Zanzibar
Tanzania
A spice island off the coast of Tanzania, blending historic Stone Town architecture with idyllic beaches and turquoise lagoons.
<p>Zanzibar -- the Spice Island -- is one of the Indian Ocean's most evocative destinations, an archipelago of coral islands off the Tanzanian coast that has enchanted Arab traders, Persian merchants, Portuguese explorers, and Omani sultans for over a thousand years. The main island, Unguja, is home to Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose labyrinthine alleyways of carved wooden doors, crumbling coral-rag mansions, mosques, and bazaars preserve one of East Africa's most intact medieval trading city landscapes. Stone Town is the birthplace of Freddie Mercury.</p>
<p>Beyond Stone Town, Zanzibar unfolds into a paradise of white sand beaches and warm, crystal-clear Indian Ocean waters. Nungwi and Kendwa beaches on the northern tip offer the calmest seas year-round, ideal for swimming and snorkelling. Paje on the east coast draws kite surfers. The Mnemba Atoll Marine Conservation Area is one of East Africa's finest dive and snorkel sites, home to dolphins, sea turtles, reef sharks, and spectacular coral gardens. Spice farm tours -- visiting clove, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pepper plantations -- reveal why Zanzibar earned its fragrant nickname. Prison Island houses a colony of giant Aldabra tortoises, some over 100 years old.</p>
<p>Swahili cuisine reaches its most refined expression in Zanzibar, where Indian Ocean seafood -- grilled lobster, kingfish, octopus, and squid -- is spiced with local cloves, cardamom, and coconut milk. The Forodhani Gardens waterfront market, open each evening, offers an affordable spread of local street food beside the old fort. A sunset dhow cruise -- traditional wooden sailing vessels silhouetted against an orange sky -- is the quintessential Zanzibar experience. The best time to visit is during the dry seasons: June through October and December through February. Zanzibar is easily combined with a Kenyan safari: Nairobi to Zanzibar flights take under two hours.</p>
<p>Beyond Stone Town, Zanzibar unfolds into a paradise of white sand beaches and warm, crystal-clear Indian Ocean waters. Nungwi and Kendwa beaches on the northern tip offer the calmest seas year-round, ideal for swimming and snorkelling. Paje on the east coast draws kite surfers. The Mnemba Atoll Marine Conservation Area is one of East Africa's finest dive and snorkel sites, home to dolphins, sea turtles, reef sharks, and spectacular coral gardens. Spice farm tours -- visiting clove, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pepper plantations -- reveal why Zanzibar earned its fragrant nickname. Prison Island houses a colony of giant Aldabra tortoises, some over 100 years old.</p>
<p>Swahili cuisine reaches its most refined expression in Zanzibar, where Indian Ocean seafood -- grilled lobster, kingfish, octopus, and squid -- is spiced with local cloves, cardamom, and coconut milk. The Forodhani Gardens waterfront market, open each evening, offers an affordable spread of local street food beside the old fort. A sunset dhow cruise -- traditional wooden sailing vessels silhouetted against an orange sky -- is the quintessential Zanzibar experience. The best time to visit is during the dry seasons: June through October and December through February. Zanzibar is easily combined with a Kenyan safari: Nairobi to Zanzibar flights take under two hours.</p>
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