Zanzibar Beach Holiday

For centuries Zanzibar has been a preferred diving destination for only a very select group of people, but now it’s changed and has become clear that it is an excellent place for diving. Zanzibar is East Africa’s best diving spot, boasting rich marine life due to coral reef structures around the island. Zanzibar’s diving reefs are generally shallow, with calm, clean water. Dive sites overflow in this magic place, and a wide variety assures there’s something for the beginner as well as for professionals.

Once the home of leopards, Zanzibar’s nearest destination to a game reserve is Jozani Forest, located in the south of the island. Currently Jozani is under consideration to become a World Heritage Site, and is well worth a visit for its stunning scenery and biodiversity.
Top of the list of things to see here is the endemic Red Colobus Monkey. Troops of these monkeys can be found scrambling from branch to branch, in search of food. The monkeys have become acclimated to people and allow you to get close to them to take photographs as they eat, play and jump from the treetops.

Explore Stone Town, the atmospheric cultural and historical heart of Zanzibar City, on this 3-hour walking tour with a guide. Constructed from coral stone in the 19th and 20th centuries, Stone Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. You’ll get to know the town as you see heritage sites and architecture, visit a local marketplace, check out the church and memorial at the old slave market, admire the former home of the sultan, and do some shopping with the help of your guide. Tour is limited to 10 people to provide a small-group experience.

In days past, Zanzibar was known as the ‘Spice Island’, exporting these across the world, the industry beginning with the Omani Arabs in the early 19th century when they made Zanzibar the capital of their empire.
Nowadays a Spice Tour has become one of the most popular excursions on the island. You can walk through the spice farm with your guide, touching, smelling and tasting different spices and tropical fruits, learning about their properties, origins and use as medicines and in food and drink.

Whether you stay at Nungwi beach, Kendwa beach, or even somewhere along the East coast, exploring Zanzibar’s north beach resorts is certainly worth the effort.

Nungwi is the third largest settlement in Zanzibar, with a population of about 5,500, found at the far north of the island. The smaller nearby Kendwa is on the west coast, overlooking the tiny Daloni island and the larger island of Tumbatu. Both are located about an hour’s drive from Stone Town.

Situated on the southern point of the island is Kizimkazi fishing village, once the foremost settlement on the East Coast of Africa, now best known for being home to several schools of Bottlenose dolphins and Humpback dolphins, which can often be sighted following a short boat trip from the village.
If you are lucky, you may be able to swim quite close to the dolphins, which can be a very rewarding experience. The trip is best taken in the afternoon to avoid the crowds of tourists in the morning, which in big numbers can seriously disturb the dolphins. Other species that can be viewed include stingrays and turtles.