r/zanzibar

Hello, I'm trying to choose a snorkel operator in Mnemba Island but too many options pop up when I check online. Not confident swimmer, hence need some attention. Any suggestions how to choose, should I pre-book or reach Mnemba and decide?

I'm traveling to Zanzibar in a group of 4 people. We arrive in Zanzibar on August 21st and will spend that day and night in Stone Town. The next day we'll travel to Arusha for a 3-day safari, then return to the Riu Jambo hotel.

Our biggest concern: the luggage. For the safari, we only need to take our carry-on bags (10kg), not the 23kg suitcases. But where do we leave them? Is there any service available to store our luggage?

I thought about contacting the Riu Jambo Hotel to leave them there, since that's where we'll be staying for the rest of our trip, but it's about an hour and a half from Stone Town, which is quite a distance.

Has anyone else faced this dilemma? What solutions are there?

Thank you in advance.

Going for a solo trip to Zanzibar in September and sky diving is on my bucket list? Anyone have done it there? Impressions please 🙏

Me and my wife are going to Tanzania and Zanzibar for our honeymoon in October. 8-9 days total. Neither of us has been on safari before.

What we’re after:

We want to see animals properly, but we’re not trying to cover the whole circuit. We’d rather do fewer days well than have a packed itinerary. We also want to avoid long travel days, sitting in a car for six or seven hours isn’t how we want to spend our honeymoon. And we want a decent stretch at the end in Zanzibar to actually relax.

We’re visiting Serval Wildlife near Arusha. That’s the one we’re most excited about.

For the rest, these are the options on the table:

Tarangire
Ngorongoro Crater
Serengeti
Arusha National Park

Our operator has suggested:

Either one day in the Serengeti plus one day in Tarangire, or two days in Tarangire.

So the question is: what’s the best combination for people like us? How many days, which parks, and in what order?

Happy to be told our operator’s suggestions are wrong, or that we should be doing something completely different.

Thanks in advance.

We already booked hotel Sept 4-Sept 7 @ Infinity Beach Boutique Hotel & Spa in Matemwe, and 1 night Sept 7 @ Park Hyatt in StoneTown. So far, here is our plan and still need some help filling ---:

- Day 1: 9/4 arrive at 9:30 AM, thinking of doing Spice Tour, then lunch on the way to the hotel in Matemwe, but unsure if it is okay to leave our belongings in the driver's car while doing the tour?
- Day 2: 9/5 take Blue Safari private tour (8 am - 4pm)
- Day 3: 9/6 NOT sure what to do yet
- Day 4: 9/7, check out leaving Matemwe after breakfast so we can get to SToneTown early enough for a walking tour, including Old Slave Market/ Anglican Cathedral, and Freddie Mercury Museum. In the evening, we already booked a food tour for dinner @ 6:pm with Eat Like A Zanzibari
-Day 5: 9/8 plan to do some more walking on our own to Stone Town, but back to Park Hyatt to enjoy the hotel facilities as I read that it is a beautiful hotel with history. Leave for the airport around 3:30 for our flight at 7:10 PM to Cape Town

Since we will just come from a 9 day safari and will be going to South Africa for more safari, we might not be interested visiting the forest, or park. We want to enjoy the beach, water but not interested in jumping into the water to be swimming with dolphins :-(.

Thoughts, comments and anyone has experiences at these hotels?

Thank You and look forward to our trips.

Whoever the fuck thought it was a good idea to demand a mandatory insurance cost for every nonresident for some private corporation needs to get out of the office.

It’s ridiculous that I am forced to pay for insurance for shitty medical services that aren’t even any good, and on top of that THE ONLY REASON why im viewed as a nonresident is because this useless Swahili government can’t fathom a fucking dual citizenship. I’m 100% Swahili my dad’s older than Tanzania as a state itself yet the country refuses to introduce a simple ass policy that every other African country manages to.

And the money sure as hell isn’t going to improving the lives of the people, it looks just as downtrodden as it has all my life.

Genuinely I love Tanzania and Zanzibar with all my heart, and that’s what makes it all the more frustrating when we have idiotic and incompetent politicians that could give two fucks about improving our country.

I thought all that tourist money would help improve Zanzibar the same way it has Dar but that clearly isn’t the case. Fucking embarrassing I’m so pissed off.

Me voy a Zanzíbar mañana y he visto que la previsión da lluvia prácticamente todos los días. Está lloviendo realmente tanto estos días o suelen ser más bien lluvias puntuales que pasan rápido?

Which beach would be better for swimming? Paje or Jambiani?

Me and my wife are going to Tanzania and Zanzibar for our honeymoon this October. 9 days, two of us, flying in from the Middle East. Neither of us has done a safari before, so this is all new to us.

We got a quote from a local operator and before I pay the deposit I wanted to hear from people who have actually done this trip.

Price is €3,125 per person, so about €6,250 (~$7,200) for the two of us (International Flights Excluded)

Included: private 4x4 with our own driver-guide, all lodges and hotels (nothing fancy, mid-range), meals as listed below, all park fees and the crater descent fee, and the internal flight from the Serengeti to Zanzibar.

Not included: international flights, visa, the mandatory Zanzibar insurance, travel insurance, tips. With all of that plus our flights we’re looking at around $10,000 total.

Here's the plan:

Mainland

Day 1 – Land at Kilimanjaro, drive to Simba Farm Lodge in West Kilimanjaro. Full board.

Day 2 – Drive back toward Arusha, visit Serval Wildlife Sanctuary where you can feed giraffes. Overnight at Kutoka Lodge, Arusha. Full board.

Day 3 – Full day game drive in Tarangire. Overnight Tarangire Simba Lodge, on the edge of the park. Full board.

Day 4 – Drive to Ngorongoro and go down into the crater. Overnight Ngorongoro Safari Lodge, on the western side of the conservation area. Full board.

Day 5 – Drive to central Serengeti with game viewing on the way. Overnight Tukaone Mwalomi Camp, inside the park near Seronera. Full board.

Zanzibar

Day 6 – Morning game drive, then fly from Seronera airstrip to Zanzibar at 11:30. Overnight Seyyida Hotel, Stone Town. Bed and breakfast.

Day 7 – Morning in Stone Town, then transfer to Nungwi. Overnight The Zanzibari, Nungwi. Bed and breakfast.

Day 8 – Beach day at The Zanzibari, nothing planned. Bed and breakfast.

Day 9 – Fly home from Zanzibar.

Has anyone stayed at any of these? Especially interested in whether the Serengeti camp and the Nungwi hotel are worth what we’re paying.

They also gave us a cost breakdown: 42% transport, 33% accommodation and meals, 14% park fees, 6% concession fees, 4% activities, 1% misc.

One thing I should say about what we’re actually after. It’s our honeymoon, so we don’t want to come home more tired than we left.

We do want to see things properly and we’re excited for the safari part, but we’re not trying to cram every hour. Some good game drives, a bit of culture, and then real time to relax, especially in Zanzibar. We’d rather do fewer things well than run around ticking boxes.

So what I’m asking:

* Is this a fair price for October?
* Is the itinerary put together sensibly, or would you move things around?
* Does the balance between the safari side and the Zanzibar side feel right for what we want, or are we going to be worn out by the time we hit the beach?

Also curious about Zanzibar specifically since I’ve read less about it. Is one night in Stone Town and two on the beach a good split, or should it be different? And is the north coast the right area for a couple, or would you go somewhere else on the island?

Appreciate any honest opinions, even if the answer is that we got it wrong.

Needed some help. My partner is interviewing for a front office role at a hotel in Zanzibar. What would be the salary range for an assistant manager role at a 4* hotel? TIA

Titel: Sansibar Ende September – welche Gegend und welches Hotel?

Hallo zusammen,

meine Frau und ich planen Ende September 9 Nächte auf Sansibar. Wir suchen ein sauberes und sicheres All-Inclusive-Hotel (4 oder 5 Sterne).

Besonders wichtig: schöner weißer Strand, türkises Meer und möglichst den ganzen Tag schwimmen können, trotz Ebbe/Flut. Außerdem möchten wir schnorcheln/tauchen, Wassersport, Ausflüge und eventuell 1–2 Tage Safari machen.

Welche Gegend ist dafür am besten – Nungwi, Kendwa, Michamvi, Paje/Jambiani oder woanders?

Und welches Hotel könnt ihr aus eigener Erfahrung empfehlen?

Aktuell schauen wir z. B. JAZ Elite Aurora, Dream of Zanzibar, Reef & Beach, Riu Palace Swahili und ZAN Orient an.

Danke für eure Erfahrungen! 😊

Title: Zanzibar in late September – best area and hotel?

Hi everyone,

my wife and I are planning 9 nights in Zanzibar at the end of September. We are looking for a clean, safe All-Inclusive hotel (4 or 5 stars).

Most important to us: beautiful white beach, turquoise water and being able to swim most of the day, despite the tides. We'd also like snorkeling/diving, water sports, excursions and possibly a 1–2 day safari.

Which area would you recommend – Nungwi, Kendwa, Michamvi, Paje/Jambiani or somewhere else?

And which hotel would you recommend from personal experience?

We're currently considering JAZ Elite Aurora, Dream of Zanzibar, Reef & Beach, Riu Palace Swahili and ZAN Orient.

Thanks for any advice! 😊

hello everybody,

in september me and my family will be going to zanzibar Nungwi for 2 weeks ... we got oure vaccinations and oure malaria pills ... now iv heard taking them can make you quite sick (headache , vomiting etc.) ... is it rly that bad ? not rly in the mood to spend my vacation or flight guarding a toilet just in case xD , luckly we got the brand of pills where we wont be hallucinating since i heard 1 brand can have that side effect

Hi there. My partner of 5+ years has suggested meeting together in Zanzibar. We both know the stigma around gay people across Africa so our plan is to just keep that part private and tell everyone we're good friends who like to make music together (he wants to shoot some videos with my go pro and put together a couple songs with me).

However, Im worried that I might already stand out as a white American, but there's also the issue of my voice and hair. I'm worried I might appear too feminine even if I try not to. But I also don't want to overthink the attitudes of people I've never met. I've just seen some mentions about people being harassed in Tanzania for being suspected of being gay since it's criminalized and heavily stigmatized.

Do you think Zanzibar would be safe for me and my partner if we kept our relationship private? I even plan to look for 2 bed hotel rooms and keeping our luggage separate and making both beds appear to be slept in separately. Again, tell me if I'm overthinking this. The only other country I've traveled to was Japan in 2023.