Zanzibar is technically part of Tanzania, but it earns its own entry here because almost nobody visits it the same way they visit a savannah park. This is Unguja Island, roughly 25 km off Dar es Salaam, built on centuries of Persian, Arab, Indian and European trade in cloves, ivory and, for a long stretch of its history, people. Stone Town carries that history in its coral-stone buildings and carved doors; the beaches to the north and east carry almost none of it, which is rather the point of going there.
The island works in two distinct modes. Stone Town rewards a day or two of walking, eating and looking at buildings that have not been renovated into blandness. The beach towns — Nungwi and Kendwa in the north, Paje and Jambiani on the east coast — are where most travellers actually spend their nights, chosen by whether they want nightlife (Nungwi), quiet (Kendwa) or kitesurfing (Paje). Jozani Forest, the island’s only national park, adds a half-day of red colobus monkeys inland, and the reefs around Mnemba Atoll off the northeast tip are the best diving and snorkelling in local range.
June to October is the reliable dry season and the natural pairing with a Tanzanian mainland safari that ends around the same months. Rain is heaviest in April and May, when many beach hotels drop rates sharply for anyone unbothered by daily showers. Four to six days covers Stone Town and one beach base comfortably; longer trips usually mean island-hopping to a second beach or extra diving days.
Zanzibar’s own airport, Abeid Amani Karume International, takes direct flights from several European cities as well as short hops from Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Nairobi. Once on the island, transfers run by road — 45 minutes to Stone Town, up to two hours to the far beaches.
Most travellers arrive here at the end of a mainland safari rather than the start of one, using Zanzibar’s beaches to decompress after a week or two of early game drives. That sequencing works well: nothing about the island demands an early start, and the pace shift from savanna dust to ocean humidity is part of the point rather than an inconvenience to plan around.
Official visitor information for Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania is published by the Tanzania Tourist Board.
