Zanzibar

Zanzibar is a beautiful Tanzanian island located on the Eastern coast of Africa in Indian Ocean. It is still relatively low-explored travel paradise which is gaining popularity over the last years. Some of the main reasons for you to chose Zanzibar apart from its amazing nature are its proximity to Europe and the relatively low prices. What is more, there aren’t that many places outside Europe where you can spend your September holiday (see here more Long-haul trips inspirations). You will read below what you can do in this little paradise.

Lili’s 5 good to know tips when travelling to Zanzibar:

• Although it is requested that you take Malaria pills

  , Zanzibar had been part of a program against Malaria in Africa. In the last couple of decades there have been very limited number of cases. However, it is always good to be on the safe side. One of the most recommended medications is called Malarone. You have to take pills before going there, then during the vacation and also afterwards. Depending on the price, you may end up paying 150 Euro only for Malarone. We paid for the equivalent around 50 Euro for a generic version (we took 3 boxes for each person for 10 days). It is to be noted that we hadn’t experienced any side effects.
  

• Zanzibar is not Tanzania

  . Although it is part of the country, it is quite different from the mainland.

  

• A visa might be needed

  for entering the country and more information you can find on the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Tanzania

• The climate

  on both sides of the island is very different. Depending on what type of holiday you are looking for, check carefully before going.

  

• The food

  on the island is very natural. It consists mainly of fish and rice and they use different local spices. Zanzinbar is called the Spice Island for a good reason. In regards to food: be prepared- you will not find supermarkets where to buy things you will usually find in Europe for example.

  

 

“Foam will always find its way to the shore.” – Zanzibar Proverb.

So did we find our way.. ..to Zanzibar 🙂

Firstly to start with a short introduction to the program of our trip. We landed at the main harbour town Dar as Salaam. Then we took a ferryboat to Zanzibar. We stayed southernmost part of the island in a small village called Kizimkazi. We spent 6 days there and we made some trips around. The last night we spent in Zanzibar’s main town- Stone town, before our flight back home.

The Legend about Zanzibar

Before moving to the recommendations how to move around Zanzibar, where to stay and what to do there, we want to share with you the legend about Zanzibar. It will give you one more reason why Zanzibar is a good idea for your next trip. The legend says that once the Sea said to the Queen of Sheba (which is in present day Yemen):

“Promise you’ll return again”.

She threw her pearl necklace into the sea and the Sea said:

“That’s not enough”.

She then threw two treasure chests into the sea, which sprang open and from these treasures the magical island of Zanzibar was formed.

Transportation

If you are landing in Dar Es Salaam, have in mind that the airport is very basic. We were thinking of buying perfumes there as we had forgotten ours, but there was no chance. There were no shops at the airport.

• Taxi/ private transport

  – this was the most common means of transportation we were using. Like in Asia, you have to also bargain here. At the airport we could not find good price for our ride. For quite some time we had to try to negotiate better fare. On the island the distances are quite big. You definitely need a car. The transfers are not that cheap, we were just lucky that we were 10 friends together, so we could split costs.

  

• Ferryboat

  . We were really skeptical about this one, but in the end it was a very good option. There are a couple of ferry boats from Dar es Salaam several times a day. The price for an economy ticket is $35 and for a business one- $40. We booked the business class option and it was very comfortable. The ferryboat was like an airplane. It had big, cozy seats with screens on them. We also received food during the ride. We would advise that you book your ticket in advance. The time needed between Dar es Salaam and  Zanzibar is about 2-2.5 hours.

  

• Buses

  . Of course you can find also local buses, but honestly we did not dare to get one. The first moment we landed in Dar as Salaam, I felt quite scared. The people were looking strangely at us. There weren’t that many tourists in the town. To be honest I even did not dare to take out my camera. This is the reason  why we do not have many pics from the streets of Dar es Salaam.

  

Accommodation

I will not focus on Dar as Salaam, but more on Zanzibar. In Tanzania’s biggest town we have booked a hotel which is near the harbour- so that it is easy to get there. I would not recommend it as it was not the best one you can chose.

Our hotel in Zanzibar though was really amazing. A small secluded paradise in Kizimkazi. We intentionally chose a small village away from the crowds. There were just a couple of hotels in the area, but very far from each other. We spent most of the time in the hotel as it was directly on the beach.

However things might have changed nowadays. Back then Qatar had bought a huge portion of land in order to build hotels there.

Promised Land Lodge

We had a very close-to-nature experience in this hotel (which name btw is Promised Land Lodge). Although it was directly located on the beach, there was no beach. It was located on a cliff. Depending on whether there was a high or low tide, the sea got to different levels. The difference was significant in fact. When there was low tide, we could walk for 2 km inside the sea. The only problem were the sea urchins.

There were thousands of them. Basically you could not walk because they are next to each other. We had those shoes which are made for such occasions and still it was impossible to walk. At times it felt like playing the old Windows game Minesweeper 🙂 We were very surprised how the locals are walking through the water during the night in order to “hunt” calamari. Due to the low tide, the calamari were “trapped” in sea bottom holes. This was main source of food for the locals.

Now back to the hotel. I said that we had very close-to-nature experience. The bungalows were having their toilets in the open air. This means that if it happens to rain outside, it would be a challenge to go to the toilet. There were no windows, only nets on the window holes :-). Last but not least, the water that came from the tap was salty. The best part was that we did not need any shoes- there was sand everywhere, so flip- flops was all we needed. Enough for the hotel, now let’s go back a bit to Dar es Salaam.

Dar es Salaam

Although there aren’t that many things to see there, it was a different experience from Zanzibar. We stayed there just 2 nights and it is completely enough.

What to see in Dar Es Salaam?

As mentioned, there weren’t many things which are worth seeing. That’s why I will recommend only one:

• The historical museum

  Basically this was one of not so many sightseeing locations that we found interesting. Not surprisingly we were the only foreign tourists there. At least we felt safe there. For a first time in this trip we took out our camera and started taking photos. The museum explains about the Tanzanian past and you can learn a lot about it.

  

  The best thing of the visit was the group of students we met there. They were at visible age of 10 and they were so cute in their reactions. Most probably they do not see people with different skin colour every day. We immediately turned into attraction. Once a student was brave enough to ask for a photo, then all the others followed. We stayed there for 15 mins and enjoyed the attention.

  

We didn’t spend long time sightseeing in Dar es Salaam (not too much to see). That is why I will mention a few words about the places to eat and I will recommend my favourite spot. Although it cannot be considered a sightseeing spot, but it has an amazing view which makes is a place worth visiting.

• High Spirit Lounge Bar.

This was actually quite decent rooftop bar. There were a lot of expats there as well. The place is on two levels while the first one is more like a restaurant and the other is a bar. Nice music and cool view, maybe the best in the town.

In general I would recommend you to ask your hotel for recommendation where to eat. We did so and we were not disappointed. Without the hotel reco we wouldn’t have found these spots.

Zanzibar

What to do in Zanzibar?

I have the theory that thousands of years ago Zanzibar and Maldives where one whole. You can see this by the similarity of nature. Coral reefs and turquoise water is what you would like Zanzibar most for. But what else you can do when in Zanzibar?

• Spice tour

. Zanzibar is famous for its many different spices which you cannot find anywhere else. It is worth taking a tour to such a farm. Natural ingredients used for colouring, different spices for meals and many different fruits. This is what you can expect.

One of the most interesting ones is Achiote (Bixa orellana). It is a shrub or small tree originating from the tropical region of the Americas. North, Central, and South American natives originally used the seeds to make red body paint and lipstick, as well as a spice.

• Jozani Sea Turtles park

  . There is one small park located more in the southern part of the island where you can see those 100-year old turtles.  Zanzibar is one of the places with the highest population of this kind. However I would recommend more the one located on the Prison island (more about it below).

  

• Red monkey (colobus)

  . Zanzibar is also home to the special red monkey which you cannot see anywhere else. We visited this one during our trip to the turtles and spices farm tour.

  

  

  

• Swimming with dolphins

  . The trips are organized depending on the tide. Basically the dolphin point was close to our hotel, so it was easy for us to organize such a trip. Honestly I feel sorry about doing this. Just like riding the elephants in Bali, this one I consider redundant. Basically what we and a couple of other boats were doing was chasing the dolphins.

  

  We would travel with the boat until someone sees the dolphins. Then we would speed up and the captain will give the command “Jump”. We had to jump and try to see the dolphins. If they haven’t moved … which they do of course. And this we did around 5-6 times. If you cannot swim, you can use the life jacket. But still, the whole thing is quite difficult and brings a lot of stress to the animals. I felt sorry for the dolphins.

  

  Although this was one of the most amazing feelings to see them in real life, it was at first scary. I jumped in the water and once I was able to see properly, suddenly I saw enormous fish swimming towards me. I was honestly scared as I thought it would eat me. But maybe they were more scared than we were. 10 boats following them… I still regret doing this.

  

• Visit one of the many amazing beaches.

We chose Blue Lagoon beach. Like you will see from the photos below, it looks like Maldives.

White sand, turquoise water and you can enjoy this almost on your own. There are a lot of hotels there, so you can also organize your accommodation there. However, if you want more natural experience, these hotels would be too posh for you. Besides the hotels we could not find any restaurant where we can have lunch. It was a private experience.

•  Visit a local village.

  Or a local school. Our hotel was in a very small village in the south western part of the island. It was not a touristic place at all as we were the only tourists we saw for a week. Our hotel owner organized for us a visit to the village and the local school. This was one of the highlights of the whole vacation. What still amazes me is how they manage to keep their clothes that bright and the white stays white.

  

  The soil on the island is dark orange, it is quite dusty and they have no running water. Still all the students were with white uniforms standing out on their skin color. There were two classes of students (around 40 kids) and we caught the school break.

  

  They were so impressed by us, constantly touching and hugging us, with their innocent eyes and real smiles. If you have the chance, you can bring something which might be useful for the school or you can make donation afterwards. It was really impressive what they do with the limited resources they have.

  

• Snorkelling

  . We went for snorkelling with a boat. It was a private tour to the tiniest island we have been to- Nakupenda. This was the smallest island we have seen so far. Just like this- in the middle of the ocean, a piece of land surrounded by turquoise water. White sand, a lot of crabs hiding in the sand and us. 

  

  

  

  And the best thing was that we were alone there. We had a private lunch on the island and after a couple of hours we went back.

  

• Prison island

  . We made a half-day trip from Stone Town to Prison island (it’s real name is Changuu,  but it is also called Quarantine island).

  

  In the 18th century the island belonged to two Arabs who used it as a prison for rebellious slaves prior to shipping them abroad or selling them at the slave market in Zanzibar’s Stone Town. After it was taken back by the British, they intended to turn it into a prison.

  

  The building of the prison was finished in the beginning of the previous century, although it was never used as such. Instead, they used it as a hospital for rare diseases. They sent people who were sick from mainly Yellow Fever before they were entering the mainland.

  

  The island hosts the biggest park of hundred-year-old turtles. Although the turtles are in a closed space, they seem well taking cared of. These creatures are really amazing. We could also do some snorkelling around the island and it was a good one. There are coral reefs around and a lot of wildlife and beautiful things to see. It was not crowded when we went there, so we could really enjoy it.

  

Stone Town

Located in main island town, also called Zanzibar. The harbour and the airport are located there, so it is worth spending a day or two in the town. The architecture is colonial one and the town had preserved a lot from the original Tanzanian culture. The town is in general a safe place, but there are some areas were I was a bit scared. So general precaution should be taken when visiting. Although it seems richer than the rest of the island, you can really feel the poorness. We had only one night there before our return flight. It was enough to see the main places of interest.

What to see in Stone town for a day?

• The former slaves market

  . This was a very “hard” experience. Hard because you can really feel the pain. The pain of the slaves caused by the inhuman conditions they lived in. We had a guide and we were explained every single part of the market.

  

  The worst of all was when we entered a basement with very low ceiling and one tiny window. In this place the slaves used to live for months. Even when writing about this, I still get goosebumps. You can easily spend around 2 hours at the slave market. It is not that big, but it has so many stories. Most of them – stories of shame for the humanity.
  

  

• Visit the harbour

  . Stone town is a harbour and it has been main hub for many years. Although this area is not very nice (being a bit dirty), it is good to see. The delivery of fresh fish and the local fishermen are scene not to be missed.

  

• Freddie Mercury’s house

  . You didn’t know that he was born in Zanzibar? We neither :). The house he was born and he spent his first years is located in Stone town. There is no museum, it’s just a door with Freddie’s name on a plaque.

  

• Darajani Market

  . This is a local market located close to the Slaves Market. Be prepared- it is crowded, noisy and very smelly. They sell everything from different spices, fruits to different types of fish.

  

• Explore the old town.

  The streets of old Stone town are turned into market where you can buy all kind of souvenirs, local leather products, cigars and a lot more. Of course bargaining is compulsory part of your visit.

  

  

  While wandering the tiny streets, pay attention to the “Zanzibar doors”.

  

  In the 80s they counted around 800 doors, but their number decreases with time (due to demolition of some houses, but also thefts due to the attention of international collectors). The Zanzibar Stone Town heritage Society explains very well the history and the meaning of these doors.

  

• Forodhani Gardens

  . This can be your last activity for the day. These are seafront gardens in front of the Old Fort, which turn into a food market in the evening.

  

  Oil lamps, music and smell of mainly cooked fish is what you can expect to see there. We were not brave enough to have our dinner there, instead we picked up one of the restaurants around the quay.

  

We have travelled a lot since then. However for all the 10 people in our traveller group Zanzibar stays one of the most beautiful and interesting places we have been to. As these hidden jewels are becoming trendy very fast and we as tourists have the tendency to spoil their natural beauty, our advice is to hurry and visit it now.

 

I hope you enjoyed the read 🙂

Yours,

Lili