Overview

Our tour called ‘BEST OF ZANZIBAR TOUR AND RELAXING gives you relaxation time by the beach, after a short introduction to the wonders of Stone Town and the rural spice plantations.

The short distance between Stone Town and Nungwi means more me time for chilling-out. Stone Town is the island capital and steeped in history. You begin with a guided tour along winding alleys, visiting chaotic bazaars, admiring colonial architecture.

The afternoon Spice Tour/Prison tour takes you into the countryside to see the plantations which give Zanzibar its name of ‘Spice Island’.

Then we head for three nights in Nungwi, a delightful resort with clear waters and beautiful white-sand beaches, ideal for sunbathing. There’s a wide choice of water sports: snorkelling, scuba diving, kayaking, windsurfing, fishing and sailing. A perfect resort for relaxation, or some energetic activity.

Inclusion:

• 4x Breakfast
• 4x Dinner
• 4x Lunch
• Accommodation included: 4 nights
• Entry/Admission – Tembo House Hotel
• Entry/Admission – Stone Town
• Entry/Admission – The Island Pongwe Lodge
• Entry/Admission – Aromas of Zanzibar

Additional Information:

• Confirmation will be received at time of booking
• Not wheelchair accessible
• Stroller accessible
  Near public transportation
• Infants must sit on laps
• Infant seats available
• Most travelers can participate
• This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
• This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

History of the Zanzibar

People have lived in Zanzibar for 20,000 years. History properly starts when the islands became a base for traders voyaging between the African Great Lakes, the Somali Peninsula, the Arabian peninsula, Iran, and the Indian subcontinent. Unguja offered a protected and defensible harbor, so although the archipelago had few products of value, Omanis and Yemenis settled in what became Zanzibar City (Stone Town) as a convenient point from which to trade with towns on the Swahili Coast. They established garrisons on the islands and built the first mosques in the African Great Lakes Region.

During the Age of Exploration, the Portuguese Empire was the first European power to gain control of Zanzibar, and kept it for nearly 200 years. In 1698, Zanzibar fell under the control of the Sultanate of Oman, which developed an economy of trade and cash crops, with a ruling Arab elite and a Bantu general population. Plantations were developed to grow spices; hence, the moniker of the Spice Islands (a name also used for the Dutch colony the Moluccas, now part of Indonesia).

Another major trade good was ivory, the tusks of elephants that were killed on the Tanganyika mainland – a practice that is still in place to this day. The third pillar of the economy was slaves, which gave Zanzibar an important place in the Arab slave trade, the Indian Ocean equivalent of the better-known Triangular Trade. The Omani Sultan of Zanzibar controlled a substantial portion of the African Great Lakes coast, known as Zanj, as well as extensive inland trading routes.