How I Spent A Perfect 2 Weeks in Zanzibar (Recommendations)
How I Spent A Perfect 2 Weeks in Zanzibar (Recommendations). With 2 weeks in Zanzibar, you can experience it all, staying on different beaches and getting immersed in the local culture. This 2 Weeks in Zanzibar Itinerary takes to Kendwa, Stone Town, Paje, Pemba, and Zanzibar Town.
Blue lagoons glitter as they lap against pristine, broad beaches. Wooden dhows can transport you to lonely islands by sailing on the breeze. Your path through Stone Town’s maze-like lanes will be illuminated by exotic scents and noises. As you begin your ideal two-week holiday in Zanzibar, culture and history converge with the promise of a beautiful beach. This 2 weeks in Zanzibar vacation covers the best of the archipelago and includes all the best beaches and unique local attractions. It is both an experiential and an escapism vacation.
Customizable Itinerary
Day 1: Kendwa – Indulgence on the Northern Beaches
It would resemble Kendwa if you were to imagine Zanzibar. It would have a long, white beach with soft sand that will squeak under your feet, patches of forest, palm trees that tower over the homes, and coral cliffs that are translucent in color and shape. The most well-known beaches on the island, which are the picture-postcard settings that have helped put Zanzibar on the tourist map, are located in the north of the island. From the airport, a one-hour drive will take you to Kendwa, where you can settle into your beachfront home and start indulging. You may go out into the sand from your bungalow and proceed to Nungwe.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Accommodation, Tour & Breakfast
The Best Place in ZANZIBAR! (KENDWA)
Day 2 – 4 Kendwa – Classic Zanzibar: Beaches, Snorkeling, Seafood, and Tranquility
The most well-known and popular beach resort on Zanzibar is Nungwe. It has a line of resorts and wooden seashore eateries, and it extends eastward from the northernmost point of the island. The only location where hotels and resorts can also be found inland is here. If you want it to be, Nungwe can be exciting. There is a great assortment of restaurants, including seafood shacks where you can eat with your feet in the sand.
The two-mile stretch of generally open, coral-fringed beach that separates Kendwa from Nungwe is situated to the west of the latter. On the western border of Kendwa, away from where most visitors go, is where your resort will be situated. Even though the beach is public, it is exceedingly unlikely that there will be more than a few individuals there at any given time. Local fisherman leaving for their dhows are most often the people you see walking along the beach. Staying here will allow you to experience the famous northern beaches and activities in privacy and tranquillity that are more in line with the vibe of the island.
The bays will be covered in coral reefs, and the snorkeling in this area is excellent. On a boat tour to small reefs, you will snorkel alongside rays, reef sharks, and turtles. You will see the widest variety of marine life around Zanzibar’s northern coast, from small black and purple striped fish to lazily swimming groupers. The best dive spots are located off the northern and northwest coast, and there are several dive operations based here. These three days won’t have any scheduled activities, so you can spend them anyway you like on your Zanzibar vacation.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Accommodation, Tour & Breakfast
Day 5 Stone Town – Historical Walking Tour Through a Maze of Coral Houses
You will return south to Stone Town, a World Heritage Site built up of closely spaced coral buildings, after passing through verdant plantations. Here, donkey carts pulling produce and fish will cram through the passageways. As you find mosques, temples, and churches close to one another, aromas and unusual sounds will mix. Darajani Bazaar, where spices stream from kiosks and vendors wear brightly colored clothing, will become more energetic. The Anglican Cathedral of Christ Church, which was constructed on top of the Old Slave Market, will then become dark. Additionally, you will go to Tippu Tip’s House, the former residence of the well-known slave trader and maybe the second most well-known Zanzibari after late Queen vocalist Freddy Mercury.
Continue your walking tour of the town to connect nearly a thousand years of history. The Hamamni Baths’ domed ceilings have magnificent geometric designs with a Persian aesthetic. You can bridge cultures in the Old Dispensary, and you may admire the subtleties of Zanzibari architecture at waterfront palaces. The day will come to a conclusion in the Forodhani Gardens, where locals and guests congregate to unwind by the water and dine from the local barbeque vendors.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Accommodation, Tour & Breakfast
Zanzibar Stone Town
Day 6 Stone Town – Full-Day Traditional Dhow Sailing Cruise
To the west of Stone Town, sandbanks will gleam white, and abandoned islands will resemble fanciful scenes from a Robinson Crusoe tale. At low tide, coral outcrops will protrude above the water. As you travel toward the continent of Africa today, you will be on a classic wooden dhow with the wind in your sails. You can get off the boat whenever you want to go snorkeling. You can stop at Prison Island for a BBQ lunch and unwind on the island’s beach while getting some sun as you pass sandbanks. There may also be tortoises around, some of which can reach 150 years old and weigh almost 500 pounds. You will return after this full-day dhow cruise.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Accommodation, Tour & Breakfast
Day 7 Stone Town – Exploring the Spice Plantations
On the way to the spice farms in Zanzibar, two ominous caves will make for sad tales. Slaves were housed in the Mangapwani Slave Chamber and Mangapwani Coral Cave before being sent to the Middle East and Asia. It will appear as though tales are being whispered from the cave walls because this tradition persisted throughout the 19th century. Once you get to the spice plantations, the gorgeous vegetation and fragrant aromas will seem even more brilliant. They’ll alter the story to transport you to fragrant and tropical settings. With a head grower, you will tour a farm and learn about cloves, cardamom, vanilla, and a dozen other spices. Additionally, you will tour sizable fruit plantations and sample some fruit directly from the trees. You will return to Stone Town after lunch at the plantation, where you will have the afternoon at your leisure.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Accommodation, Tour & Breakfast
ZANZIBAR – (Spice tour, Prison island & Stone Town)
Day 8 Stone Town – Zanzibari Artisans and Cooking
In Stone Town, artisans are still creating elaborate doors. They still combine Swahili and Arabian art, developing a look that has changed throughout the years. Many of the Stone Town doors have probably already been admired and captured on camera. You may see how they are constructed and what each component means from a craftsman. Another cultural element that will bring together many influences is gastronomy. Great, regional cuisine is further aided by the availability of so many fresh spices and seafood for cooking. Following your visit to the plantation, you’ll enter a restaurant kitchen for a fun workshop where you’ll create some traditional meals including pilaf. In Africa’s most culturally diverse country, you will indulge in the creations before another quiet day.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Accommodation, Tour & Breakfast
Day 9 Paje – Monkeys in the Forest and the Empty Eastern Coast
If you travel east, you will come across woods in the center of Zanzibar, where endangered colobus monkeys will sit gracefully in the treetops. With their white beards and dark faces, they will resemble a sign of peace when viewed from a distance. Their backs are lined with shimmering crimson fur, which enhances their graceful appearance. Along with a wonderful variety of birds, duiker, an antelope species, graze Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park. You will spend two hours taking a stroll through the forest where you will get up close and personal with the less than 1000 red colobus monkeys who are still free in the wild. You will then drive for another 20 minutes to Paje, where your resort will be pleasantly waiting on the deserted eastern shore.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Accommodation, Tour & Breakfast
Day 10 Paje – Swimming with Dolphins and Lounging on the Beach
Every morning, dolphins travel to Kizimkazi Bay. They come here in the early morning to eat fish, and by around nine in the morning, they are back in the open ocean. Therefore, you must get going early today. Kizimkazi is about a 40-minute drive from Paje. Large dolphin pods will be playing in the shallows just before sunrise as you arrive, frolicking and somersaulting after their feast. These dolphins are wild, and you may dive in the water with them to swim beside them while seeing their graceful spins and hearing their underwater tweets and squeaks. Despite the early start, the rest of the day will be spent in paradise where you can fall asleep by the beach.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Accommodation, Tour & Breakfast
Hanging out with dolphins in Paje, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Day 11 Paje – Another Day in Paradise
The southeast shore of Zanzibar is unassuming and low-rise. At low tide, you can stroll the entire 20-mile stretch of coastline without interruption. With the exception of high tide, the ocean transforms into a lagoon where you may wade out to knee deep to observe marine life without using a snorkel. These waters will be welcoming and secure even during high tide, making them ideal for lounging in while taking in the sky. Kite surfers have made Paje a popular destination, and Jambiani, a nearby town, offers a variety of lodging options.
There aren’t many resorts further up the shore. The expansive and peaceful beaches here will be a perfect getaway from the outside world, and three days will be enough time to really get into the routine. The Rock, one of Africa’s most renowned restaurants, is located on a remote coral outcrop just off the coast and you might want to visit it this afternoon.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Accommodation, Tour & Breakfast
We highly recommended a client to request for advice from a knowledgeable local expert regarding visiting Pemba Island. Kindly note Kabira Safaris Africa is your local expert company;
Day 12 Pemba – Scenic Flight and Underwater Suite
On the picturesque flight from Zanzibar Town to the sister island of Pemba, turquoise hues will extend beneath the wingtips as you soar above the archipelago. You will arrive on an island of unending delight where you may take in the view and enjoy the dense trees that descend to the beach. Then you will enter your underwater apartment and savor the irresistibility. It will be similar to scuba diving to lie back on the bed, only without getting wet. Sharks and turtles will be among the animals that pass by while you are enclosed in a dome and surrounded by a natural aquarium. Even after it gets dark, the show will go on with lights that will enchant marine life of all kinds and put the ocean in a beautiful glow.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Accommodation, Tour & Breakfast
Pemba island, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Day 13 Pemba – Sleeping in a Natural Aquarium
You can stroll barefoot down the beaches and into the lagoon-like waters today like you would any other day in paradise. You can take a nap in the shade provided by the palm trees or go snorkeling over your suite. You’ll occasionally want to come back to your room to enjoy nature’s performance in the aquarium that rises above your head. Every evening, there will be fresh fish on the menu, generally tuna and marlin. There will be tons of tropical fruit, and the environment makes it seem like you should lose all sense of time. Pemba is even more laid back than Zanzibar, largely because there aren’t many tourists there. It’ll be the perfect way to wrap up two weeks spent in the archipelago. The next fantastic tropical island you just visited may be the subject of articles published in 20 years. They’ll be discussing Pemba. It remains a secret treasure in the world of quiet vacations for the time being.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Accommodation, Tour & Breakfast
Day 14 Zanzibar Town – Departure
You will fly over the archipelago and awaken to sharks. You will then get on your foreign airplane. The past two weeks are over, but they will undoubtedly never be forgotten.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Transfer & Breakfast
End of the 2 Weeks in Zanzibar
