Zanzibar Island Things to Do

Stone town is how the capital city of Zanzibar is usually called in English. It is the most historic town in Eastern Africa and the hub of the Swahili culture.

Zanzibar has been the capital of sultanates, a center for trade in the Indian ocean and the departure point for many adventurers that organised expeditions in the remote and unknown Rift Valley.

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Zanzibar is very densely populated and most of the original vegetation has been logged down for timber and in order to clear espace for plantations. One of the few areas that have been kept in their original condition is the tiny "Jozani Forest", which is home to the extraordinary rare red colobus of Zanzibar, one of the most endangered ape species in the world.

On Nungwi our tour group organised with one of the bars our own personal beach party. It was the birthday of Rod who became a bit of a tagalong group member and friend of mine, so we bargained a deal for the night (our bartering skills were certainly improving by this stage of tour) and organised punch and a bonfire on the beach of one of Nungwi's beach huts. I dont remember the name of it now. It was a really good night. They chucked in a free pineapple cocktail for Rod for his birthday and it was the most awesome location for a party you can ever imagine.

This is a giant tortoise, on Prison Island, a small island off the coast of Zanzibar. The tortoises are protected, as they were nearly completely destroyed by poachers as recently as 1990. Massive and strong, with sure, deliberate movements. The chomp of the tortoise's bite is so solid that the creature seemed almost prehistoric.

These tortoises are not native to Prison Island, they were introduced by the Sultan of Oman, who imported them from the Seychelles.

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Built in 1883 on the site of Zanzibar Queen Fatuma's residence. This was the first building in Zanzibar to have electric lights and the first in East Africa to have an elevator. It was damaged in 1896 during the Shortest War in History (only lasting 40 minute).

Go on a spice tour. Visit a spice farm and let the owner take you round showing you the 100's of different spices growing.

It will only cost you a few pounds and every hotel on the island will either run trips of their own or will sort it out for you.

I must admit I wasn't really that excited about going on a spice tour, but it was excellent.

For $10 USD you can hire a boat to take you out to the coral reef (when it's high tide) where you can discover some of the beautiful underwater creatures of Zanzibar.

But do note that the boatmen speak no English, the waters can be choppy, and if you soon find yourself gulping down salty water before getting a chance to greet the golden fishies, don't mind the non-English speaking boatmen laughing at you.......

Other than that, the azure waters of the Indian Ocean feels like a warm bath.

The water is beautifully clear and really warm. For an inexperienced diver/snorkler it is a great place to play as it is so save and really accessible.

Get a boat out to the old Prison island. Should only cost about $30 for a couple. Stay all day and go and see the giant tortoises that live there. They are brilliant.