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A dhow under full sail at sunset off the coast of Zanzibar
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Zanzibar

Unguja island · Indian Ocean, Tanzania

Reefs, spice farms and a coral-stone old town, planned around the tide by a concierge who lives on the island.

Weather

Stone Town · now
29°CSunny spellsFeels like 32°
Sea
27°C
Wind SE
16 km/h
Sunset
18:21

Explore map

Open
Stone TownJozaniPajeNungwi

Stone Town → Pajeabout 1 h by road

Experiences

Days on the island, timed to the tide

Each one is run by a local guide we know by name, priced up front, and scheduled around tide and wind so you are never waiting on the sea.

A traditional dhow sailing at sunset with the sun behind its sail Sea · Culture

Sunset dhow from Stone Town

Board on the beach below Forodhani at five. Lateen sail up, sun down, back before dark.

2 hours · dailyfrom $45 pp
A hawksbill turtle swimming over a coral reef Sea

Mnemba reef snorkel

Clear water off the north-east coast, with a guide in the water and the marine-park fee included.

Half day · from Matemwefrom $70 pp
A Zanzibar red colobus monkey climbing through leaves Nature

Jozani forest walk

Red colobus monkeys, found only in Zanzibar, then the mangrove boardwalk at the forest edge.

3 hours · morningfrom $35 pp
Hands opening an annatto pod to show its red seeds Food & spice

Spice farm & lunch

Cloves, nutmeg, vanilla and annatto, tasted straight off the branch, then lunch cooked with them.

4 hours · lunch includedfrom $40 pp
Seafood skewers and breads lit by lanterns at the Forodhani night market Food & spice

Forodhani after dark

Grilled octopus, Zanzibar pizza and fresh sugarcane juice, with someone who knows which stall.

2 hours · from 18:30from $25 pp
A kitesurfer crossing a turquoise lagoon past a moored boat Sea · Wind

First kite lesson, Paje

A wide, shallow lagoon and a steady breeze: one of the kindest places on the coast to learn.

3 hours · Jun–Sep, Dec–Febfrom $120 pp

Where to base yourself

Four coasts, four tempers

The island is about 85 km long. Where you sleep decides how you swim, what you eat and how the tide shapes your mornings.

Mnemba Jozani Chwaka Bay Airport INDIAN OCEANZanzibar Channel N STONE TOWN NUNGWI PAJE JAMBIANI
Base areasMain roads from the airportReef and lagoon
Aerial view of Stone Town's waterfront and rooftops

West coast

Stone Town

Coral-stone lanes, carved doors and rooftop dinners. Start here for two nights: it is 15 minutes from the airport and the island's food capital.

  • Culture & food
  • 15 min from airport
  • Swim: not the point
Nungwi beach at golden hour with boats on turquoise water

North tip

Nungwi & Kendwa

Deeper water close to shore, so you can swim at most tides, and the sun sets over the sea. Livelier evenings.

  • Swimming
  • Sunsets
  • About 1 h 15 from airport
A wide shallow lagoon at low tide on the east coast

South-east

Paje

White sand, a huge shallow lagoon and steady wind: the island's kite centre. At low tide the sea pulls back far over the flats.

  • Kite & wind
  • Big tides
  • About 1 h from airport
A boat resting in shallow water with a figure walking the tidal flats

South-east

Jambiani

A long village beach with seaweed farms on the flats. Quieter, slower and good value. Plan swims around high tide.

  • Slow travel
  • Village life
  • About 1 h 10 from airport

Trip planner

Sketch it here. We finish it.

Move the sliders and watch a first draft take shape. Send it over and a concierge turns it into a real, bookable plan within a day.

7 nights

When are you coming?October

How do you like to stay?
Pace
What pulls you there?

Your draft

7 nights, two coasts

Warm and mostly dry before the short rains.

    Estimate for two, sharing

    $0

    stays · experiences · transfers

    Send this draft to a concierge

    A starting point, not a quote. Your concierge confirms real availability and prices.

    Stays

    Forty places we would send our families

    Every stay is visited before it is listed, booked direct with the owner, and chosen for where it sits against the tide.

    Ask for the full list
    Palm-thatched huts behind a white beach and turquoise lagoon
    Paje · lagoon front

    Tidewater Bungalows

    Eight thatched bungalows on the sand, a kite school next door and breakfast on the deck at low tide.

    • 8 bungalows
    • Breakfast included
    • Kite storage
    $120 / nightEnquire
    White sand and clear turquoise water at Nungwi, with boats moored offshore
    Nungwi · north tip

    Canopy Point

    Five sea-view suites above the beach, day beds on the sand and a swim at almost any tide.

    • 5 suites
    • Sunset terrace
    • Plunge pool
    $210 / nightEnquire
    A thatched beach umbrella on white sand under a blue sky
    Jambiani · village beach

    Low Tide House

    Four rooms in a family-run house, walks to the seaweed farms and fish grilled on the beach at night.

    • 4 rooms
    • Family run
    • Dinner on request
    $85 / nightEnquire
    The monsoon year: the kaskazi wind blows from the north-east from about December to March, the kusi from the south-east from about June to September, with rains in between. JFMAMJJASOND KASKAZI · NORTH-EAST KUSI · SOUTH-EAST NESW
    • Kaskazi Dec–Mar · hot, calm mornings
    • Kusi Jun–Sep · cooler, kite season
    • Rains Apr–May, Nov

    About Upepo

    Upepo means wind

    For centuries the monsoon winds set the sailing calendar of the Swahili coast: the kaskazi from the north-east, the kusi from the south. We plan around the island's rhythms the same way. Tide, wind and season first; everything else after.

    1. Tell us your dates and paceUse the planner above, or just write a few lines.
    2. Get a day-by-day draft within 24 hoursStays, experiences and transfers, with real prices.
    3. We book it and stay on callOne concierge from arrival to departure, 08:00–20:00 every day.
    4coasts covered, from Nungwi to Jambiani
    40stays, each visited before listing
    26experiences with local guides
    24 hto your first itinerary draft

    Journal

    Field notes from the island

    Get the monthly letter
    A fisherman carrying a woven trap across the shallows under a grey sky
    Guide · 6 min read

    The tide decides: planning a day on the east coast

    Why a Paje morning starts with a tide table, and how to time swims, walks and lunch around it.

     Green clove buds on a branch
    Food · 4 min read

    Clove country: a morning on a spice farm

     A busy night food market under trees, lit by lamps
    Food · 5 min read

    Forodhani after dark: what to order first

    Concierge desk

    Tell us when.

    A real person reads every message and replies the same day with questions or a first draft.

    Thank you. This is a concept site, so nothing was sent. WebAxis can wire this up for real.

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