

Best Way To Get Around:

My husband and I used the local daladalas, which were so much cheaper than normal taxis, and if you don’t mind the squeeze, you will save huge amounts of money. The local taxi rank is not great at night, but during the day, it’s harmless, although extremely hot and busy all the time.

Our bungalow looked out onto the beach and sea. It was tiled, with air-conditioning, mosquito nets, and an overhead fan. It was very basic but very clean, with a friendly staff and cats. We had great dinner at the Titanic restaurant directly in front of the bungalows, very reasonably priced sea food in a great environment, very quiet and relaxed.

If you are up for snorkeling, then there is no shortage of boats for hire to take you out to Timbatu island which is approximately 45 mins by boat, the snorkeling is great and on a bright sunny day the visibility is unbelievable. tip: the more people you get to hire the boat with you, the cheaper the trip will be. If it's your first few days there, be sure to wear a t-shirt while snorkeling, you dont want your holiday to be ruined by painful sunburn on your first day. There is a beautiful restaurant down the beach called White Sands, it is truly romantic and worth a sunset visit. The prices are above average but the service and food are worth it! At low tide you can walk all the way to Nungwi, but make sure you are willing to be there until the next low tide, otherwise you will have to catch a boat back to kendwa unless you are an excellent swimmer.

Paje beach has an extreme low tide, where the water goes out for 2km where the reef is. During this time, you can easily walk out to the reef and snorkel in very shallow water and see amazing fish. Just beware of all the sea anemones-they are everywhere! The water is also extremely warm here.

The breakfast at Paje by Night is the best! They have great coffee, fresh fruit juice and great omelettes each day. The barmen are extremely entertaining and very friendly and helpful.

As you get to the beach, turn left and walk down past Arabian Nights another 1km or so and you will see a sign for Chamu's restaurant. He is a local who has his own little "restaurant". If you go in the afternoon, you can choose your dinner from the menu and come back later in the evening to enjoy the exquisitely cooked food. The prices are better than reasonable and the portions are generous. He is a real character and can also arrange dolphin tours for a very reasonable price. Remember that the more people you recruit to go on this excursion, the cheaper it becomes.

You cant get any sunset photos from this side of the island, but you can get shots of the moon, it is normally very clear at night and you are bound to get a few good shots.

If you turn right at the beach, there is a little restaurant called Kinazi Upepo that is more commercial than Chamu's but also has great food at more expensive prices, but the atmosphere is great. We experienced the most power failures on this side of the island, but most establishments have their own generators and the locals are never hassled with the temporary lack of power.

Mosquitoes are quite a problem here, so don’t be shy with the mosquito repellant when you are outdoors, especially during sunrise and sunset.