Where to spend your week in Zanzibar

Zanzibar is Tanzania’s largest archipelago (not just one island but an entire chain) located in the Indian Ocean. It’s alluring blue waters and white sand beaches create the perfect place to get away while still offering a lively and diverse culture.

Something I found interesting was that they actually have a different president than mainland Tanzania, despite being a part of the country itself. Zanzibar is best known for its spice farming of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper, and for Stone Town, a UNESCO world heritage site created to memorialize the significant role of the island held during the slave trade.

Many people do not realize that the slave trade on the Eastern Coast of Africa, going to Oman, was significantly more robust than the western trade and it was the need for communication between the Arabs and local tribes that birthed the language of Swahili. With this in mind, you will not be surprised to see significant Arab influences in the food culture and religion.

Where to stay? There's no need to just pick one!

Not everyone travels the same but personally, I think there is a lot of value to staying in multiple locations and exploring as much as possible. Travel in Zanzibar will require a taxi, scooters are available but most legitimate companies require an international license.

Pro tip: When you land at the airport you will be swarmed with people looking to carry bags for tips and offering taxi services, plan ahead. You can prearrange a taxi online at a set cost or at least have an idea in mind on what to expect but always get an estimated cost before beginning the trip, and remember cash is king.

Paje Beach was my first destination, approximately 45 minutes from the Zanzibar Airport, located on the East Coast.

While I was visiting, the country was still in a mourning period from the death of their president, which Kiteboarding combined with COVID lead to a significantly reduced party scene. However, in general, Paje is considered a very relaxed, party-general forward place to be. Kiteboarding is also extremely popular here if you are looking to do something a little more radical.

I normally prefer resorts but when I saw Alice’s Ecodome on Airbnb I thought it was just too cute, especially for $60/ night. The dome was on its own plot of land within the property of B4 Beach Club and came with complimentary breakfast and use of resort facilities.

Interested in the ecodome? Well here’s the tea…First of all, it is CUTE, just as cute as it appears in the pictures! However, the eco part is no joke, there is no A/C and the bug net isn’t just for decorations. As you can imagine, Africa can be quite hot, even at the night so just be sure to reality check yourself before booking this. Anything more than the two-at night stay would have been a bit much for me.

One of my bucket list Zanzibar activities was to have dinner on The Rock. I didn’t have a reservation but it is highly encouraged. The food and atmosphere are awesome, especially at sunset. The tides in Zanzibar are quite drastic so a boat was required to get to the restaurant but after dinner, the tide was out and it was just a short walk back to the beach.

As seen on Instagram, Coral Rocks have the most idyllic beach bar vibes. I didn’t stay here but it is about 15 minutes south of Paje by taxi and was a perfect spot to grab a few drinks.

Something about the heat makes fresh juice all the more appealing, come chill out at this cool fruit stand in front of the Ananda Beach House. The locals sometimes play live music and have a bonfire in the evening.

Next up on the trip was Nungwi, located on the northernmost tip of Zanzibar, this took about an hour and a half by taxi.

I found a taxi driver that was friendly and trustworthy so he handled all of the drives for the remainder of the trip, he was even willing to commute back North from Paje for the subsequent drives. This is a local place we stopped for lunch on the drive up North.

I found the Doubletree Resort by Hilton Hotel so that I could pay with points; it was a massive, all-inclusive beachfront resort property with phenomenal service. The benefit of a property like this is that everything is very easy, there’s nothing left to worry about. However, while it’s nice to relax, I can go a bit stir crazy without a bit of adventure and ended up leaving the property multiple times just to keep exploring the culture.

Note: The socially challenging aspect of Tanzania is that there is A LOT of poverty and once you leave the resorts there are a lot of opportunities for uncomfortable social interactions. This doesn’t have to ruin your day, just be warned that people will try selling you things: drugs, handmade goods, water, massages…literally anything they can.

On that note, there is so much great hand-painted artwork for such a reasonable price. I now own the lady in green and this cool map recreated with newspaper.

On safari I met a British man named Sam who was volunteering at the Turtle Conservation in Nungwi, it turned out to be just a quick walk on the beach from The Doubletree so visiting was a no-brainer! For just $10 pp you can swim in this natural lagoon and feed the sea turtles as they swarm to eat the kelp around you. A really neat, must-do, experience!

The things I didn’t do but would have with more time.

Stone Town was originally my final destination but the hotel had issues reopening during COVID and I had no complaints about spending my last few days bumming at the beach instead. If you are a history buff, taking a Stone town tour would be ideal.

Blue Safari There are several different tours to choose from, with all the hotels hoping it did feel a bit too hectic to schedule a tour like this but I have also been really spoiled to have many incredible sea adventures already in my past so it was not a priority.

I cannot imagine a more beautiful place to skydive than the beaches of Zanzibar. I don’t have enough experience to jump somewhere like this- yet, but it would be a great place to try your first tandem!

A SPICE tour! There's nothing better than a little heat and there are a plethora of options to meet your needs, try one during an overnight stay in Stone Town

Jozani Forest National Park would be an awesome way to incorporate more wildlife if you aren’t doing a full safari on mainland Tanzania.

Check out a different island! Because Zanzibar is one of several islands it is an easy day trip to take a tour and explore something more primitive! I would love to hear feedback on this!