This Zanzibar Holiday Package begins in Zanzibar's capital (Zanzibar City) on the main island of the archipelago. Our Zanzibar trip explores this main island, Unguja, often referred to simply as Zanzibar Island.
When you arrive at the international airport just south of Zanzibar City, your driver welcomes you to the island. From the airport, you are transferred to the historic Tembo House Hotel, located right on the seashore in Stone Town.
The rest of the first day is free for you to rest after your trip and explore the city. Take a swim in the hotel's big pool and treat yourself to a luxurious spa treatment to get into holiday mode. Or head out and see the sights of Zanzibar City, with the Old Fort and House of Wonders a mere three-minute walk from the hotel.
In the evening you can go on a culinary adventure at the Forodhani Market in Forodhani Gardens. The gardens are located along the seashore and are very popular for a daytime stroll to enjoy the views of some of Stone Town's historical buildings. But, it is at night that the gardens really come alive, with the bustling evening market. Feast on Zanzibari seafood, pizza, falafel as big as your face, sugar cane juice, enormous samosas, coconut bread, and crepes dripping with ribbons of chocolate syrup.
Alternatively, you can end the first day of your cheap Zanzibar vacation with sundowners on the hotel terrace and dine in the hotel restaurant which serves both local and international dishes.
Accommodation: Tembo House Hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar City (or similar)
Includes: Airport transfer
Day 2: Stone Town - Zanzibar Island
Start day two on Zanzibar Island with breakfast at the historic seaside hotel. After breakfast, your tour guide collects you for a walking tour of Stone Town, the fascinating old part of Zanzibar City. Walking through the winding lanes of Stone Town you'll see the different architectural styles of Zanzibar's diverse cultures and interesting history. From mosques and cathedrals to ornately carved doors.
The city's history is unraveled on a visit to the slave market, where the East African slave trade flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries until being shut down by the British. The old slave market is the site today of the Anglican Cathedral Church of Christ, a building that houses many tributes to the city’s cruel past. One tribute is an altar built over the spot where the whipping post stood. All newly captured African slaves were tied to the tree here and whipped to test their strength.
Other highlights include the Sultan's Palace, now a museum. It was built in the 19th century for the sultan and his family, becoming a government building after the 1964 revolution. We also visit the Arab Fort, the oldest building on Zanzibar Island. The fort was built after the Portuguese were expelled from the island in 1699. The building has had a variety of uses from a garrison and a prison to a railway terminal. These days it is the headquarters of the Zanzibar international film festival.
You can enjoy some retail therapy on the walking tour too. A visit to the bustling market and gift shops gives you a chance to browse the unique crafts and curios of the island. Your knowledgeable local guide shares tales of Stone Town in bygone days and can give you insight into life in Zanzibar.
After an absorbing day exploring Stone Town, it's time to return to the hotel and freshen up before dinner. You can dine at the hotel, eat at Forodhani Market or one of the many local restaurants, the choice is yours.
Accommodation: Tembo House Hotel in Stone Town (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast
Includes: Walking Tour of Stone Town
Day 3: Spice Tour & North Beach Resort – Zanzibar Island
Day three of our cheap Zanzibar Vacation begins with a tasty breakfast at the seaside hotel. Your tour guide then collects you and transfers you to your first beach resort on the northeastern coast of Zanzibar.
Along the way, you stop to take a spice tour of the plantations. Spice is an important industry in Zanzibar. Introduced by the Omani Arabs in the 19th century at a time when spices were a valuable commodity worldwide, spices became Zanzibar's primary income source after the demise of the slave trade. They play an important role in the lives of the Zanzibaris for their use in their cuisine, as a cure for many ailments, and for the dyes and henna that are used for decoration at festivals and weddings. When you see spices such as cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, nutmeg, and turmeric root growing in the plantations, it’s easy to see why Zanzibar is known as 'The Spice Island'.
Taste some of the unusual fruits that are grown here too, such as jack fruit, custard apple, rambutan, and carambola. Henna bush, lipstick tree, and lemongrass are some of the plants grown here too. Uplifted by the aromas of the spice plantation, it’s time to continue to your accommodation at the Ocean Paradise Resort & Spa (or similar) in the north of Zanzibar Island.
Now is the time to sit back, relax and enjoy the tropical beaches and warm Indian Ocean waters. Enjoy dinner at the beach resort in Pwani Mchangani, and fall asleep to the sounds of the Indian Ocean, under the protection of your mosquito net.
Includes: Spice Tour & Transfer to Ocean Paradise Resort & Spa
Days 4 & 5: Ocean Paradise Beach Resort - Zanzibar Island
The next two days of our Zanzibar Holiday Package are spent at the island beach resort. You are free to laze on the beaches and enjoy activities at your leisure.
If watersports are your thing, the resort has a professional PADI accredited dive company on-site to organize and oversee your diving trips. With some of the best diving in the world and a company that knows the choice locations your dive is in good hands. Would love to dive but haven’t before? Then take some tuition from one of the qualified divers.
Other watersports include kayaking, sailing, or windsurfing, or you may choose to take a dolphin tour or a boat trip. On dry land, there is a fitness center, beach volleyball, billiards, and table tennis. If that’s all too energetic for you visit the spa or chill by the pool, soaking up some rays. If you are keen to see more of the island book a tour with the hotel concierge.
Relax in the evening, toast the sunset with a sundowner, and dine to the sounds of a resident, resort band. Fall asleep under your mosquito net to the sounds of the ocean.
Day 6: Jozani Forest & South Beach Resort – Zanzibar Island
This morning, after breakfast at the resort, your guide collects you and transfers you south to your next beach resort. En route, we take a detour to Jozani Forest to visit the only national park in Zanzibar.
This rainforest is home to the red colobus monkey, which is endemic to Zanzibar, along with sykes monkey, bushbabies, wild pigs, and many species of birds and butterflies. The nature trails are lined with mahogany and eucalyptus trees, but the environment changes in the mangrove forest which attracts lizards, reptiles, and birds and is important for the prevention of coastal erosion. Discover the secrets of the mangrove forest as you cross the boardwalk above the murky waters which are an important feeding ground for numerous tropical fish as well as crabs. Look out for the Zanzibar leopard which was last spotted in 2003 and is reputed to be extinct.
After exploring Jozani Forest, you travel on to The Sand Beach Resort on the southeastern shores of Zanzibar Island. The rest of the day is free for you to settle in and enjoy the resort's facilities. Take a lazy stroll along the pristine beach, one of the top 30 island beaches in the world according to Condé Nast Traveller. Enjoy a cocktail at the beach bar, or laze by the pool with a good book.
Sample a fusion of Swahili and international cuisine in the resort restaurant this evening and fall asleep to the sound of the waves.
Accommodation: The Sands Beach Resort in Dongwe
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Includes: Tour of Jozani Forest & Transfer to The Sands Resort
Day 7: The Sands Beach Resort – Zanzibar Island
Spend the last full day of this cheap Zanzibar Holiday relaxing on the beach and enjoying the adventures available at the resort.
The concierge is happy to help you book diving lessons or a scuba dive, surfing, or maybe kite surfing. Laze on the resort's private beach, snorkel in the tropical waters, and take the opportunity to chill before your Zanzibar trip comes to an end.
Dinner at the beach resort is included on the last night.
Accommodation: The Sands Beach Resort in Dongwe (or similar)
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Day 8: Zanzibar Island
This morning, after breakfast, your tour guide collects you for the return trip to the airport. This affordable Zanzibar Holiday Package ends back at the international airport in Zanzibar City.
Meals: Breakfast
Inclusions
Return transfers from Zanzibar Airport to Mnemba Island Lodge
