The best beaches in Zanzibar, and which beach suits whom

On the north side of Zanzibar you walk straight into the sea, at any hour of the day. On the east side you have sea twice a day, and twice a day a flat stretch you can walk out on for hundreds of metres.

That is not right or wrong. It is a different rhythm, and it decides what your days look like, not whether they are good.

Below are eight beaches, with what the water does at each one and what it is like. We do not send everyone to the same coast, and that is exactly why this piece exists.

How the water works here

Zanzibar has two high tides and two low tides a day. At spring tide, around new and full moon, the vertical difference measures almost four metres.

What that does horizontally differs hugely per coast, and that comes down to the seabed. Along the east coast lies a wide, shallow reef flat, so a small drop leaves hundreds of metres dry, in some places more than a kilometre. In the north the seabed drops away steeply, so very little changes at the waterline.

What people do not expect is that the dry reef flat is often the best hour of the day. You walk out in water shoes between the starfish and the rock pools, children are happy until they are called back, and it is the moment you see where you are staying. Then the water returns and you swim.

Almost every place to stay on that side has a pool, exactly for this reason. There it is not luxury but logic.

How this plays out per season and per wind, you can read on our Zanzibar page.

And the seaweed

On the south east coast, especially at Paje and Jambiani, you see poles and ropes in the lagoon. That is seaweed farming, and it is not there for the photo.

After cloves, seaweed is Zanzibar’s second export crop. More than twenty thousand people live from it and more than eighty per cent of them are women. It is harvested, dried on racks and shipped to Asia. What you feel between your toes is someone’s income.

Loose seaweed also washes up. On the east coast this happens mainly from December to March, carried in by the kaskazi wind. In the north you notice it much less. How much lies on the beach in those months varies per year and per beach, and anyone who guarantees you otherwise in advance is selling you something.

Nungwi, the northern tip

The northernmost point of the island, about an hour and a half from Stone Town.

Here you can swim all day, even at three in the afternoon, and that is rare on Zanzibar. But it does not apply to the whole beach. The west and north west side drop away steeply and stay swimmable. Further towards the lighthouse the seabed turns rocky and part of it falls dry at low tide for part of the day. So do not just ask for Nungwi, ask which side of Nungwi.

It is the busiest beach on the island, and that is the whole story. This is where the package holidays land, where the bars are, and where the most vendors walk along the sand. In the evening it is young and loud. In between, fishermen still build dhows on the beach, and you watch a wooden hull grow while you drink your coffee.

Who it suits. Anyone looking for life, who wants to go out and does not want to think about the tide. We rarely send families here, because it is busy and the beach life is not geared to children.

Kendwa, three kilometres further on

Three kilometres south west of Nungwi, and at low tide you can walk there along the beach.

Of all the beaches on Unguja, this is the most reliable. Minimal tidal difference, a gently sloping seabed, and a wide beach that stays wide at high tide. Little seaweed.

During the day it is more spacious than Nungwi, with more room between the towels. But it is a resort beach with many package guests, and on the Saturday closest to full moon there is a party at Kendwa Rocks that goes on deep into the night.

Who it suits. Anyone who puts the water above everything and likes a lively beach. If you are looking for quiet, this is not your side of the island.

Matemwe, opposite Mnemba

The north east coast, directly opposite the Mnemba atoll. The longest beach on the island.

This is the east coast, so the tide rules here. At low tide the sea pulls back about one and a half kilometres and you do not swim. At high tide you do.

It is quiet. A village, small lodges, few vendors. The beach is long enough to walk for an hour without meeting anyone.

Mnemba is about twenty minutes away by boat, and it is the best reef off Unguja. What you see there and what it costs is in our piece on diving and snorkelling on Zanzibar.

Who it suits. Snorkellers and divers, couples looking for quiet, and families who want to follow the rhythm of the water. This is one of the coasts we send guests to most often.

Kiwengwa, the resort coast

The north east coast, about three quarters of an hour from Stone Town.

Big tides, so you can swim for part of the day.

This is where the large all-inclusive resorts stand, mostly Italian. They call it Little Italy and that is no joke, it means entertainment, espresso and an Italian breakfast. That is exactly what you are looking for or exactly what you are not, and there is little in between.

Who it suits. Families who want everything arranged, with a pool and a programme close at hand. Not for anyone looking for small and quiet.

Pongwe, the bay

The east coast, in a small sheltered bay.

Here the coral outcrops do something that happens nowhere else along this coast. They hold water in the bay, so it stays swimmable longer than next door. Not all day, but longer.

It is small and remote. A handful of places to stay, nothing else. No street of restaurants, no shops, no choice.

Who it suits. Anyone who wants nothing. Honeymooners, and people who want to sit still after a safari. Not for anyone who wants to choose where to eat in the evening.

Paje, the wind

The south east coast, about an hour from the airport.

The tide is at its clearest here. At low tide the lagoon empties out to the reef flat, at high tide the water reaches your shoulders. The timing shifts by about fifty minutes every day, so today’s pattern is not tomorrow’s.

It is young and international. Kite schools, beach bars, people who stay a month and work in the mornings. From June to October the kusi wind blows straight onto this coast, and then it is world class for kitesurfing. From December to mid March the wind is lighter, and that is the season to learn. In November there is almost nothing.

Who it suits. Kitesurfers, as you would expect. But also families, and that is what people do not expect. The beach is wide, there is room, the reef flat at low tide is a playground and the places to stay have a pool. We send more families here than to the north. Not for anyone who wants to lie on a windless beach every afternoon.

Jambiani, the village

Just south of Paje, the same coast.

The same pattern as Paje. At low tide the sea pulls back about a kilometre, at high tide you swim.

The difference is the village. People live and work here, with tourism in between rather than on top. Women harvesting seaweed at low water, fishermen leaving in the morning, few large hotels. There are vendors, but they are mild.

Who it suits. Anyone who wants to see the island and not only the resort. Quieter and cheaper than Paje, and fine with children. Not for anyone looking for the comfort of a large hotel.

Kizimkazi, the south

The southern tip, about an hour to an hour and a half from Stone Town.

Tide dependent, with rocky stretches and darker sand than in the north.

It is a fishing village. This is also where the Dimbani mosque stands, one of the oldest Islamic buildings in East Africa.

Kizimkazi is known for its dolphin trips, and we are clear about those. Ten to twenty boats chasing the same group of dolphins in the morning is not an encounter. It is a chase in which one side has no say. We do not offer that excursion.

You do meet dolphins here, just not like that. Near Mnemba and on the way to Chumbe they swim alongside the boat of their own accord for a while, and then you are watching an animal that stays because it wants to.

Who it suits. Anyone who wants to see the south and loves quiet. Not for anyone coming for the dolphin boat.

Nungwi or Kendwa?

The same coast, the same water, a different character.

Nungwi has more of everything. More restaurants, more dive schools, more evening, more people, more vendors. Kendwa is wider, cleaner and more spacious during the day, except for the Saturday around full moon.

Both are busy. Choosing the north means choosing water that always works and taking the beach life with it. If that beach life is exactly what you do not want, look at the east coast. They lie three kilometres apart, so you walk or drive from one to the other in no time.

Paje or Jambiani?

The same water and the same seaweed farming, a different pace.

Paje is young, with kite schools, bars and music in the evening. Jambiani is a village where you see the fishermen leave in the morning.

If you kitesurf, Paje. If you want quiet and want to see the island, Jambiani.

Which beach suits whom

What we put together most often in practice is Paje, Jambiani, Matemwe or Kiwengwa. Not because there is anything wrong with the north, but because the places to stay on that side more often suit the kind of trip we make.

And if you want to see two sides, do the north and the east coast one after the other. They are only an hour’s drive apart.

Which beach fits your trip depends on the month you travel and on what you want to do with your days. Just as often it depends on the place itself, because a good place to stay on a quiet stretch of beach beats an average one on the most famous beach. That is what we work out.

We live here, we send guests to these coasts every week, and afterwards we hear what worked and what did not. That is where this piece comes from.

See our Safari and Zanzibar itinerary, fourteen days, worked out day by day.

Safari njema.