Excursions from Zanzibar
Stone Town Tour (Half day)
This guided tour of Zanzibar provides living evidence of a rich cultural heritage, where Arab, Indian, Persian and European influences blended with local African traditions. Historic buildings with elaborately carved doors shaded by balconies, loggias and verandas line the narrow winding streets along which you will walk while on this tour. The tour includes a visit to the town market and the slave markets, the national museum, high court buildings, the slave chambers, Africa house (former English Club), the old fort, forodhani gardens, house of wonders, Sultan Palace (now a Museum), Custom House, Old Dispensary, Old Harbour, etc.
Spice Tour (Half Day)
This guided tour offers a look at small farms in the rural area that grow cloves, vanilla, nutmeg, cardamom and other spices, medicinal and ornamental plants, and tropical fruits. This tour provides a rare experience to prove why Zanzibar is referred to as the “Spice Island”. It also includes a visit to the Persian Baths build in 1850 by Seyyid Said bin Sultan (first Sultan of Zanzibar) for his wife Princes Shehzad (grand-daughter of Fateh Ali Shah of Persia).
Jozani Forest (Half Day)
This guided tour will take you to Jozani natural forest, home to the rare red colobus monkey. The forest is preserved as a nature park and is one of the few remaining places where you can find indigenous species of plants and trees still standing. The smaller trees and shrubs make several sub-canopies under the highest canopy. You will walk through the nature trail of the forest which is also a habitat for many species of animals and birds. The Zanzibar red colobus monkey has been isolated from its mainland counterparts for at least ten to fifteen thousand years, thus producing a distinct sub-species with different calls, eating habits and coat patterns. Jozani Forest has become the last stronghold in the world for this particular type of colobus.
Nungwi (North Coast) Tour (Full Day)
On this tour you are transferred by road to Nungwi where you will swim and relax on white sandy beach. You will visit the village, and a place where traditional dhows are built. Lunch is included at one of the hotels on the north coast.
Dolphin Adventures (Full Day)
This tour will take you to one of the earlier capital of the Island (KIZIMKAZI) where traces of an Old Shirazi settlement (probably a fort) may be seen in an enclosure surrounded by a wall near the seashore. Near the walled enclosure is an ANCIENT MOSQUE where an inscription records that the mosque was built in A. H. 500 (A. D. 1107) by a Sheikh Seyyid Abi Amran, who appears to have been a local ruler. Out-side the mosque is a well and graves of Sheriffs (descendants of the Prophet). You will then proceed to a small fishing village where you will be taken for a boat ride (in a motorized local boat) in search dolphins (85% chances). Lunch will be served at Kizimkazi.
Prison Island Tour (Half Day)
This tour includes a visit to the historic Prison Island with its giant land tortoise. The island was formerly owned by an Arab and used for confinement of refractory slaves. It was bought by General Mathews and the jail (goal) which still stands was build in 1893 and hence the name “PRISON ISLAND”. While on the island you will be able to swim, sunbathe and snorkel.
Safari Blue (Full Day)
Depart to the fishing village of Fumba (approx. 20 minutes drive from town). From here, you board the traditional Dhow and depart for a full day swimming, snorkelling and searching for dolphins in the waters off the South of Zanzibar. There are numerous, unspoiled coral gardens in this area protected by the Menai Bay Authorities and for every visitor in this area you contribute to the protection of this coral. The snorkelling is for all beginners and experienced persons – there are many different species of coral to enjoy. Once you have finished snorkelling you will enjoy a fresh coconut and eat Zanzibari brittle candy to revive your energy. Continue to search for dolphins when you leave the sandbank as you head for lunch on Kwale Island.
Lunch is provided through a delicious seafood buffet with a choice of different foods to make sure that all are catered for. Eating under the shade of a Tamarind tree on the white sands of the Island surrounded by black coral and the blue Indian Ocean is an unforgettable experience. For desert a selection of over 14 different fruits with an explanation of each before tasting the sweetness of each – all of these exotic fruits which found their way to the Island during the trading era. After an exquisite lunch you will be offered a trial of a traditional catamaran fishing dhow and appreciate how the Zanzibari fisherman masters the waters. From here you will visit a very old 400-year-old Baobab tree where you can take photographs of the tree and enjoy the tropical forest of the Island. As the sun begins to set you will be taken into a beautiful pristine mangrove forest whereby you will enjoy the few precious moments before heading back to Fumba with the sound of the water and the winds in your sails…you remain fixed in the present and lost in the past as you reminisce your peaceful day while being driven back to your hotel.
This guided tour of Zanzibar provides living evidence of a rich cultural heritage, where Arab, Indian, Persian and European influences blended with local African traditions. Historic buildings with elaborately carved doors shaded by balconies, loggias and verandas line the narrow winding streets along which you will walk while on this tour. The tour includes a visit to the town market and the slave markets, the national museum, high court buildings, the slave chambers, Africa house (former English Club), the old fort, forodhani gardens, house of wonders, Sultan Palace (now a Museum), Custom House, Old Dispensary, Old Harbour, etc.
Spice Tour (Half Day)
This guided tour offers a look at small farms in the rural area that grow cloves, vanilla, nutmeg, cardamom and other spices, medicinal and ornamental plants, and tropical fruits. This tour provides a rare experience to prove why Zanzibar is referred to as the “Spice Island”. It also includes a visit to the Persian Baths build in 1850 by Seyyid Said bin Sultan (first Sultan of Zanzibar) for his wife Princes Shehzad (grand-daughter of Fateh Ali Shah of Persia).
Jozani Forest (Half Day)
This guided tour will take you to Jozani natural forest, home to the rare red colobus monkey. The forest is preserved as a nature park and is one of the few remaining places where you can find indigenous species of plants and trees still standing. The smaller trees and shrubs make several sub-canopies under the highest canopy. You will walk through the nature trail of the forest which is also a habitat for many species of animals and birds. The Zanzibar red colobus monkey has been isolated from its mainland counterparts for at least ten to fifteen thousand years, thus producing a distinct sub-species with different calls, eating habits and coat patterns. Jozani Forest has become the last stronghold in the world for this particular type of colobus.
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Nungwi (North Coast) Tour (Full Day)
On this tour you are transferred by road to Nungwi where you will swim and relax on white sandy beach. You will visit the village, and a place where traditional dhows are built. Lunch is included at one of the hotels on the north coast.
Dolphin Adventures (Full Day)
This tour will take you to one of the earlier capital of the Island (KIZIMKAZI) where traces of an Old Shirazi settlement (probably a fort) may be seen in an enclosure surrounded by a wall near the seashore. Near the walled enclosure is an ANCIENT MOSQUE where an inscription records that the mosque was built in A. H. 500 (A. D. 1107) by a Sheikh Seyyid Abi Amran, who appears to have been a local ruler. Out-side the mosque is a well and graves of Sheriffs (descendants of the Prophet). You will then proceed to a small fishing village where you will be taken for a boat ride (in a motorized local boat) in search dolphins (85% chances). Lunch will be served at Kizimkazi.
Prison Island Tour (Half Day)
This tour includes a visit to the historic Prison Island with its giant land tortoise. The island was formerly owned by an Arab and used for confinement of refractory slaves. It was bought by General Mathews and the jail (goal) which still stands was build in 1893 and hence the name “PRISON ISLAND”. While on the island you will be able to swim, sunbathe and snorkel.
Safari Blue (Full Day)
Depart to the fishing village of Fumba (approx. 20 minutes drive from town). From here, you board the traditional Dhow and depart for a full day swimming, snorkelling and searching for dolphins in the waters off the South of Zanzibar. There are numerous, unspoiled coral gardens in this area protected by the Menai Bay Authorities and for every visitor in this area you contribute to the protection of this coral. The snorkelling is for all beginners and experienced persons – there are many different species of coral to enjoy. Once you have finished snorkelling you will enjoy a fresh coconut and eat Zanzibari brittle candy to revive your energy. Continue to search for dolphins when you leave the sandbank as you head for lunch on Kwale Island.
Lunch is provided through a delicious seafood buffet with a choice of different foods to make sure that all are catered for. Eating under the shade of a Tamarind tree on the white sands of the Island surrounded by black coral and the blue Indian Ocean is an unforgettable experience. For desert a selection of over 14 different fruits with an explanation of each before tasting the sweetness of each – all of these exotic fruits which found their way to the Island during the trading era. After an exquisite lunch you will be offered a trial of a traditional catamaran fishing dhow and appreciate how the Zanzibari fisherman masters the waters. From here you will visit a very old 400-year-old Baobab tree where you can take photographs of the tree and enjoy the tropical forest of the Island. As the sun begins to set you will be taken into a beautiful pristine mangrove forest whereby you will enjoy the few precious moments before heading back to Fumba with the sound of the water and the winds in your sails…you remain fixed in the present and lost in the past as you reminisce your peaceful day while being driven back to your hotel.
