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  • Zanzibar Islands
    Strictly speaking Zanzibar consists of three islands, Unguja, Pemba and Mafia islands which are collectively known as the Spice Islands...

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Volunteer within a UNHCR refugee settlement.

Read with responsive and receptive children in a remote location in NW Zambia.

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Something Special: Zanzibar Accommodation

Duration: Any days

Zanzibar is just off shore from Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. It’s an absolutely beautiful coastline with hidden bays, sand as fine and white as talcum powder and crystal clear water, protected by a barrier reef. Read more on Wikipedia Zanzibar

Zanzibar is the perfect combination with a safari or a Kilimanjaro climb  It’s probably better to do the active bit first, but either way around works. Drop us a line if you’d like to hear about combinations mail@ventureco-worldiwde.com 


Rock Restaurant - Michanwi Pingwe Beach, Zanzibar

There are lots and lots of accommodation options, catering for all budgets. To help you choose where you might like to stay we have divided our favourite hotels into three groups, and selected three representative properties for each group. This is very subjective and based on our personal experiences over the last couple of decades. Bad properties get new managers and re-invent themselves, good places can go bad, so do ask us for the latest client feedback.

Zanzibar is all about relaxing: how long you stay, and how much you do is completely flexible. A week is great, two weeks fantastic! Airline communications with Europe are pretty good, so your itinerary can be tweaked to fit.

Prices: we obtain trade rates from each hotel so making your booking with us costs you nothing extra and may even save you money. We can certainly help to match your expectations with reality and let you know which hotels have lost their sparkle and which ones are improving.

Zanzibar actually consists of dozens of islands - for more details see our guide

No news, no shoes

We have chosen a few our favourite budget options which are full of character.

Matemwe Beach: run by husband (the very excellent dive-master) and wife (the very excellent lodge maestro) partnership. If there is one lodge that epitomises laid-back no news, no shoes, then you just found it!

Dongwe Ocean View: on the extreme eastern tip of the island, this property suits folk who prefer bricks and mortar to East African thatched rondavels.

The Palm Beach Inn: is absolutely affordable and the most authentic property and location you could wish for. It’s in the middle of Bwejuu village and run by a mother-and-son team. Not the same facilities as a hotel/lodge offers but mellow atmosphere and unhurried pace are the order of the day.

Guide price: (£40 per room per night [prpn] to £90 prpn)

Read more for detailed descriptions

Barefoot Luxury

Pongwe Beach: affordable, laid-back luxury. If you prefer your hotels to be unpretentious, modest properties, look no further.

236 Hurumzi: weird name but with a wonderful heritage and bags and bags of character. Originally a merchant’s house, tucked away in an alleyway in the medina (old town), this hotel suits people of place emphasis on escaping the anodyne. The top floor restaurant (4th floor) is a mission to reach, but once there you know you’re somewhere completely different! Grand views across Zanzibar.

Fumba Beach: for something a little different - this lodge sits at the end of the Fumba peninsular surrounded by Mangrove forest. The best rooms all have direct access to the beach and the activities available at the lodge (in addition to the PADI dive school) include trips out to the uninhabited islands, swimming with dolphins and enjoying the quiet beaches.

Guide price: (£70 prpn to £160 prpn)

Read more for detailed descriptions

Click on the link below to find out more

Pongwe Beach — 236 Hurumzi — Fumba Beach

Opulent luxury

Baraza: world famous Baraza is absolutely top of the tree; they always get it right and we’ve never had a complaint.

Matemwe Lodge (not to be confused with Matemwe Beach) is on the east coast tucked away behind private gardens. Just off shore are the Mnemba islands which contain the best dive sites around Zanzibar.

Matemwe Beach House is an annex to Matemwe Lodge. It shares the same excellent location, and with full butler service and just three bedrooms, lends itself perfectly to whole-villa hire.

Guide price: (£120 prpn to £650 prpn)

Read more for detailed descriptions

Prices: we obtain trade rates from each hotel so making your booking with us costs you nothing extra and may even save you money. We can certainly help to match your expectations with reality and let you know which hotels have lost their sparkle and which ones are improving.

Contact us now by phone 01822 616191 or email

Top 10 things to do on Zanzibar

Dive / snorkel
Crystal-clear water and good reefs. Mnemba atoll is comparable to any dive site in the South Sea. Fundu lagoon has walk-in diving and by contrast the ocean drop-off at Pemba is as impressive as Sipadan.
Spice tour
Zanzibar is the “Spice Island” and it’s great to see cardamom, nutmeg, lemon grass and a host of other spices in their original habitat
• Swim with dolphins
Take a boat out from Kizimkazi village (south coast) and meet the pods of bottlenose and humpback dolphins.
Cooking class
Having seen the ingredients growing, what better than to learn about some novel ways of using them?

Picnic on a sandbank
The islets off Fumba peninsular are perfect for a picnic with a twist – be Robinson Crusoe for a day!
Forodhani night market
Forodohani gardens are in Stone town, on the seafront near the House of Wonders. What a perfect place for a market, and the soft Swahili night in the ideal time to explore.
Stone town tour
A good guide will bring the heritage of Zanzibar to life: from the slave pens to the backyards where dhows are built with tools and technology that is unchanged for two millennia.
Jozani Forest
Zanzibar’s only National Park: the high water table combined with the soil, which is derived from coral, make this a unique habitat. Explore it on the wonderful boardwalks and see the resident Red Colobus monkeys.
Mnemba Island
2 KM north of Zanzibar is the triangular-shaped Mnemba island, completely surrounded by coral reefs. Great for diving / snorkelling and with good chances to see turtles and dolphins.
Beach life
The last one is obvious – Zanzibar is all about beaches, so make sure you plan some serious beach time!


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