Zanzibar — Spice Island Beaches and Stone Town

Zanzibar is the classic pairing for a mainland safari: a semi-autonomous archipelago off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean, known for powder-white beaches, warm turquoise water and a history as the historic center of the East African spice and trade routes. Stone Town, Zanzibar City's old quarter, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a maze of narrow streets, carved wooden doors and Swahili, Arab, Persian, Indian and European architecture layered over centuries of trade.

Spice tours through the island's plantations — where cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla are still grown much as they have been for generations — are a Zanzibar staple, alongside sailing on traditional wooden dhows, snorkeling and diving on the surrounding reefs, and simply unwinding on beaches like Nungwi, Kendwa and Paje after days of early-morning game drives.

Our Zanzibar Excursions itinerary is designed as exactly this: a beach-and-culture close to a mainland safari, not a standalone wildlife destination, since Zanzibar's draw is coastline and history rather than big game.