Zanzibar Sun Sand & Society
Itinerary

One of the most unique places in all of Africa is Stone Town, Zanzibar. With its rich history, influenced by Swahili, Arab and Indian cultures over the last several hundred years, the sites, smells and sounds of Stone Town are incredibly unique.

Our owner, Stacy Readal, has spent months just in Stone Town and never tires of it. She has personally eaten or stayed at all of the restaurants and hotels recommended here.

After many visits to Stone Town, our favorite hotel is still Emerson Spice. It has maintained its traditional Zanzibar style since it opened, and it employs local Zanzibaris instead of bringing employees from the mainland. The building itself, which was carefully restored by Emerson’s original owner, was a mansion owned by the last Swahili ruler of Zanzibar. Each room is unique, and a daily rooftop breakfast is included in your stay. During your stay at Emerson Spice, you will see many tourists stop outside to take photos of the building and its latticed balconies.

Emerson Spice and its sister hotel, Emerson Hurumzi, support the Emerson Zanzibar Foundation, which supports the arts and culture of Zanzibar.

For those who want a beach-front stay, we recommend the Zanzibar Serena Hotel. For those wanting a more luxurious, western experience, we recommend the Park Hyatt. The new Sharazad Wonders is a good option for those wanting a boutique hotel experience in the heart of Stone Town’s shopping district.

If your stay in Stone Town falls on a Wednesday or Friday, we highly recommend attending one of The Secret Garden restaurant’s weekly music concerts. The concerts feature local Zanzibari artists for a cover charge of only $5. The venue is in a hidden, walled garden just around the corner from Emerson Spice. Tropical plants grow out of the walls, cascading into the restaurant below. The space is tastefully decorated with antique posters from Zanzibar.

We highly recommend a guided tour of Stone Town during your free day as its maze-like streets are hard to navigate. Restaurants we frequent include Harbour Kitchen (Indian vegetarian), Massa (Japanese and sushi), Emerson Hurumzi (Zanzibari seafood in a rooftop setting), and the Night Market (Zanzibar pizza including Mr. Mango who was featured on CNN).

Read our Streets of Stone Town blog post for more ideas on what to do in Stone Town.

After breakfast at Emerson Spice, transfer to the boat launch site for Chumbe Island. The boat to Chumbe takes about one hour. We recommend spending two nights at Chumbe to fully take advantage of all the activities and educational opportunities available on the island.

Our owner, Stacy Readal, has been going to Chumbe since the early 2000s. The island and eco lodge hasn’t changed - in fact, the reef and the quality of snorkeling has only improved over the years. Chumbe’s reef is, in our opinion, the best snorkeling in Zanzibar - and we’ve seen them all. Other locations are crowded and the reefs can be degraded. On Chumbe, you snorkel only with other visitors to the island (a maximum of about 20 people) and the corals are exceptionally colorful and the fish plentiful. On her last visit to Chumbe (July 2023) Stacy saw a shark! Chumbe also offers night snorkeling on calm evenings. Chumbe’s reefs have been protected since 1991 and the long history of protection shows.

Chumbe is a Robinson Crusoe experience - you stay in eco bungalows with composting toilets, solar power, and a rainwater catchment system. There are only seven bungalows on the island, so you are there in almost complete privacy.

Spend a full day on Chumbe Island. Walk the forest trails, see the coconut crabs, and go snorkeling.

After breakfast, take the morning boat back to the mainland. Continue your Zanzibar journey to a different area of the island (we recommend Jambiani and Bwejuu beaches) or head to a different island or the mainland.