Sunday 7 October 2018

Travel Guide: Karibu Zanzibar


This blog post is wayyy overdue as I was in Zanzibar in March but for some reason I felt discouraged and thought people don't really read blog posts anymore until someone said to me, hey I'm still waiting for your blog post from Zanzibar! I was so surprised! But anyways, here it is...

I'm someone who always wants to explore something new so I rarely want to go back to a place I've been before. Zanzibar was different. Zanzibar felt like an untouched Island with loads of beautiful places that weren't really explore yet. Visiting there made me feel free and in tune with myself and the surroundings. It's definitely not a party island and rather for relaxation and exploring. You're very confronted with a different culture and the fascinating Maasai and it makes you want to know everything about it.

The first few nights we stayed at the Best Western Hotel in Stone Town, which I didn't really like as the room was tiny and super dark and I just expected a little more from the reviews online even though it was quite reasonable. We then changed to the Maru Maru Hotel, which was a bit more expensive but very good value for money, I'd definitely go there again. There's a rooftop bar/ restaurant and pool, the rooms are bright, large and always clean and service is excellent. They even Mosquito nets over the beds and come in twice a day to spray repellent. (Definitely take all the mosquito repellent you can find for your visit there!!!)


What I most liked about Zanzibar is that you can do Island hopping and snorkelling. There are a few seemingly untouched Islands, where you can get by boat and even one private Island. We only stopped there for a little bit as there are police officers protecting it.

We had a really nice guide for the whole time we stayed there and we were happy to have him since he showed us all the hidden places and took us everywhere we wanted. 

You should definitely visit the following places when in Zanzibar:

- Do Island hopping - You can go around the Islands with a little boat, just go to the beach and there are loads of boats and someone will make you a good price. We went snorkelling twice and it's so worth it! 

- The Rock Restaurant - It's quite expensive to eat there but worth a visit for the view. We only had Cocktails there and then went to eat at a local place in the next village. Exploring local places is so important, I can't stress it enough. That's how you really get to know a country and culture.

- Kendwa beach - most beautiful white sand beach

- Stone Town - Visit the local market in Stone Town, it definitely is an experience and you can experience the culture first hand.

- Lukeman restaurant in Stone Town - Local food for a very reasonable price, we ate there almost every day and it was delicious!!!

- Prison Island - You'll see huge turtles, so get your cameras ready!

- Rooftop bar The Swahili House - I recommend going there to see the sunset, it's beautiful!

- Mnarani Marine Turtles Conservation Pond

- Concept store Kangaa Africa -  A little shop in the streets of Stone Town 

- Mrembo Spa - A local shop where a lovely woman from Austria, who married in Zanzibar, is selling local products like Shea butter, Coconut Body Butter, Coconut Soap etc. It's a must visit! 

- Night market - The night market is by the pier and it's on every night. People sell freshly made food, mostly seafood they caught on the day and meat as well. You can also get freshly pressed sugar cane juice, which I LOVED! It's super cheap and instead of eating in overpriced tourists places, this is the best thing you can do really. And the food is even better than in restaurants! 

- Doreen Mashika - A boutique known for Fashion made in Zanzibar. Very cute boutique, slightly expensive but definitely worth a visit! 

Btw, the places where you pay in US dollars are mostly overpriced tourists places, it's good to look for something where you can pay in they local currency and it's always cash!

Oh I should probably mention, if you don't like cats like myself, you'll have a hard time there because cats are literally EVERYWHERE, lol.

I hope this helped and gave you a little bit of insight of Zanzibar!


Love, Drea
xxx
















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