The Magic of Zanzibar

Bustling island, like a new country, local and touristy experiences, hustling Stonetown, slowing down, amazing Guesthouse in the sand (literally), wonderful diving spots, from Nungwi to Paje, catching up on some much needed sleep, meeting and being friends with Maasai, not only luxury hotels

Yes, the water is that clear! That alone is magical. 😍

The island is bustling with tourists from all over the world and there is no way you can get bored there. As much as it still is Tanzania, it almost feels like you're in a new country.

Personally, I really love the local experiences in areas that have few to no tourist visiting because that's where I get to experience the real country, people and culture. Now, I won't get into a whole rant about touristic places and why they can be both good and bad for the locals lives.

So instead I'll just share my own experience on Zanzibar and why I still loved it, despite there being more foreigners around.

Stonetown somewhat looks like a busy and hustling city but looking closer there's no rush in anything. "Pole pole" (slowly, slowly) is a way of life widely spread around Tanzania and this place is no different.

We came to Zanzibar for the last few days of my vacation in Tanzania to just slow down from all the travelling around and relax. We took a Dala Dala to Nungwi which is located all the way to the north of the island. We've found ourselves a room in the Makofi Guest House which I can only recommend!

The whole property is in the sand, literally. The shared rooms we booked were quite nice and for some reason I loved the restroom area. There's just something about walking in sand all the time! 😍 Their breakfast was actually very rich with different house made jams, delicious pancakes and eggs, coffee and tee. Everything we would have wanted!

Oh and what was really cool was their Aloe Vera corner! We definitely made use of them for our sunburns. 😁 The staff there was so amazing, no matter who you talked to or interacted with!

Nungwi is also THE starting point for any dives around the island. Our two dives with Fun Divers Zanzibar were absolutely wonderful. I have never seen so many different underwater life in my previous dives before. The fact that we also were only 4 people on our dives, including our instructor, was an awesome bonus. I find that smaller groups like this are so much better and you get to have a more unique experience.

We spent two days in Nungwi and went on to stay in Paje for the remaining days. Paje is a place south-east of the island and much quieter than Nungwi. We were meant to go out in the evening with some friends but that actually never happened. All the travelling around, less sleep and all the amazing impressions we got from our journey must have caught up to us as we slept about 15h. 😄

I sure needed that but the next day I felt already much fresher and relaxed. Our days in Paje consisted of getting breakfast, go to the beach and just chill and in the evening go out with friends we made. Sometimes a girl just gotta do nothing right? 😉

As Gina has been to Zanzibar already twice before she knew quite a few people which we got to meet there. Most of them were actually Maasai. Maasai are an indigenous ethnic group from northern Tanzania and Kenya and a lot of them come to Zanzibar to sell their tribal jewellery to tourists to bring home some money and support their families.

From personal experience, Maasai are quite the fun people to be around. Not all of them speak English well so communication can be a bit of a challenge sometimes. Yes they're there to sell their stuff but they also enjoy making new friends and that's how we got to hang out with them a lot. They even went and did a "Maasai Show" for us for which tourists usually pay for in their hotels. 🙂

And did you know that Maasai can jump over heads? Like, literally! It amazed me every time I saw them jumping, it's so fascinating! 🤩

Yeah, they are a bit of a peculiar group of people but that's what we think of everything we don't know, right? Next time I will definitely visit them at their homes and look forward to learning more about them. 🤗

So all in all, Zanzibar was an experience in itself and sure worth it. I mean, alone the beaches with soft white sand and this stunning clear water are already worth it. Yes, it's touristy but there's actually quite a few ways on how you can somewhat evade it. Zanzibar is not just luxurious hotels on beautiful beaches. 😉

Sabbu ❤️