One thing that got me through the hike was fantasizing about reading my book in the sun on a warm beach. I highly recommend adding Zanzibar to any Kilimanjaro itinerary, because the flight is short (less than 1.5 hours) and the payoff is satisfying. Zanzibar is technically a semi-autonomous zone of Tanzania and the same visa will allow for entry to both areas despite the confusing online registration process.
We stayed in the northern part of the island, Nungwi, which was a 2 hour drive from the airport. In hindsight I would say this isn't really necessary. While our hotel was epic and the day trips were plentiful, it was really far from everything. If you want even one dinner in town be ready to have a high taxi bill.
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| The land beach: everything you need. Just not water access. |
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| We stayed in a "love shack" separate from the main hotel rooms. It was adorable, but didn't have AC. |
The first thing you'll notice on the drive to your lodging is that while mainland Tanzania is mostly Christian with no major outward signs of religious affiliation, Zanzibar is very visibly Muslim. Niqabs and Thobes were very common sights. The hotels that cater to tourists are very accepting of western beachwear, but make sure to cover up when you leave the coastline. These orthodox views seem to be pushed aside, however, to accommodate some island-wide pride for Freddie Mercury, who was born in Stone Town. There were billboards of Freddie, but only face up (no sexy unitard), among the small mosques and gender segregated crowds.
There are some fabulous sights to see around the island. We drove to the Jozani rainforest and saw some amazing red Colobus monkeys, which only live in Zanzibar.
One activity that I wouldn't recommend is swimming with dolphins. While in some locales this might have been a more intimate experience, our tour consisted of putting us on a small boat, driving out to where there were about 30 other boats, and spotting dolphin fins (that part was actually great). But then once the captains saw them, all the boats would noisily speed over, and the captain would command us, "Jump!" and we would flop into the water as the dolphins obviously sped away at top speed. Then we were left to have some scheduled recreational water time which was made rather stressful due to there being 30 boats bobbing in the water with anchor ropes everywhere. The fish were amazing and colorful but every time I lifted my head from the water I would realize something harrowing like I was between two boats that were about to slam together.
It might have been our tour, though. We booked a huge 12 hour tour to try to see as much of the island as possible but also spend most of our time relaxing. We knew things were not going to be premium level when as we got in the van, the guide hopped in the passenger seat, leaned (but didn't turn) his head back toward us, and casually remarked, "Let me know if you have any questions about Zanzibar, ok?" He then entered into a clearly private discussion with the driver, who sped everywhere, and eventually got pulled over (he hopped out and appeared to settle the matter by paying the officer directly (!!!)). Overall I would say neither the driver nor the guide were very interested in having us.
The beaches were lovely, but at least in the north, the strong tides result in what seems to be miles of stony, kinda pokey rock instead of sand, and very very shallow water that is impossible to swim in. Here's someone else's pic of the scene.
Generally the hotel, fauna, and "land" beach experiences were great, with the "water" beach and tour not quite meeting expectations... and everything complicated due to having to schedule Covid tests. A word of advice: whenever you are given the option to pay for a Covid test in advance in Zanzibar, DO IT, no matter how onerous the online process. Even if they say you can pay at the test center, you actually can't.
A great hotel: the Zanzabari
A not so great tour: this one.
