Hello fellow travelers,
After 4 hectic travel days, we finally arrived in Zanzibar, for our anniversary! I guess going through some intense days just made this week feel like a true relaxation week!
In case you are new here, we are Will and Katy. We are a travel couple that is traveling around the world. Today we share with you our time in Stone Town, where soaked up the sun and made some great memories!
Most people fly directly into Zanzibar, but because we were coming from Kenya by bus, we took a ferry over. Through Zan Fast Ferry, the trip took an hour and a half and cost $30 a person. I, Katy, was a little nervous about getting seasick since I am very prone to motion sickness, but I didn't want to take a motion sickness pill for such a short trip. I took my chances and didn't take the medicine, but I did have a ginger soda with me to help if I began feeling woozy. The ferry was fast and it did sway, but I didn't get sick!
After arriving, we walked over to our hotel, since it was a walking distance away. We stayed at Tembo House Hotel. We loved our stay in this traditional Swahili Hotel. The hotel has a wide range of rooms to fit any budget need. We stayed in their budget rooms, while still being able to enjoy their waterfront amenities and delicious buffet breakfast. We do have a full tour of the hotel on our Youtube channel.
During our 3 night stay in Stone Town, we spent most of the time either wandering the winding roads of the town or sitting poolside/beachside. We do strongly encourage you to get lost in the winding alleys of the town. It brought us back to the times we ventured into the alleys on the Greek islands. We shopped in the markets and found some great places to eat!
One of our favorite moments was meeting Mohammed, or as Harald Baldr would call him, Paul Scholes. We are huge fans of Travel Youtuber, Harald Baldr, so when we booked our trip to Zanzibar we knew we had to go find some of the people he met on the island. The very first day on the island we met Mohammed and he was such an awesome dude! We checked out his shop, chatted with him a little, and went back to visit him each day! He told us that we had to eat at Lukmaan Restaurant, a traditional Swahili restaurant, which we did, the food was fairly priced and really good! He also helped us find a local who we could pay to do our laundry, instead of paying the hotel an absurd amount of money to do it. Plus it helps out a local make some extra money, instead of giving more money to an already established business.
We found a great spot for our anniversary dinner right on the water: Livingstone Beach Restaurant. At the time we went they had a really good dinner special! We enjoyed the sunset while indulging in a delicious meal!
We will say the beach in this part of Stonetown got very crowded each evening during sunset, but in my opinion, in a really cool way. It was filled with locals who came to simply enjoy the water and sunset. You had kids running in and out of the water, playing with sand; there were teens kicking around a soccer ball. The energy was fun, and if you like to people watch, then head to the beach at sunset! There will be vendors trying to sell you things, so be aware, but just kindly say no and move on.
We did appreciate how both our hotel and dinner spot on the water/sand did have a roped-off action where these vendors could not bother you. Just know this is the vibe of the island, you're going to have vendors as you are walking around trying to sell you things or show you around, for a small fee. We have gotten used to it and it didn't bother us.
It will be interesting to see how the north part of the island differs from Stonetown, they say the beaches are better!
Until then…
What could possibly be next?