EXCURSION IN ZANZIBAR
Historical Stone Town Tour – 3 Hours, starting from Stone Town
This is a wonderful introduction to Zanzibar and gives you a feeling of the rich cultural heritage. One gets a comprehensive view, history and walk of the Stone Town, magnificent architecture, narrow alleys, sand and stone ancient built houses where some of them are over 200 years old and have Arab/Indian carved doors. The tour starts at the main City market which was opened in 1904, where tropical fruits, vegetables, spices and fresh fish from the island are sold. Our next stop is the Anglican Church of Christ which was built by Bishop teers in 1873 on the site where slaves used to be auctioned.
Other highlights on the historical stone town tour are visits to:
- Sultan’s Palace Museum – Built in the late 1890’s for members of the Sultan’s family.
- House of Wonders – Built in 1883 as a Royal Ceremonial Function Palace.
- The Africa House – Formerly the English Club.
- Forodhani Park – Where you can spend your evenings leisurely watching the brilliant sunset while sipping freshly squeezed sugarcane juice or enjoy charcoal barbeques and locally made dishes.
- The Old Fort – Built by Arabs for defense against the Portuguese.
Spice Tours – 3 Hours, starting from Stone Town
Its primary objective is to give you a complete picture as to why this beautiful island is known as “The Spice Island” Our tour starts with a drive through a profusion of greenery in the countryside seeing, smelling and tasting a variety of spices and mouthwatering tropical seasonal fruits such as jack fruit, pineapple, banana, green coconut juice, dourian, love apple, litche, soursop etc.
Spices such as cloves, cardamon, cinnamon, black pepper, turmeric, nutmeg – are as exotic as their flavours….etc. A full tour involves much more than spices and you will also have a chance to see the iodine plant, heena bush, ylang-ylang, the lipstick tree, cocoa, and coffee bean trees.
mnemba atoll Snorkeling Trip – Half day
Mnemba Atoll is a Marine Conservation Area located in the North-Eastern tip of the Zanzibar island, relatively sheltered from the winds and currents which has good visibility ranging from 15m – 30m, off ering a unique opportunity to both divers and snorkelers. Visitors will interact with the splendid marine mammals in a natural and spontaneous environment. In the morning your will be picked-up from your hotel and transferred to a beach point where you will board a boat to explore this stunning coral atoll and experience the best of Zanzibar’s underwater world!
After the snorkeling you will be brought back to a beach point where you will then be transferred back to your hotel in-time for lunch. It is advisable to take swim wear, a towel, water resistant bag for cameras and other valuables, sun-cream and a hat.
Cultural Tour – Full day
This is a full day trip that will give you a great opportunity to visit different parts of the island and experience real insight of Zanzibari’s cultural evolution, history, activities, behavior, cuisine, arts, belief and other product of human works and thought. You will get a chance to experience how local dishes are cooked using various kinds of spices and coconut milk that will give you a superb flavour and taste.
This tour will also include a visit to:
- Local fish market where fresh fish is being auctioned and sold.
- Traditional dhow’s construction site.
- A typical local Zanzibari village where you will see daily activities undertaken by the villagers.
- The natural turtle aquarium.
- One of the local schools.
The tour also includes a visit to:
- Kidichi Persian Baths – built in 1850 by Seyyid Said bin Sultan for his Persian wife Princess Sheherezade granddaughter of the Shah of Persia.
- Maruhubi Palace Ruins – built by the third Sultan of Zanzibar Seyyid Barghash for his 99 concubines.
- Dr Livingstone House – built in 1860 for Sultan Majid. Dr David Livingstone lived here before commencing on his last journey to the mainland interior
Prison Island Tour – 3 – 6 Hours
Prison Island or Changuu Island is the middle island of the three visible from the Stone Town. It takes approximately 30 minutes to get there by boat. The prison which was never used on this island was built in 1893, but was later used as a Quarantine Hospital. Apart from the Prison ruins you will also see the enormous giant tortoises which are the main attraction of the island.
The tortoises were brought on the island from Seychelles by Sultan Said Majid in the 1820’s. On this little paradise one can also swim, snorkel, sunbathe or just relax on the beach and enjoy the peacefulness that this small beautiful island has to offer.
