Our first time in Zanzibar

Is Zanzibar on your radar of must visit places? If it is then you’ve already made a great choice, if it isn’t, then it certainly should be! Read on to find out why... After disembarking our flight from Manchester via Doha we were met by our driver Ally, to take us to our home for the next 4 nights at the Tembo palace hotel in Stone town, once the apartments where rock legend Freddie Mercury lived, a visit to his museum right across the road is a must for any fan of the rock band queen, take a look at my dedicated blog. Stone town is absolutely buzzing until the early hours with bars and restaurant right on the seafront so the views are a sight to behold. You really can't leave without visiting the night market in Forodhani gardens to try all the different flavours and spices of Zanzibar, they don't call this place spice island for nothing and you would have to visit every night for about 2 weeks to try everything on offer here. A trip to prison island to see the giant Tortoises is easily arranged with local excursion providers for just a few Dollars and is about a 30 minute boat ride away, you’ll get to see hundreds of them and as it’s a sanctuary you can be sure of an ethical experience. If you were thinking of trying a safari on a trip to Zanzibar I'd recommend arranging it to leave from Stone town just because of it’s distance from the airport, a short 1 hour flight takes you over to the mainland of Tanzania, now these aircraft are small, ours carried about 12 people, and it can be a bumpy flight (especially the landing on a dusty gravel landing strip) but still a great experience. We managed to spot 4 of the big 5 animals on our trip (Elephants, Lions, Hippo and Leopards) and many more including Giraffe, Crocs and Zebra, and I can definitely say a safari is a life changing experience, seeing a whole family of Elephant as we waited to let them cross our track is something that I'm sure will stay with me forever and the sight of a Lion just 3 feet away is a bit un-nerving but yet such an amazing moment. After experiencing the culture of the capital of Zanzibar we headed to the north of the island to Muyuni beach, the turquoise waters here are warm and crystal clear, though for less tidal water head 20 minutes north and to the east side of the tip of the island as it‘s virtually non tidal there, if that’s what you prefer. From the beach you can take most water activities. The morning dolphin spotting trip will normally include about an hours worth of snorkelling and the clear waters mean you will see every colour of fish and other sea creatures around you, a member of our group did feel a bit uneasy about chasing the dolphins as soon as they came in sight but these playful creatures clearly enjoyed the game of cat and mouse as they kept coming back as if taunting us to keep the game up.