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Stone Town - Spice Tour - Northwest of Zanzibar
Discovery of the North

A few hours’ drive from Stone Town, at the tip of the Island, you’ll discover Nungwi, a lively destination with many seafood restaurants, bars and activities. If you like a vibrant nightlife, white-sand beaches and a warm sea than this is the place to be. But perhaps you prefer the quieter golden sands of Kendwa, the Eastern side of Nungwi or the more sedate resorts.

It’s on the western coast that you will enjoy the beautiful sunsets of Zanzibar!


Ref. holiday package: ZNZ001
This holiday package can be tailor-made! Different hotel categories are available. Ask us more information!
Meal plans at your choice depending on offered possibilities: Bed & Breakfast, Half board, Full Board or all Inclusive.
What is included?

The holiday package includes: airport transfers, hotel accommodation, meal plans at your choice, half-day guided historical tour of Stone town, half-day guided spice tour. Optional: Visit of Prison Island, Sundown cruise departing from Stone Town, diving & snorkling arrangements and other special interest tours. It Excludes: Airline ticket, beverages, tips, visas, zanzibar departure tax and personal expenses.

Flights to Zanzibar: Several large carriers fly to Entebbe, Kilimanjaro, Nairobi and Nairobi with connecting flights to Zanzibar. There are also domestic flights. flights between Zanzibar and Tanzania's main cities and National Parks. We can assist and arrange your flights.

Departure tax: Harbour tax $5 p.p. - international flight tax $30 p.p. - Domestic flight $5p.'p. - Cash only!

Visa & passports: All visitors require a passport, valid for the duration of their stay, most visitors can get their visa at Zanzibar International Airport at $ 50 per person. Ask us more information.

Duration : 7 Days
Travelstyles : Beach Holidays
Activities : Diving & Snorkeling
Parks & places : Prison Island (Changuu Island), Stone Town, The beaches of Zanzibar


Itinerary

Day 1 : Arrival at Zanzibar (Unguja)

Arrival at the airport or harbour to meet our company representative who will transfer you at the hotel of your choice in Stone Town. You will have a briefing about your stay.

There is a huge range of hotels in and around Stone Town fitting different budgets. Stone Town can be noisy and we therefore recommend one of the hotels at the waterfront.

Depending on your time of arrival you can make an excursion to Prison Island or book the sunset cruise, an excursion on a traditional Dhow, starting in the late afternoon and cruising along the Zanzibar (Unguja) coast. Romantic!

Stone Town: For many centuries there was intense seaborne trading activity between Asia and Africa, and this is illustrated in an exceptional manner by the architecture and urban structure of the Stone Town. Zanzibar has great symbolic importance in the suppression of slavery, since it was one of the main slave-trading ports in East Africa and also the base from which its opponents such as David Livingstone conducted their campaign.

Accommodation : 236 Hurumzi (***), Africa House (***), Beyt al Chai (****), Dhow Palace Hotel (***), Mbweni Ruins Hotel (***), Mtoni Marine (****), Serena Inn (*****), Tembo Hotel (***)
Parks & places : Prison Island (Changuu Island), Stone Town

Day 2 : Discovery of Stone Town

Our Guide will pick you up after breakfast for a half-day guided historical tour. Stone Town is the cultural and historical heart of Zanzibar and very fascinating. The best way of getting around the town is on foot. Distances are relatively short and most of the streets are too narrow for cars. During your historical tour, your guide will show you the most important places not to miss: The House of Wonders with its balconies, which houses the Zanzibar National Museum of History and Culture, the Portuguese cannons, the Arab Fort, the Great Slave Market and much more.

In the afternoon we recommend you to continue your discovery of Stone Town. You can spend many idle hours and days just wandering through the fascinating labyrinth of narrow streets.The guided tour in the morning will help to find your way in Stone Town.

You can do some shopping; a good place to start with is the Central Darajani Local Market on creek Road. Do not buy the first thing you see, take your time and you must always bargain with the vendors or try to set the prices off against each other. This is their way of doing business!

There are good tourist shops in Stone Town: Zanizbar Gallery (Kenyata Avenue), Memories of Zanzibar (opposite the post office) and Hurumzi Art & Craft Gallery (Hurumzi Street).

At the end of the afternoon we propose you to experience one of Zanzibar’s oldest tradition for a rendez-vous at the "Sunset Bar " at the Africa House Hotel along Shangani Road. Enjoy with a drink the fantastic panorama as the sun sets over the magical Indian Ocean!

In the evening you really need to visit the Forodhani Gardens. The name “forodhani� means a ship’s cargo or a reloading place. This alludes to the slave trade, when slaves landed here and were being taken to the market. You can relax here during the day but the place really comes alive after sunset. Then it hosts the best street food market with an enormous variety. It’s one of the cheapest places to eat but it’s always good to check if everything is really fresh (especially in low season) .

Overnight at hotel of your choice. B/B

Stone Town is a UNESCO world heritage cultural site: It's a fine example of the Swahili coastal trading towns of East Africa. It retains its urban fabric and town scape virtually intact and contains many fine buildings that reflect its particular culture, which has brought together and homogenized disparate elements of the cultures of Africa, the Arab region, India, and Europe over more than a millennium.

Accommodation : 236 Hurumzi (***), Africa House (***), Beyt al Chai (****), Dhow Palace Hotel (***), Mbweni Ruins Hotel (***), Mtoni Marine (****), Serena Inn (*****), Tembo Hotel (***)
Parks & places : Stone Town

Day 3 : Spice Tour and transfer to the North

In the morning you leave for a half-day Spice Tour, which is almost obligatory when you visit Zanzibar. Long before 1498 with Vasco da Gama’s opening of the sea route to India, Zanzibar had traded spices with Arabia, India and even with China and the Far East. The Omanis, who succeeded the Portuguese, found that Zanzibar’s climate was perfect for the cultivation of spices.

It’s a very popular excursion and you will learn a few things about the herbs, spices and fruits for which the island is very famous. You will have the opportunity for smelling and tasting and a guide will give you fascinating descriptions of their uses.

After lunch we continue to the North coast and you will have the afternoon free to relax at the beach or in your hotel.

Accommodation at your choice.

Accommodation : Flame Tree Cottages (**), La Gemma (*****), LangiLangi (***), Sunset Resort (***), Tanzanite Resort (**), The Z hotel (****)

Day 4 : Relaxing at Nungwi or Kendwa

You can do as much or as little as you want. You have the option of going out to sea, for swimming, snorkeling/diving or you can stay at your hotel or at the beach in search of your own spot in the sun.

Otherwise we have several suggestions:

Visit of Nungwi Village that is known as a dhow building centre. (Dhow = ship with a lateen sail or sails and a raised deck at the stern). Generations of skilled craftsmen work on the beach outside the village, to turn planks of wood into strong ocean-going boats, using only the simplest of tools. It’s very fascinating and the builders are used to visitors but ask before you use your camera because most do not like having their photos taken.

Mnarani Aquarium: At the northern tip of the Island – Ras Nungwi – stands a lighthouse and just before the lighthouse you’ll find a small natural pond that contains dozens of endangered turtles. The first turtles were brought in 1993 and new arrivals come from fishermen who catch them occasionally in their nets. There’s a walkway over the pond from where you can feed seaweed.

Sunset Dhow: Enjoy the romance of Africa while the sun sets down with its beautiful colors.

Accommodation at your choice.

Accommodation : Flame Tree Cottages (**), La Gemma (*****), LangiLangi (***), Sunset Resort (***), Tanzanite Resort (**), The Z hotel (****)
Activities : Diving & Snorkeling
Parks & places : The beaches of Zanzibar

Day 5 : Relaxing at Nungwi or Kendwa

Kendwa and Nungwi are beaches with good swimming facilities 24 hours per day since the water gets deep quickly. Another leisure day with the possibility of visiting the dhow building, the turtle sanctuary or in the evening, enjoying the sunset.

If you stay at Kendwa: Kendwa is about 3 km from Nungwi, an easy walk along the beach during low tide, but impossible at high tide. You could perhaps walk to Nungwi at low tide (30 minutes) and take the sunset cruise from there and ask to be dropped off at Kendwa.

If you stay at Nungwi East: Consider a day excursion to Mnemba atoll. This stunning coral atoll was recently declared a marine conservation area, offering a unique opportunity to both divers and snorkellers to experience the best of Zanzibar’s underwater world. Some Hotels organize their own day trips.

Accommodation at your choice.

Accommodation : Flame Tree Cottages (**), La Gemma (*****), LangiLangi (***), Sunset Resort (***), Tanzanite Resort (**), The Z hotel (****)
Activities : Diving & Snorkeling
Parks & places : The beaches of Zanzibar

Day 6 : Relaxing at Nungwi or Kendwa

Another day at leisure on the beautiful beaches of Kendwa or Nungwi. Accommodation at your choice.

Depending on the departure time of your flight it might be necessary to return to Stone Town for overnight. You can choose to leave in the morning and spend a half day at Prison Island or if you have missed the sunset cruise book it for the late afternoon at Stone Town.

Alternatively you can stay at Mtoni Marine Centre which is on the waterfront North of Stone Town (15 min). Another option is Mbweni Ruins Hotel South of Stone Town (10 min).

Accommodation : Flame Tree Cottages (**), La Gemma (*****), LangiLangi (***), Sunset Resort (***), Tanzanite Resort (**), The Z hotel (****)
Activities : Diving & Snorkeling
Parks & places : Prison Island (Changuu Island), Stone Town, The beaches of Zanzibar

Day 7 : Departure

You will be picked up at your hotel to be transferred at the airport for your depature! Zanibar International Airport (Kisauni) lies 6 km South of Stone Town.

Please keep in mind that there is a departure tax of $ 30 at the airport! The airport tax is not included in your ticket!