Zanzibar is a paradise that will be good for your soul, where you can have a honeymoon holiday on an island in Africa, but where you can participate in many experiential activities without getting bored during this trip, and you will want to visit again and again! I take those who want a tropical trip 5500 kilometers away, accompanied by white sands and palm trees, to Africa with Zanzibar Travel Guide. Everything About Zanzibar is in this article.
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Click for the A Zanzibar Story article where Umur tells his story with a traveler he met in Zanzibar.
How is Life in Zanzibar? What’s Zanzibar Like?
As we arrived in Zanzibar around 3-4 in the morning, when we rented a car from the airport and set off for our hotel in the north, we saw people walking everywhere.. It was crowded like 12 noon. Later, as we observed the adobe houses and people along the road, the first signs of the concept of “absence“, not poverty, came to our minds.. Despite being such a touristic island, there is such a poverty that people set off from the night and walk for maybe 2 hours in order to go to work in the morning.. Having a bicycle is a luxury, barefoot children, doorless houses that invite disease.
I’ve been to South Africa before, but Tanzania was very different. When I thought about the situation of countries whose names were almost unheard of in Africa, I realized once again that there is no such thing as justice in the world, luck from where you were born affects your whole life. But do you know that this is their normal. They’re used to it, and most of them are really happy, good people in the order they’re used to.. However, that day, I am making all donations and aids to Africa.. Take toys, candy, chocolate, food, clothes, whatever you can see with you.. The happiness in the eyes of the children we handed out lollipops was pure joy.. In short, this trip will change your perspective on life.. You won’t be sad about anything because of the concept of never having it again because there are people who live like this and live happily.
Which Season to Visit Zanzibar?
An excellent suggestion from me to you; Go to Zanzibar to celebrate the new year! Celebrating the new year barefoot at the beach was on my “To Do List”. I am so glad I chose Zanzibar for this because I entered 2019 at the beach with the man I love, under a super-perfect sky full of stars.. Now how can this year not be amazing? As a matter of fact, there have been very good changes in our lives and a few months later we moved to Dubai out of our plans.. Now it’s always New Year’s Eve celebration at the beach So I think the New Year spirit and wishes are important!
The popular season is from December to the end of February, so prices are higher. However, Zanzibar is an island that receives tourists for almost 12 months.. You should be aware that there is a lot of tides here and if the sea is very low in the area where you stay depending on the season, you may not see the ocean when you wake up in the morning.. For example, while our friends who stayed in our hotel in April could not swim, we went to the sea every morning in January.. The sea was low in the afternoon, it was quite reasonable. You can follow and research these tides on Google.
By the way, Zanzibar has no time difference with Turkey.
How Many Days to Visit Zanzibar? How Many Days Are Required for a Zanzibar Trip?
Tourists who come to Zanzibar often add 2-3 days of Zanzibar rest to their safari trip to Tanzania or Kenya.. This is nice too, but I think Zanzibar is a paradise that deserves to be spared for a week.. We stayed 6 nights and glad we did.. We didn’t come for safari and combine the holiday.. If you are going to combine and explore Zanzibar in a compressed form, instead of renting a car, you can agree with the drivers and travel more easily in an accelerated way.
How to Get a Tanzania Visa? Getting a Visa to Zanzibar
Visa for Tanzania is just a formality and money, so there is nothing to be afraid of. After getting off the plane, you fill out a form before passport control, with this form you get your visa at the door for 50 USD. They instantly print and paste it on your passport.. Moreover, you can pay with a credit card.
Zanzibar Transportation – Buying a Ticket to Zanzibar with Miles
If you want to buy tickets, especially during the popular season, two people like me are 20,000 TL You can see tickets to ! Here’s what you can do to save this situation and make it logical:
1- You can find cheaper tickets by flying to Dar Es Salaam and transferring to Zanzibar from there.. Which is what everyone used to do because THY only flew there.. Now Turkish Airlines flies directly to Zanzibar.
2- You can buy a direct ticket to Zanzibar with miles. Under normal circumstances, if you use a Miles and Smiles credit card or if you have accumulated miles on THY, Zanzibar is a very convenient destination to spend them because a one-way ticket is 10,000 miles, which is great! This is the option with a 10,000 mile space limit.. For this reason, if you want to go on New Year’s Eve, which is one of the popular dates like me, you may not find it.. Then there are the guaranteed tickets for 20,000 miles one way.. I think don’t be sorry, press and go, because even it is suitable.
We did just that, and we bought our 20,000 TL direct Zanzibar flight THY tickets for 2 people, 2 people go and come, giving 80,000 miles in total, only paying the taxes and buying it for 2,000 TL.
I’m leaving my video explaining this issue and the use of miles here. By the way, returning from Zanzibar, the plane lands first in Kilimanjaro and takes passengers.. You wait before you get off the plane and see the magnificent Mount Kilimanjaro!
Where to Stay in Zanzibar? Zanzibar Hotel Recommendation
Zanzibar is a huge island and the place you choose to stay is very important because of the ebb and flow issue.. Nungwi and Kendwa regions located in the north of the island are the least affected by the tides, the most touristic, and the price is somewhat higher than other regions.. Our choice was to stay in Nungwi for 6 nights and we are very happy with this decision.. Because we wanted to rest, to have a pleasure holiday without visiting the hotel.. After all, we hadn’t had such a holiday since our honeymoon.
We stayed in a boutique hotel called The Zanzibari with breakfast included.. Very suitable for couples, children may have trouble going down the stairs to the sea as the hotel is located on the reef. We ate some lunch and dinner here if we were at the hotel, and sometimes we preferred to eat in the center of Nungwi in the evening.. We haven’t seen any all-inclusive hotels, except for very luxurious hotels.. We paid 1500 USD for 2 persons 6 nights accommodation, breakfast, some lunch and dinner, cocktails and drinks for this hotel.. This is an expensive figure for Zanzibar because there are hotels where you can stay much cheaper if you want..
We chose a luxury holiday because I think the hotel you stay in is very important for a nice trip on this island.. We did not take risks due to the absence of flies, the fact that the hotel provides closed water for drinking, hygiene conditions, the water you shower is purified and clean.. However, as a precaution, we brushed our teeth with closed water. If you are going to stay in a good hotel, there is no need to carry water from Turkey.. You can reach the seaside attractions in the center of Nungwi in 20 minutes by walking from the hotel and passing through the village of Nungwi.. Since we rent a car and travel around, we have always traveled this road by car.
To give an idea, the prices at the hotel are as follows: Beer 4 USD, Pizza 8-10 USD, Pasta 8 USD, Cocktail 8 USD at Happy Hour 5 USD.. It is most logical to have breakfast included, otherwise breakfast is 15 USD per person.
The other places I can give an alternative to the hotel, which I hear a lot in that region, are Hideaway Zanzibar Nungwi, Dubletree Hilton Nungwi.. Kendwa is also very popular, an alternative to Nungwi.. The most I heard there were Kendwa Sunset and Kendwa The Rock Hotel. We even went to Kendwa The Rock Hotel for entertainment on New Year’s Eve, it was a very pleasant place.. It is not just a boutique like The Zanzibari, but a much more crowded and large complex..
Also, if you are on a public beach in Zanzibar, the vendors are constantly trying to come and sell you something, and this can reach levels where you feel uncomfortable.. There was almost no outside access to the beach of our hotel, the guards were waiting.. So we had no problems. However, what I observed in Nungwi center and on New Year’s Eve in Kendwa was that these hotels close to the public beach could experience this problem.. There’s also the security issue.. You may have to take turns in the sea so that your things are not stolen.. The good thing is that it has a direct sandy beach and a sea suitable for children.. Still, I wouldn’t prefer it because while the ocean is always turquoise in our hotel, the water at the public beaches in Nungwi and Kendwa was like the sea we know.
If your aim is to have a more active holiday, maybe stay in different regions as these activities are classified according to regions. you can request. For example, you may want to stay in Nungwi for 3 days, Paje & Jambiani or Kizimkazi for 3 days, and Stone Town for 1 day in a 1-week vacation.. I’ll explain in detail below the activities and in which areas you can find them.
Changing Money in Zanzibar
This is a bit of a hassle because I need to withdraw money from an ATM If you want to have Tanzanian Shilling, we saw it at an airport and I think in Stone Town. No ATMs everywhere. There is no exchange office. Since we mostly spend on credit cards during travels, we always did the same on this trip, but you need cash especially when buying gas.. For these situations, hotelsusually change the money you take in USD, but of course they can also get it at low prices.. That’s why I say change it less and spend credit cards because even gas stations can sometimes accept USD and give you the top in the form of Tanzanian Shiites.. Get a Currency app on your phone and calculate the exchange rate difference.
Zanzibar Intra-Island Transportation – Renting a Car in Zanzibar
Zanzibar is a huge island. Sometimes it can take you 2 hours to go from one place to another.. And these roads are not pleasant at all because only the main road has asphalt, all other side roads pass through villages and the dirt road is like you are officially on a nature track.. As if it wasn’t hard enough to drive on these rough roads, on top of that the steering wheel is on the right, all the people don’t know anything about traffic rules, they drive very dangerously.. I’m sorry, but that’s all the facts!
When the public is like this, most people make an agreement with the driver to travel and make plans by negotiating in advance and agreeing on the price for the places in their program.. The driver picks you up from your hotel, shows you around, arranges the tours you will join, drops you there and brings you back to the hotel.. In the same way, you also take care of airport hotel transportation with them.. Of course, when you have a full program, it becomes more expensive than renting a car, and I think experientially it is more touristic.. I don’t find such things very free. But if you say you can’t drive, that’s the case.
We, on the other hand, rented a car and traveled freely as we wished, thank God Umur is a very good driver.. We rented our SUV from Kibabu Car for 35 USD per day. We have not seen small vehicles in already rented cars.. They’re all SUVs or they can’t go on those roads. We rented it for 30 USD before, we didn’t like the car there and upgraded it to a 35 USD one.. Vehicles can be very worn, do not be surprised. This is Africa, and actually the best of everything is not luxury.
We burned a total of 41 USD in 6 days of gasoline. The 6-day rental fee was 255 USD. They issue you a paper for your license so you can use the vehicle without any problems.. We were warned about many police turns and bribery incidents.. Yes, it happened to us 3-4 times, but for example, he said “can you help my child”, we said no, we are sorry, we left.. It’s never been hard. We were turned only once in the wrong turn, when the police tried to impose a fine, we said we are Muslims, and he asked us to bring the word of martyrdom! When we brought it we said ok and continued It was comedy! When such events happen to you, say that you are a Muslim and come from Turkey.. The population in Zanzibar is heavily Muslim.. That’s why you won’t have any problems.
If you are going to travel with a driver, make sure to bargain, but even only airport hotel transfer for Nungwi – Kendwa is 60 – 70 USD. For this reason, the car is much more economical.
Is Vaccination Necessary for Zanzibar?
If you are not going to safari, if you are not going to Serengeti or Masai Mara you don’t need to get vaccinated just for Zanzibar. Before the trip, we went to the travel health center in Karaköy, Istanbul and confirmed this information.. No risk of yellow fever here, only malaria prevention. If you do not have a malaria vaccine, which we did not have, and we did not want to take the risk of seeing the side effects of doing it right before the trip, so we used the medicine called LEMAL , which was given to us free of charge by the health center.. You can also get information and medicine by going to travel health centers in your province before your trip.. Click to see where they are.
Is Eating and Drinking a Problem in Zanzibar? Will we go hungry?
If you don’t have a problem with spicy food, it’s fine.. In Zanzibar, which is a known spice paradise, there is always a flavor-enhancing spice in the dishes.. We’ve never been hungry, we’ve never had food shortages. We even ate a lot of seafood because we love seafood and it’s cheap here.. My best recommendation, especially for those staying in Nungwi, will be Baraka Restaurant. Here, while your feet are in the sand drinking Klimanjero or Safari, one of the local beers, the sunset is legendary! I have given my other venue suggestions by specifying the regions in the budget section below.
Is Zanzibar Suitable for Honeymoon? How is the Honeymoon in Zanzibar?
Absolutely appropriate, if you want to have a honeymoon, but let’s not go to bed completely, but let’s pursue activity and experience, it’s perfect. Just as I mentioned above, hotel selection is important.. You should pay attention to it for a pleasant holiday. Bring marriage certificate with you and let the hotel know in advance of your honeymoon. Maybe they can prepare a surprise for you!
I am also sending you an article about two places I have traveled to and which definitely make me think of perfect destinations for honeymoon.. You can check it out if you are looking for a honeymoon or a similar vacation.
Maldives Travel Guide
Mexico Travel Guide
What is Zanzibar for Families with Children?
Families with children also prefer Zanzibar for their holidays and they mostly return happily.. However, you should pay attention to the fact that it is a hotel where the child can swim in the sea.. For example, ours was on the reef and that forces the kids. Again, malaria prevention drugs or vaccines that we have to use for both children and babies can have side effects on their bodies.. For this reason, I think the most important issue for them is health.. Before your travel decision, you can go to the travel health centers I mentioned above and get information.
What You Must Take With You When You Come to Zanzibar
- If you are going to stay for 1 week, you can get at least 2 You should buy fly repellent that contains DEET in each. Not every fly repellent works there.. Defender, Off is the first thing that comes to mind.
- Triple socket converter
- SPF sunscreencream against 50 factor UVA and UVB rays. The African sun is so bad, never neglect it.
- Hat, sunglasses, swimwear, diving goggles and snorkels if available
- medications in case she may be sick
In addition, since the Wi-Fi is bad in hotels, you may need to buy a line for the internet.. Since the Vodafone package we used is also valid here, we were able to use our package exactly by paying for international usage.
Zanzibar Travel Cost – Zanzibar Travel Budget
- Flight Ticket: 2000 TL
- Car rental: 255 USD
- Fuel: 41 USD
- Accommodation: 1.500 USD
- Hotel catering: 103 USD
- Other food and beverage: strong>172 USD
- Other / Gift etc: 57 USD
- Excursion / Activity: 10 USD
Zanzibar Expenditures by Day: All costs for 2 persons.
I also share the places we went with the prices.
- Day 1 – 45 USD – Langi Langi Food
- Day 2. – 29.5 USD Barrack Food + 4 Beers (Mix seafood)
- Day 3 – 24 USD 2 persons Kendwa The Rocks Party Entrance & 20 USD Kendwa The Rocks meal + 2 beers
- Day 4 – 9 USD Bounty 2 Sangria (Paje) & 11 USD Blue Oyster Hotel 1 coke 1 beer 1 pizza (Jambiani)
- Day 6 – Hotel
- Day 7
- 10.000 TZS İzmir Market (4 USD)
- 10 USD Kidichi Spice Farm
- 2,500 TZS Parking Lot (1 USD)
- 20 USD – Secret Garden Food
- 6 USD coffee and afogato Zanzibar Coffehouse
- 10 USD We bought a statue as a gift
- 8 USD We bought Magnets
- 15 USD Home coffee we got
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Activities to Do in Zanzibar – Zanzibar Places To See
See activities to regions I am writing to give you an idea while specifying the prices.. Do not forget to bargain until the end in every way.
- Nungwi and Kendwa swimming in the sea, passing through the villages in the evening and plentiful at the beach bars on the white sands. try plenty of seafood
- Dhow to enjoy the sunset on Sunset Cruise (15 – 20 USD per person) If you do a sunset at the Baraka in Nungwi, you can see these boats from afar You might think it would be more enjoyable.
- Spend a day on the beaches of Paje and Jambiani, which will offer you the most visually beautiful tropical vacation photo frames, the famous The Seeing the Rock restaurant
- Diving on Bill Gates’ private property Mnemba Island
- Enjoying the pleasure of spending time on your own island on the sand dunes called Sandbank , which emerged with the retreat of the ocean by participating in tours called Blue Safari ( $100 per person)
- Visit Stone Town and then ferry to Prison Island to see giant tortoises. If you don’t take a tour, you can take the ferryboats from the port, but the price of the tours is higher.
- Spicy gardens to join the spice tour. We chose Kidichi Spice Farm and gave 10 USD for 2 people with bargaining.. If you have a car, you can go there and bargain.. Otherwise, they may try to sell tours starting at 25 USD per person, including transportation.
- Bonus: Dolphin watching is also very popular in Kizimkazi, but it’s not an inconvenience to our sweet friends. It is not an activity that I would prefer not to give.
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All with you I tried my best to make your trip perfect by sharing my Zanzibar Travel experience! I would be very happy if you leave all your questions and comments about my writing in the comments section below.
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