Zanzibar
Swahili lanes charged with a thousand years of the spice trade, then turquoise lagoons at high tide: Zanzibar is the dream decompression after the dust of the tracks.
Suggested stay — 4 to 5 nights
You leave the 4x4 on the mainland and change worlds: Unguja, the archipelago's main island, was the Swahili hub of the spice trade and — painful memory — of the slave trade. Stone Town, UNESCO-listed, reads like a palimpsest: carved Indian and Omani doors, Persian baths, an Anglican cathedral built over the old slave market, muezzins and church bells mingling at dusk. Get lost in it without a map for a full day, then dine on grilled seafood in the bustle of Forodhani Gardens.
The coastline is chosen by tidal temperament: in the north, Nungwi and Kendwa offer swimming at any hour and the sunsets; in the east, Paje and Jambiani live to the rhythm of a lagoon that retreats a kilometre, uncovering the seaweed gardens of the women farmers — and East Africa's best kitesurfing spot. Between beaches: Jozani forest and its endemic red colobus, a spice farm, and the prison islet of Changuu with its century-old giant tortoises.
Don't miss
- Stone Town in the early morning: carved doors, Darajani market and the slavery memorial
- The red colobus of Jozani, an endemic species you approach within a few metres
- A spice farm around Kizimbani — clove, vanilla and nutmeg on the tree
- The Paje lagoon at low tide, between seaweed gardens and kitesurfers
Our tips on the ground
- Return the 4x4 in Arusha and fly to Zanzibar (daily direct flights, about 1 h 20) rather than tackling the road to Dar es Salaam: two bus days and a ferry saved for a modest premium.
- Check the tide tables before choosing your hotel: on the east coast the ocean retreats very far twice a day — magical for walking the reef flat, frustrating if all you dreamed of was swimming.
- Zanzibar is overwhelmingly Muslim: shoulders and knees covered in Stone Town and the villages — swimwear stays a hotel-beach outfit, and Ramadan reshuffles restaurant hours.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Tanzania on Your Own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Zanzibar
Ferry or flight from the mainland?
The flight, almost always: direct services link Arusha, Kilimanjaro and even the Serengeti airstrips to Zanzibar in about 1 h 30, while the road to Dar es Salaam swallows a full day before you even board the ferry (a 2-hour crossing, frequently choppy). The Azam ferry from Dar keeps its logic if your loop ends in the economic capital anyway.
Which coast to choose, north or east?
Nungwi-Kendwa in the north for swimming at any hour (small tidal range), the lively scene and the sunsets; Paje-Jambiani in the east for the immense lagoon, the kitesurfing and the more authentic villages — accepting an ocean that walks away at low tide. Many mix both: three nights on one side, two on the other, Stone Town as the hinge.