Mara River crossings peak August – September · limited northern camps remain
Tanzania · Choose Your Star
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ZANZIBAR · UNGUJA
Every Coast Is a Different Island
Choose Your Coast — An Honest Guide
Hover or tap a coast
North coast
Nungwi & Kendwa
The only beaches where you can swim at any state of the tide. Liveliest, busiest, best sunsets — and the least traditional feel on the island.
SwimmingAll tides
AtmosphereLively
Best forSunsets, nightlife
From airport1 hr 15
Stone Town & Beaches
The Island Everyone Books Wrong
Zanzibar's coasts are genuinely different from one another, and the tide decides more than the brochures admit.
Zanzibar is the main island of an archipelago, properly called Unguja, and it is where most safaris in Tanzania end. The mistake people make is treating it as one destination — booking a beach because the photograph looked right, then discovering the sea has retreated a kilometre and won't return until four in the afternoon.
The east coast — Paje, Jambiani, Bwejuu — has the postcard sand and the best value, but the tidal range is extreme. At low tide you walk out across seagrass flats among seaweed farmers rather than swimming. It is beautiful and it is the kitesurfing capital of the island, but it is not a swimming beach on demand.
Pick the coast for how you actually want to spend the days, not for the photograph. It is the single decision that determines whether Zanzibar works for you.
The north — Nungwi and Kendwa — is the only stretch where you can swim at any state of the tide. It is also the busiest and least traditional. The south-east around Michamvi is quieter with reasonable swimming, and where most honeymoon resorts sit. The west is not for beaches at all; it is where Stone Town is.
And Stone Town deserves more than the single night people give it. A UNESCO World Heritage Site of coral-rag alleys, carved doors, Omani and Indian and Swahili architecture layered over each other — plus the Old Fort, the former slave market, and the best street food on the coast at Forodhani Gardens.
Island
Unguja, main island of Zanzibar
Area
1,666 km²
Stone Town
UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000
Language
Swahili; English widely spoken
Religion
Predominantly Muslim — dress modestly in town
Tidal range
Up to 4 m on the east coast
Jozani Forest
Endemic Zanzibar red colobus
Getting there
1.5 hr flight from Arusha, 20 min from Dar
Ferry
About 2 hrs from Dar es Salaam
Visa
Same Tanzanian visa; separate immigration check
Currency
Tanzanian shilling; USD widely accepted
Ideal stay
4 – 6 nights
Four Coasts
Where You Stay Decides Your Trip
This is the most consequential choice on the island, and the one most people get wrong.
Swimming
North — Nungwi & Kendwa
The only coast with deep water at every tide. Lively, developed, superb sunsets and plenty of boats and bars. Least traditional feel on the island.
Kitesurfing
East — Paje & Jambiani
Long white sand, turquoise shallows and the best value rooms. The tide retreats far twice a day — brilliant for kitesurfing, frustrating for swimmers.
Honeymoons
South-east — Michamvi
Headland beaches with better swimming than the east coast proper and far fewer people. Where the seclusion-focused resorts cluster.
Culture
West — Stone Town
Not a swimming coast. This is the history — carved doors, the Old Fort, the slave market memorial, spice farms inland and Forodhani street food at dusk.
Beyond the Beach
There Is More Here Than Sand
An endemic primate, some of the best diving in East Africa, and a spice trade that shaped the Indian Ocean.
1,666
km² of island
2000
Stone Town UNESCO
~5,800
Red colobus left
4 m
Max tidal range
The Zanzibar red colobus lives nowhere else on Earth and is easily seen at Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park, about forty minutes from Stone Town. Numbers are low but stable. Please don't let guides encourage you closer than the marked distance — habituation and disease transmission are real pressures on a population this small.
What You'll Actually Find
Red colobus at Jozani
Near certain
Good diving
Very likely
Dolphins at Kizimkazi
Variable
Whale shark
Nov – Feb
Humpback whale
Jul – Sep
Also Worth Doing
Spice farm tourPrison Island tortoisesMnemba divingForodhani night marketDhow sunset cruiseNakupenda sandbankKuza CaveSeaweed farm visit
Experiences
Ways to Meet Zanzibar
Two or three of these turn a beach week into an actual trip.
✦
Stone Town Walking Tour
The alleys, carved doors, Old Fort, Anglican cathedral built on the former slave market site, and the Darajani market. Best done early before the heat.
◈
Spice Farm Tour
Clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla on working farms — the trade that made Zanzibar wealthy and drew the Omani sultans here in the first place.
◇
Jozani Forest & Red Colobus
The Zanzibar red colobus exists nowhere else on Earth. Jozani also has a mangrove boardwalk and is easily combined with a drive to the east coast.
▲
Mnemba Atoll Diving
The best diving and snorkelling on the island. Turtles, reef sharks and dolphins, with visibility that is genuinely world-class in the right months.
◆
Sunset Dhow Cruise
Traditional sail out of Stone Town or Nungwi as the sun drops. The oldest and still the best way to see the island from the water.
✧
The Rock & Michamvi
The restaurant on a rock in the sea off Michamvi. Touristy and entirely worth it — go at low tide and walk out, or high tide and take the boat.
Timing
Two Good Seasons, One to Avoid Entirely
Zanzibar has a clear rainy season and it is genuinely worth planning around.
Season
What's Happening
Consider
Verdict
Jun – OctCool dry
Dry, breezy and comfortable. The best months for kitesurfing on the east coast and the most reliable weather of the year.
Busiest and priciest, particularly August.
Peak season
Nov – DecShort rains
Brief afternoon showers between long sunny spells. Whale shark season begins and rates are noticeably softer.
Late December climbs sharply to festive pricing.
Good value
Jan – FebHot dry
Hot, calm and clear with the best underwater visibility of the year. Superb diving and flat, glassy seas.
Genuinely hot and humid — you'll want air conditioning.
Excellent
Mar – MayLong rains
The wettest months, with heavy rain and rough seas. Many hotels close entirely, particularly in April.
Cheapest of the year, but we generally advise against it.
Avoid
Where to Stay
Split Your Nights
Our standard recommendation: two nights in Stone Town, then three or four on whichever coast suits you.
Luxury
Beach Resorts
Full-service resorts with pools, spas and dive centres, concentrated on the north and south-east coasts. The reliable choice for honeymoons.
From $420 per person / night
Our Recommendation
Boutique Beach Hotels
Small owner-run hotels of ten to twenty rooms, often better food and far more character than the resorts, at half the price.
From $180 per person / night
Culture
Stone Town Houses
Converted merchant houses in the old town with rooftop terraces over the harbour. Two nights here is worth more than a week on the sand.
From $95 per person / night
Journeys
Journeys Featuring Zanzibar
Zanzibar is the natural end to almost any Tanzanian safari — an hour and a half from Arusha.
Romance
3 Days — Stone Town & Beach Bliss
A honeymoon combination blending Stone Town's culture with beach relaxation. The classic short Zanzibar break.
View Itinerary →
Bush & Beach
10-Day East Africa & Zanzibar Escape
Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro followed by a Zanzibar finale. Wildlife, culture and beach in one journey.
View Itinerary →
Quiet Circuit
10-Day Southern Tanzania & Zanzibar
Ruaha and Nyerere followed by four nights on the Indian Ocean. The uncrowded alternative to the northern circuit.
Enquire →
Two Islands
6-Day Zanzibar & Pemba
Stone Town and Unguja's beaches, then the far quieter diving and forest of Pemba to the north.
Enquire →Keep Exploring
Other Tanzanian Destinations
Most journeys combine two or three. Tell us which pull at you and we will build the route.
Serengeti
The Great Migration
Ngorongoro
The Eighth Wonder
Tarangire
Land of Giants
Lake Manyara
Tree-Climbing Lions
Kilimanjaro
Roof of Africa
Arusha & Mt Meru
The Gateway
Mkomazi
Rhino Sanctuary
Ruaha
The Hidden Giant
Nyerere / Selous
Untamed Reserve
Mahale
Chimp Kingdom
Gombe
Goodall's Forest
Pemba
The Green Island
Before You Go
Zanzibar Questions, Answered Plainly
If swimming whenever you like matters most, go north to Nungwi or Kendwa — they're the only beaches with deep water at every tide. If you want value, space and don't mind walking out at low tide, the east coast is beautiful and much cheaper. For quiet and honeymoons, Michamvi in the south-east. And spend two nights in Stone Town regardless of where else you go.
On the east coast it's dramatic — the water can retreat several hundred metres, exposing seagrass flats where women farm seaweed. Between roughly low tide and mid-tide, swimming isn't possible; you walk. Twice a day it comes back in and it's glorious. It isn't a flaw, it's just a fact, and knowing it in advance prevents the disappointment we hear about most often.
Yes, and two nights rather than one. Most people transit through and miss it. It's a UNESCO site of coral-rag alleys, carved Omani and Indian doors, rooftop bars over the harbour, and the Forodhani night market. The former slave market and Anglican cathedral are a sobering and important couple of hours. It's also where the island's best food is.
Zanzibar is predominantly Muslim, and away from beach resorts modest dress is genuinely appreciated — shoulders and knees covered in Stone Town and villages. Swimwear is fine on resort beaches but not walking through a village. Nobody will be rude about it, but the difference in how you're received is noticeable, and it costs you nothing.
Very. Mnemba Atoll off the north-east is the highlight — turtles, reef sharks, dolphins and excellent visibility, particularly January to March. There's good diving off Nungwi too, and Pemba to the north is better still if you're serious about it. Courses are widely available and reasonably priced by international standards.
March to May. The long rains bring heavy downpours, rough seas and high humidity, and a good number of hotels close entirely, especially in April. If those are your only dates you'd be better off going inland to the northern circuit, which handles the wet season considerably better than the coast does.
Plan Your Zanzibar Days
Get the Coast Right the First Time
Tell us how you want to spend the days — swimming, diving, kitesurfing or wandering old streets — and we'll put you on the right coast. No cost, no commitment.
