Water sports

Sea kayaking – The Zanzibari has its own fleet of sea kayaks, and during the right tide time, is an excellent place to go sea kayaking from. It is recommended that beginners not stray too far out to see, but experts may wish to go out to where the waves break against the reef and try a bit of kayak surfing!

Parasailing – Quite a new addition to Zanzibar, you can now parasail over the crystal clear waters of Zanzibar, whilst being pulled by a speed boat. This activity will not be best suited to everyone, but thrill seeks will most definitely be intrigued!

Wind surfing – Zanzibar has a great natural appeal to wind surfers, it has nice warm and clear waters, no man eating sharks, and can get good wind out on the sea at the right time of day in the correct locations. If you are new to this sport, then beginners courses can be taken – and are highly advised before even attempting to go out into the sea, as this sport can lead to serious injury if not done properly.

Zanzibar’s marine life

Snorkelling – Zanzibar is a fantastic place to go snorkelling, whether you are a first time snorkeler, or have been before, all are welcome! Explore the coral reef and the tropical marine fish which inhabit it, with fish such as the famous ‘finding Nemo’ clown fish, trumpet fish and other brightly coloured fish swimming around you.

Diving – If you would like to plunge to greater depths than with snorkelling, then you can go diving at one of the islands recommended diving spots. You should have a PADI diving certificate before attempting diving in open waters, so we can arrange for you to have diving lessons if you would like to get into scuba diving.

Natural aquariums – In Nungwi, there are some rock formations which are used as natural aquariums by locals so that they can see some of the marine life that inhabits the surrounding Indian ocean. Baby sea turtles are also rescued and kept within these aquariums until they are old enough to be released and have a better chance of surviving in the ocean.

Health and fitness

Yoga – Available upon request, we have yoga holiday packages available for those who are interested in learning yoga basics, or would like to build upon their current level of yoga practice. There is nothing better than participating in a yoga session under the setting sun on a beautiful beach.

Reiki – The natural healing process of reiki can help a person to relax in many different areas of their life, whether it be helping you to sleep better, reducing blood pressure, or relieving stress. The Zanzibari can arrange for reiki sessions for yourself which are available upon request.

All of these activities can be booked through the Zanzibari hotel – so let us know if you are interested in any of them!



New born sea turtles can have a slim survival rate, so local people rescue the turtles as soon as they are born and take them into the aquarium for sanctuary. The process involves finding and marking sea turtle nests on the Nungwi beach and monitoring them daily until the eggs have hatched into baby turtles. The young turtles are then carried to the aquarium which is created from large natural coral rock pools just behind the beach. They are kept and looked after until they  are about 10 inches long and are big enough to be released into the Indian Ocean.

We had been told to meet at the Mnarani aquarium at half two, and were not sure exactly what to expect. I imagined a small group of people on a boat and that would be that, but we were in for a real treat.

When we arrived, the streets were full of people celebrating in what I can only describe as a huge local festival.

April is the start of the rainy season in Zanzibar which can last for up to three months. During this period we expect a couple of days rain every week, but the temperature stays warm. The remaining days in the week are sunny. Today was one of the few days of down pour, so locals put up a marque to stand under to avoid the rain but to continue to enjoy the celebrations.

There was also music and traditional dancing being performed.

We walked down towards the shore and could see boats taking off one by one with local children clambering on to the edges and pulling themselves on-board – they didn’t want to miss the chance of a boat ride to see the sea turtles make their journey into the ocean.

Four boats sailed off into the distance full of village locals dancing on deck and waving back to their friends and families. This was the last we saw of the boats as they rode the waves out into the sea, but the celebrations on land continued to go on and shall do all night.

The aquarium is only a quick five minute drive from The Zanzibari hotel or a ten minute walk along the beach.

Technology is coming to Africa at a rapid rate, and it has allowed us to add a very unique feature to our website: a live update of the music currently playing in our restaurant (look to the right hand side of this page). It would be a little bit frustrating for our visitors if they were able to see what we were listening to, but not be able to listen to it themselves, so we’ve gone one step further and created a section on our Facebook Fan Page where you can legally listen to the music via Grooveshark.

We have many plans to use technology in a subtle way at The Zanzibari to make a stay at our hotel an experience to remember, so watch this space for more updates!