If you are looking for an exotic escape, this island is the place for you. Turquoise sea who hosts colourful coral reefs and fish, white powdery beaches, tall palm trees, cute animals and lovely people. Zanzibar is all you can dream and more. It feels like an entirely different world, with a rich cultural experience, but at the same time a tranquil setting for pure relaxation. What can I say.. I found my personal slice of paradise! Each corner of this island is perfect for postcards and magazine covers.
We were lucky enough to visit Zanzibar for a week and honestly, we are still pinching ourselves after the amazing experiences we had! This was our first time on the island and we are already looking to go again. We fall in love with this island right at our arrival. The resort where we stayed is not hosting only people , but monkeys, baby bush, crazy birds and amazing locals. How amazing is that!
We are looking for natural beauty, amazing sea life and cute animals and this place didn’t disappoint. I couldn’t help myself and flew drone right after we checked-in and the views were splendid. What made our stay so memorable beside the amazing views and the fabulous sunset, are the animals.
At the resort live a few crazy birds… let’s say not very friendly with the drone, they kept attacking it when it got close to their palms. Oh my, we had the laugh of our life. We are very respectful with wildlife and I took it away when I saw they don’t like to see the drone around their palms. But I have to admit that the moment was pretty fun.
When we think that this can’t get better, well… it got. Each night at dinner are coming baby bush and you can feed them. Just wow! This is not a setting to attract people, all these animals live in the little forest next to the hotel. Is the one in the drone shots. They got used to people, because they know there come (and locals) only good people, that will never harm them and will be just happy to see and feed them.
NAKUPENDA SANDBANK
Nakupenda means “I love you” in Swahili. This slice of paradise is only a boat ride from the main island. I have no doubt that this little piece of heaven loves us judging by all the amazingnes it offers.
We enjoyed a fantastic getaway on a powdery white sand that sits on crystal clear waters under a cobalt blue sky. Here you can have an awesome snorkel above colourful corals and here and there you spot starfish of all sizes. And after the swim we had a delicious picnic lunch. It was a pretty romantic experience that we’ll remember forever.
Lunch was prepared by our captain consisting in a delicious BBQ served with fresh veggies and refreshing beverages. Don’t worry if you are a vegetarian (like me) or vegan, just tell them before the tour. After lunch we went for another snorkel before we come back to the main island.
SNORKELLING
I absolutely love to explore the ocean’s marine life and I always take any opportunity for a good snorkel. If you love to swim with tropical colourful fish around you, like we do ,or even better, if you want to swim with playful wild dolphins, if you dream of ocean exploration and adventure, there is so much underwater fun to be had in the warm waters of Zanzibar.
We organized the trip with a local tour company for 30 Euro. I recommend you to book the trip with the locals, if you chose to do the trip with the resort, they will charge you two times the price easily.
On the way back from the snorkelling trip we were greeted by a herd of dolphins. We had already had the privilege to swim with these majestic creatures in Madeira, Maldives and Panama, but this time was better. While swimming with them, we could hear them singing, they were all around us, playing, being curious. It was unforgettable!
VISIT THE TORTOISE
If you want to spend a few hours in the company of tortoise of hundred year old, you can visit them on Prison Island at Aldabra Giant Tortoise sanctuary. At the sanctuary live a large colony of sea tortoises. Most of them are very old! We were told that the oldest tortoise is 192 years old! Wow! We were so happy to interact and feed by hand the tortoises. They are friendly and sweet.
Four specimens of the Aldabra giant tortoises were received as a gift from the British governor of Seychelles in the year 1919, they found nice conditions to breed within the island. If you want you can also make small donations to the reservation to protect the giant tortoises.
MANGROVE FOREST
As huge wildlife lovers as we are, we had to visit Zanzibar Jozani forest. To walk around the forest is it possible only with a guide, it is not allowed to go without him. The forest is home to Red Columbus monkeys being also the only place where they live now, they are the most endangered in Zanzibar. There are only 1000 of them and you cannot find them anywhere else than in Zanzibar. We found out many interesting facts about the monkeys.
During the walk, the guide gives various and fascinating facts on the vegetation, trees, plants and the tropical (medicine) spices. And after that, you will go to see the mangrove trees. The star of the forest is a 200 year old mahogany tree by the name Mama Mtondoo. The walk was pretty nice.
BEACHES
Zanzibar owns many paradisiac beaches, where you can do water sports, swim, snorkel or just relax. Not even one beach is bad a choice, there is only little time hahaha. Here are a few of my favourite beaches:
- Paradise Island
- Pongwe beach
- Paje beach
- Kizimkazi Mtendeni beach
- Matemwe
PARADISE ISLAND
The resort where we stayed is taking the guests every Friday, for free to Paradise Island. You can arrive here only by boat. Our first thought when we arrived was, this is paradise for sure. It is the classic paradise island with powdery white beaches. Here you can find a little bar where they serve cocktail and fresh juices. The atmosphere is serene and it is not crowded. We had a whole beach only to ourselves.
PONGWE BEACH
No doubt this is one of the best beaches in Zanzibar for swimming! Pongwe is a quiet beach with perfect postcard palm tree decoration which is backed by dense vegetation. The reef is pretty close the the shore so you don’t; have to swim too far to enjoy a nice snorkel.
PAJE BEACH
Stunning views wherever you look, tall palm trees, turquoise water, perfect for snorkel, swim and of course photogenic. The beach is a peaceful little gem with a few bars in case you want to have a juice or a tasty lunch. At the end of the day you can enjoy a pinky sunset.
KIZIMKAZI MTEDENI BEACH
We arrived at this beach by boat and on the way we spotted dolphins. It was pretty awesome. The sand is one of the finest I have ever put my foot on. We had a tasty lunch, prepared by our captain and then we just enjoyed a lovely afternoon in this paradisiac place.
MATEMWE
Another wondeful lagoon full of amazing marine live. Here you can spot dolphins, turtles, colourful tropical fish surrounding beautiful corals. You can find plenty of quieter areas where you can enjoy absolutely stunning views.
SUNSETS
For sure Zanzibar is one of my favourite places in the world. It’s not hard to fall in love with such a beautiful island. Beside the stunning beaches, lovely people and amazing wildlife, here you can live some of the most impressive sunsets. anyways there’s something about Zanzibar sunsets that leave me speechless. Definitely a must see before you die!
Madeleine 𓇼 