Welcome back to the final stop on my Tanzania tour! Last time I walked you through our experience in the Ngorongoro Crater, my personal favorite spot of the entire trip, and left you off at us being dropped off a tiny airport in Arusha making our way to Zanzibar.
Getting there:
Now there’s a few ways you can get to the main island. You can catch a flight from either Arusha or Dar es Salaam or a ferry. Flying is, of course, the fastest option ranging from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on your departure point. The ferry takes about 3 hours and is comparable in price to flying. I do mention the ferry option, however, as a callout to the type of plane you take from the mainland to the island. The planes are incredibly small, sometimes only holding 10 people maximum. If you have a fear of flying or if you’re like me and are claustrophobic, I at least recommend checking out the ferry option. Thankfully, the flight is short enough that I was able to put on some music, close my eyes, and practice some breathing exercises.
Brief History & Today:
I also want to call out that the actual name of the island we went to is Unguja. Zanzibar refers to the group of islands off the coast of Tanzania. Similar to Hawaii in the United States, people often refer to the largest, main island as Zanzibar. The Zanzibar Islands have been colonized quite a few times throughout their history, including by the Portuguese, Oman, and most notably by the British Empire. In the 1960s, the United Kingdom declared Zanzibar a fully independent country under the commonwealth. A Sultan was appointed and quickly overthrown, replaced by a socialist government. This was, again, short lived, when Zanzibar merged with mainland Tanganyika, later renamed Tanzania.
Today, while Zanzibar is part of the country of Tanzania, it remains an autonomous region. The main religion is Muslim, apart from a small group of Christians. The locals speak a wide range of languages from Swahili (the national language of Tanzania), Arabic, English, and French.
Hotel
Our group stayed in Stone Town, the main city of the island and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We stayed at the Tembo House Hotel, a beautiful hotel located on the water with a swimming pool, restaurant, and bar all on site.
Sunset Cruise
We arrived to the island in the early evening, quickly checked into our hotel, and made our way down to the water where we were greeted by warm hosts an a gorgeous Dhow boat, waiting to take us on a sunset cruise in the Indian Ocean. You can find a similar excursion here. We drank, we ate, we danced, and a few of us jumped into the water for a late-night swim. Highly recommend taking a sunset cruise!
Historical Stone Town Tour
A great way to learn about the history of Stone Town is to take a guided walking tour. Another option for a guided tour is linked here. There’s a reason this town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has a deep history and was known for it being a trading center of both spices and slaves. It’s architecture is a gorgeous mix of influences from Persian, to Indian, to European, and Arab. The streets are a winding maze of alleyways, with amazing smells, sounds, and sites around every corner.
Our walking tour included an entrance ticket at the Old Slave Market. The island was once the center of slave trading in East Africa. The museum covered the dark history of the island and made a point to open the discussion around how prevalent slavery still is today in many of our modern societies.
The Darajani Bazaar market is a can’t miss stop when visiting Stone Town and you can even visit the house Freddie Mercury was born in. My personal favorite part of the tour was seeing all the incredible doors around the town. A unique little scavenger hunt was finding all the amazing, colorful doors.
Prison Island Tour & Sandbar Excursion
Our last few day on the trip, we did an excursion to Changuu Island, also known as Prison Island, and took a boat over to a large sandbar that is open for visitors depending on the tide. A few similar excursion options can be found at these links:
Option 1, Option 2, Option 3, Option 4
Changuu Island was purchased and set up as a prison for rebellious slaves in the 1860s by the British First Prime Minister of Zanzibar. However, no prisoners ever lived there as it instead became a quarantine location for yellow fever patients. In 1923, it was officially renamed Quarantine Island. Quarantine cases would be moved from ships, housed on the island for 2 weeks, then sent back on their way. Later, the purpose of the island transitioned when a resort was built (and still stands today).
In addition to being a quarantine island for yellow fever, it also become a home and breeding ground for tortoises. Originally given as a gift to the island, the 4 gifted tortoises bred quickly, eventually populating the island with over 200 tortoises. After a history of stealing and selling the tortoises, a few conservation groups stepped in, and there are now approximately 150 tortoises that tourists and visit and feed lettuce.
The sandbar is a great way to relax on Zanzibar’s gorgeous white sand and take a swim in the bright, crystal-clear waters. During the day, picnic lunches are set up and snorkeling gear is available. A quick note that the water is peppered with lots of white coral which can be hard to see and easy to scrape your feet and ankles on. Keep your eyes peeled!
Nightlife
Honorable Mention to the Tatu Bar for hosting our crew 2 nights in a row and being a blast. A local 3 floor bar with great music and drinks. It also serves as a restaurant during the day. I highly recommend!
Heading Home
Zanzibar Island was the perfect way to close out our Tanzania adventure. We were all incredibly sad to pack up and begin our long journey home. I would spend the next 24 hours on 4 flights reminiscing about all the amazing animals and people we encountered along the way. If you’ve ever been on the fence about a safari adventure, all I can say is do it. I can’t wait until I’m able to go again, next time, hopefully to Kenya!