Tanzania · East Africa
Zanzibar and the coast.
Zanzibar is the standard finish to a Tanzanian safari — a Swahili archipelago with a World Heritage capital and a long history of its own.
Photo Polly Sadler / Unsplash
Stone Town carries the trading history, the architecture and the food; the beaches are on the north and east coasts, and they differ enormously in tide. The east coast has dramatic tidal movement that leaves the reef exposed at low water, which matters if swimming is the point of the stay.
How do you get to Zanzibar?
Zanzibar's international airport has flights from Europe, the Middle East and East Africa, and short flights connect it with Arusha, the Serengeti airstrips and Dar es Salaam. A ferry from Dar es Salaam takes around two hours.
What is Stone Town?
The old quarter of Zanzibar City and a UNESCO World Heritage Site: a maze of lanes, coral-stone houses with carved doors, mosques, markets and the former sultan's palace, shaped by centuries of trade between Africa, Arabia and India. Freddie Mercury was born there.
Which part of Zanzibar is best for swimming?
The north, around Nungwi and Kendwa, where the tide moves least and the sea stays swimmable through the day. On the east coast, at Paje and nearby, the tide goes a long way out and leaves the reef exposed, which suits kitesurfing and walking the flats better than swimming.
What is there to do on Zanzibar besides the beach?
Snorkelling and diving around Mnemba Atoll, a protected marine area known for dolphins and turtles; a spice farm tour, since Zanzibar made its name on cloves; Jozani Forest, home of the Zanzibar red colobus monkey, found nowhere else; and dhow trips at sunset.
How long should you spend on Zanzibar?
Four or five nights is typical, with one or two in Stone Town and the rest on the coast. It is the usual finish to a Tanzanian safari, and Pemba Island, to the north, is a quieter alternative.
What is there to see in Zanzibar and the coast?
What does Zanzibar and the coast pair well with?
- The SerengetiThe Serengeti is the ecosystem the wildebeest migration moves through, and it is large enough that where you stay decides what you see.
- Ngorongoro and the crater highlandsThe Ngorongoro Crater is a collapsed caldera holding a resident population of game year-round, including some of the last black rhino in the north.
- The southern and western circuitsNyerere, Ruaha, Katavi and Mahale are Tanzania's wild end — far larger, far emptier, and considerably harder to reach.
- The Kenyan coast, KenyaThe coast is Swahili rather than safari — a distinct culture, architecture and cuisine along the Indian Ocean.
Planning
Elsewhere in Tanzania
- Tarangire and Lake ManyaraTarangire is baobab and elephant country and the northern circuit's most underrated park; Lake Manyara is a short, scenic stop beneath the Rift escarpment.
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