Itinerary · 7 days · 29 places
7 Days in Zanzibar
A week in Zanzibar across three bases: first Stone Town with the Darajani Market, the slave market memorial and a whole day among spice farms and sultans' palaces, then the northern tip near Nungwi with the Mnemba reef, and finally the east coast with Jozani Forest and the lagoon beaches of Paje and Jambiani.
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Photo: Mustafa Mašetić · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arrival in Stone Town
Arrival in Zanzibar
Hotel check-in
A base in the Shangani quarter at the western tip of the old town, where the lanes lead to the sea and Forodhani Park in a few minutes.
Forodhani Gardens
On the waterfront lawn in front of the Old Fort, grill stalls sizzle from nightfall with fish skewers, cassava and Zanzibari mishkaki.
Day 2Stone Town — market, slave market & palaces
Darajani Market
The covered market hall from 1904 with spice stalls, a fish hall and fruit alleys — liveliest in the morning before the heat sets in.
Anglican Cathedral and Slave Market Memorial
Christ Church stands on the site of the former slave market; beneath the neighbouring building the low dungeons survive where people were locked up before being auctioned.
Old Fort (Ngome Kongwe)
The Omani fortress from 1699 with a courtyard, amphitheatre and craft shops right next to Forodhani Park.
House of Wonders (Beit al-Ajaib)
Sultan Barghash's palace from 1883 was the first building in East Africa with electric light; since its partial collapse in 2020 it has been under restoration and can be viewed from outside.
Freddie Mercury House
Farrokh Bulsara's birthplace in Shangani displays photos and mementoes of his Zanzibari-Parsi family in a few rooms.
Old Dispensary (Ithnashiri Dispensary)
The ornate green-and-white building by the harbour from 1894, with carved wooden balconies and stained glass, is considered the island's finest example of Indian-influenced architecture.
Evening: sundowner terrace at Africa House
The sea terrace of the old English clubhouse is the classic spot for watching the dhows, and the bar stays open late.
Day 3Spice farms & sultans' palaces
Kizimbani Spice Farm
On the state plantations east of town, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon and ylang-ylang are cut open and tasted straight from the bush.
Kidichi Persian Baths
The bathhouse that Sultan Said had built in 1850 for his Persian wife Scheherazade is the only building on the island with Persian stucco reliefs.
Maruhubi Palace Ruins
Of the harem palace built in 1882 and destroyed by fire in 1899, rows of columns, the aqueduct and the large water basins still stand in a palm grove by the sea.
Mtoni Palace Ruins
The island's oldest sultan's palace, where Princess Salme grew up; walls and arches of the bathing hall and the Persian bath survive.
Mbweni Ruins
The remains of the Anglican girls' mission from 1871 lie in a botanical garden with mangroves and baobabs by the water.
Evening: stroll through the lanes of Hurumzi
The quarter around Hurumzi Street, with carved doors, small shops and tea restaurants, is most pleasant to wander in the evening.
Day 4On to the northern tip at Nungwi
Onward to Nungwi
Hotel check-in
Nungwi Dhow Shipyard
On the beach behind the village, wooden dhows are still built, dowelled and caulked by hand without plans.
Mnarani Marine Turtle Conservation Pond
Injured green turtles and ones bought from fishermen are kept in a natural tidal pool and later released.
Ras Nungwi Lighthouse
The white lighthouse from 1886 marks the northern tip, where the east and west coasts meet at a sharp edge.
Nungwi Beach
The wide western sandy beach is barely affected by the tides, making it one of the few places on the island where you can swim all day.
Evening: Cholo's Bar on Nungwi beach
The driftwood beach bar with a bonfire and reggae is the meeting point at the northern tip.
Day 5Mnemba reef & Kendwa
Mnemba Atoll
Off the private coral island lies Zanzibar's clearest snorkelling area, with reef walls, turtles and often dolphins on the way back.
Kendwa Beach
Nungwi's neighbouring beach is quieter, deep enough for swimming whatever the tide and faces west towards the sunset.
Baraka Natural Aquarium
A tide-fed rock pool on the edge of Nungwi where turtles rescued from fishing nets are nursed back to health.
Evening: beach fires and live music in Kendwa
Fire baskets burn in the evening on the stretch of beach in front of the bungalow resorts, with drum and reggae bands playing late into the night.
Day 6On to the east coast: Jozani, Paje & Jambiani
Onward to Jambiani
Hotel check-in
Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park
The island's last large remnant of rainforest is the main stronghold of the endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkeys; a boardwalk also leads through the mangrove forest.
Paje Beach
At low tide you can walk hundreds of metres across the turquoise shallows while kitesurfers hover over the lagoon.
Jambiani Village
A long, straggling fishing village where at low tide the women harvest and dry seaweed from the fields in the lagoon.
Evening: Red Monkey Lodge beach bar
The open-air bar on the dune in south Jambiani serves sundowners and is one of the few places in the village open in the evening.
Day 7Kuza Cave & return flight
Kuza Cave
A coral limestone cave with a turquoise freshwater pool behind Jambiani, run as a Swahili cultural centre with drumming and cooking classes.
Beach walk at Bwejuu
The narrow, barely developed strip of beach north of Paje, with coconut palms right down to the waterline and fishing boats pulled up on the sand.
Departure from Zanzibar
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