Zanzibar Holiday Advice

ice_cubes said:
Which hotel did u stay at? I saw some nice reviews & pics for Hilton but I'm not prepared to part with 3grand per night :(

How much did a taxi cost from your hotel to stone town?
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I've stayed at the Doubletree Hilton in Nungwi on two occasions. We found specials online both times. I'd recommend it, but R3K per night is pushing it.

The best place to swim with dolphins is generally said to be Kizimkazi. We did get to swim with dolphins there but it was about a 2 hour long drive from Nungwi in a really sh1tty taxi, and I wouldn't say it is worth it as we got to swim with some dolphins again on the way to Mnemba island.

Spice Tour I'd rank last of the tours to choose to do. Mnemba Island #1, Safari Blue #2. Stone Town and Prison Island you can do on the same day. I would not waste a night staying over in Stone Town again.

My last 2 trips to Zanzibar I've rented a car. You get to see so much more and it's not expensive. Just be prepared for the corrupt cops who want cash bribes.
 
One other thing - get a direct flight on Mango!

If you do a stopover in Tanzania, that airport is a dump. And with a 4 hour layover, there's nothing to do. Unless you can get lounge access, you'll be stuck sitting and waiting with the plebs...
 
Went in September last year flew Kenyan airlines, via Nairobi from Cape Town. Enjoyed the trip, the island is deceivingly large as we stayed on the eastern side so it was a good 40min drive to stone town and most attractions.

We stayed about 15min from Mnemba atoll at a place called Kena Beach Hotel.

It was all inclusive hotel which was average at best, use bookings.com and find a great deal we used a travel agent and didn’t get the same value.

Activities are pretty expensive when your there, scooter rentals, boat trips etc.
 
Sensorei said:
I've stayed at the Doubletree Hilton in Nungwi on two occasions. We found specials online both times. I'd recommend it, but R3K per night is pushing it.

The best place to swim with dolphins is generally said to be Kizimkazi. We did get to swim with dolphins there but it was about a 2 hour long drive from Nungwi in a really sh1tty taxi, and I wouldn't say it is worth it as we got to swim with some dolphins again on the way to Mnemba island.

Spice Tour I'd rank last of the tours to choose to do. Mnemba Island #1, Safari Blue #2. Stone Town and Prison Island you can do on the same day. I would not waste a night staying over in Stone Town again.

My last 2 trips to Zanzibar I've rented a car. You get to see so much more and it's not expensive. Just be prepared for the corrupt cops who want cash bribes.
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WOW! Mnemba island looks stunning :)
Hows the driving compared to SA driving? Last thing I want is to get involved in an accident in another country :(
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
One other thing - get a direct flight on Mango!

If you do a stopover in Tanzania, that airport is a dump. And with a 4 hour layover, there's nothing to do. Unless you can get lounge access, you'll be stuck sitting and waiting with the plebs...
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I'm considering Kenya airlines (6h30m travel time)- I see their stopver time is 2 hours
 
scudsucker said:
Don't go to the northern island (Pemba) unless you are either super-rich or into serious "adventure" travel. Also there are no ATMs that accept foreign cards on Pemba... which for me added to the adventure when I ran out of money.
.
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nice! thanks for the heads up! I was wondering whats there
 
ice_cubes said:
nice! thanks for the heads up! I was wondering whats there
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The snorkling is great and you won't see a lot of tourists (there are lots of super-expensive resorts but they have their own favourite sites) but man oh man it is hard to get around and hard to find decent food & accommodation!

Eventually we found this super rustic place in the harbour - Lala Lodge ( http://goo.gl/Lfk8jT ) which was decent; it had not opened yet but the owner let us stay. I have no idea if he is still in business, I cant see that many tourists going out there. It's got good reviews and apparently still on Booking.com so who knows...

The driving is bad but there's not that much traffic, just go slow. Roadblocks are for bribes, a small note will suffice, or just use the language barrier to fail to understand.
 
scudsucker said:
The snorkling is great and you won't see a lot of tourists (there are lots of super-expensive resorts but they have their own favourite sites) but man oh man it is hard to get around and hard to find decent food & accommodation!

Eventually we found this super rustic place in the harbour - Lala Lodge ( http://goo.gl/Lfk8jT ) which was decent; it had not opened yet but the owner let us stay. I have no idea if he is still in business, I cant see that many tourists going out there. It's got good reviews and apparently still on Booking.com so who knows...

The driving is bad but there's not that much traffic, just go slow. Roadblocks are for bribes, a small note will suffice, or just use the language barrier to fail to understand.
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The pics look great, reminds me of xai-xai.
I think I will stick to the mainland Zanzibar for now. The only thing I love spending money on is shopping :)
 
Looking for hotel recommendations.

Will be staying 2 weeks. Thinking of splitting my stay 1 week per hotel, but the fact that I need to hire a freezer complicates things a bit...
 
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