- Viza de intrare în Tanzania se poate plăti la graniță și costă între 50-100$. Pentru cetățenii români (cu pașaport românesc), nu este necesară viză pentru intrarea pe teritoriul țării în scopuri turistice. Cu toate acestea, la intrare poliția de frontieră te fotografiază și îți ia toate amprentele.
- Internetul merge destul de rău, mai puțin în Stone Town. Noi am folosit un o cartela telefonică cu o rețea locală, însă viteza internetului fluctua mai tot timpul. La fel, nici wi-fi-ul (deși existent la toate hotelurile, restaurantele și barurile de pe insulă) nu este prea stabil.
- Fumba, tot un sat mic, în sudul insulei, unde e multă liniște și te poți bucura în voie de plajă (desigur, în funcție de capriciile fluxului/ refluxului)
- Bwejuu și Dongwe, două sate în apropiere de Paje (spre nord) - mici, cu plaje superbe, dar cu mai puține opțiuni de cazare, dar cu mulți localnici gata să îți ofere tururi pe mare. La Dongwe este și extrem de celebrul restaurant ”The Rock” unde turiștii de înghesuie să facă rezervări la cină, pentru că restaurantul este literalmente pe o stâncă în mijlocul mării și trebuie că e o trăire specială să mânânci într-un asemenea cadru.
- Matemwe este o altă localitate în nord-estul insulei, unde sunt câteva resorturi faimoase, unde vin multe grupuri organizate și plajele sunt curate. Aici te poți bucura de relaxare totală, fără să iei contact prea mult cu lumea din afara resortului.
- Pe coasta de vest nu am petrecut prea mult timp, doar am trecut prin Bububu, care ne-a părut destul de mare și plin de opțiuni turistice, inclusiv hoteluri, piețe și magazine de tot felul.
- în Tanzania se conduce pe partea stângă
- sunt foarte foarte foarte multe filtre de poliție (pe un drum de la vest la est am fost opriți de cel puțin 3 ori)
- poliția verifică asigurarea mașinii și controlul tehnic (două timbre mari lipite pe parbriz - e bine să știi că acestea trebuie să existe și să verifici cu firma de închirieri - noi așa am făcut de la început)
- poliția mai verifică să ai permisul local, dar și permisul internațional
- viteza maximă este 50km/h pe majoritatea drumurilor (cred că este unul singur unde poți merge cu 70-80 km/h)
- toleranța de alcool este 0, deci e bine să nu conduci nici măcar după un pahar de vin
- e foarte dificil de condus în general pentru că nu există mai deloc indicatoare (de niciun fel), noi am văzut un singur semafor - în Stone Town, nu există trotuare și nici treceri de pietoni sau prea multe reguli pentru toți participanții la trafic
- așadar, a conduce înseamnă a feri pietonii (de pe lângă și de pe stradă, precum și cei în plină traversare prin orice loc), a feri bicicliștii, scuterele, animalele și orice altceva mai poate apărea complet imprevizibil
- noaptea este încă și mai dificil de condus pentru că nu există iluminat public și toți cei pe care trebuie să-i ferești nu sunt nicicum semnalizați
- Stone Town este extreeeeem de aglomerat - de preferat să nu conduci nicicum în/ pe lângă el
It's hard to find the right beginning of a story like Zanzibar. It's such a
lively place - showcasing life in all its ways, forms and senses, it's like an amalgam of
feelings where you get stuck until you forget how it all started.
I diligently dig into my memory to find the root of my desire to reach
Africa, in an exotic but challenging place, in a world I didn't know much
about, nor did I have a good grasp of the best way to discover its secrets. But
I think it all started, in fact, from an illusion. "The illusion of an
island", in my opinion, is that feeling of affection that grows within
your heart when you allow the tumult of an island to adopt you. Cape Verde,
Corsica, Sicily, each in turn mirrored in me an illusion and, ultimately, a
defiance of the illusion – the strength of a reality which overcomes any
imagination, any expectation.
This illusion drove me to Zanzibar. The rational was guided by the desire
to go to a warm and safe place - where the pandemic is not a threat, where
things happen naturally and where the beauty is natural. From a very very short
list of possible destinations, we chose Tanzania, more precisely Zanzibar.
Plans and preparations
To plan, organize, arrange all the details of a trip in uncertain times,
when the rules seem to change with each gust of wind and with the power to
radically change everything like the passage of a hurricane - that was the
first challenge.
So we got our plane tickets and waited. Because we were departing from
Brussels, we had two options: Emirates (with a stopover in Dubai) or Qatar
Airways (with a stopover in Doha). The prices were about the same, but for the
stopover in Dubai we needed a negative Covid-19 test, so we chose Qatar. We paid
1250 euros for two round trips (for a period of 10 days). The flights were
quite long - Brussels - Doha about 6 hours, and Doha - Zanzibar (with a
technical stop in Dar-Es Salaam) about 7-8 hours. The stopover lasted about 2-3
hours. We also made sure that we were flying with Qatar until the final
destination, because there are lots of national flights between Dar-Es Salaam
and Zanzibar City, only operated by Qatar. Overall, it was comfortable, with
hygiene rules respected by everyone, with free seats between passengers not
traveling together. The only very crowded flight (completely full) was from Zanzibar
to Doha on the way back.
Also good to know:
- The entry visa to Tanzania can be paid at the border and costs between $ 50-100. For Romanian citizens (with a Romanian passport), no visa is required to enter the country for tourist purposes. However, at the entrance, the border police will photograph you and also take all your fingerprints.
- The internet is pretty bad, except in Stone Town. We used a sim card with a local network, but the speed of the internet fluctuated most of the time. Likewise, wi-fi (although existing at all hotels, restaurants and bars on the island) is not very stable.
Vaccines
No vaccine is required in order to go to Zanzibar (mandatory ones), but if
you plan to reach the mainland (not just the island), it is good to get the
vaccines against yellow fever, hepatitis A and polio and tetanus. We did it all
because we weren't entirely sure well in advance if we would just stay on the
island or also go on a safari.
Accommodation
We stayed everywhere. Although we were in high season (which we did not
know before arriving there), we decided to book in advance only the first 3
nights of accommodation, thinking that as soon as we arrive, we will start
exploring, as we usually like to do and we will be able to find the ideal place
to stay for the other 7 days.
What we didn't know until I got to the island is that there are many different options, depending on what you like, what you are looking for, what you wish your holiday to be like.
- Paje is the coolest part of the East coast - the beach is clean and beautiful, the tide is not as high as in Jambiani (next village to the south), there are many restaurants and many hostels/ hotels/ villas/ bungalows - with various prices. There are many kite-surfing schools in Paje and it seems to be a place where fans of this sport like to gather (probably they have good wind there).
- Jambiani, the neighbouring village, is much quieter, you can
have more contact with the locals and their daily lives, the prices are a bit
lower and you can have long walks on the beach (in about 40 minutes you can
reach Paje or by car in 10 minutes). In Jambiani, the ocean is ready to receive
you, especially in the morning and in the evening, otherwise the water recedes
so much that you can barely distinguish it at the horizon. And very early in
the morning you can admire the most beautiful sunrises in the world.
- Stone Town is the capital of the island and the busiest place,
the busiest of all, but also the closest to the European idea of a city. The
beach is smaller, but there are other interesting things to see and discover as
soon as you get here.
- Nungwi, in the northernmost point of Zanzibar, is certainly
the most touristy point - full of resorts, with beautiful, wide and clean
beaches. The most beautiful sunsets are also in here. Of course everything is
more expensive than the rest of the island, but in the evening you have many
more options of bars/ restaurants/ shops of all kinds made for the hundreds of
tourists who walk here every day. We didn't get to Kendwa, although it's very
close to Nungwi, but it has about the same reputation, so we thought it didn't
suit us so well.
Other places where we did not stay, but through which we passed and/ or spent a day/ evening /a few hours:
- Fumba, also a small village, in the South of the island, where there is a lot of peace and you can enjoy the beach on your own pace (of course, depending on the tide)
- Bwejuu and Dongwe, two villages near Paje (going North) - small, with beautiful beaches, with fewer accommodation options, but with many locals ready to offer you all sorts of tours (especially those that include sailing to places suitable for snorkelling/ diving). In Dongwe is also the extremely famous restaurant "The Rock" where tourists crowd to make dinner reservations, because the restaurant is literally on a rock in the middle of the ocean and it must be a special experience to eat in such a setting.
- Matemwe is another town in the Northeast of the island, where there are some famous resorts, where many organized groups come and the beaches are clean. Here you can enjoy total relaxation, without making too much contact with the world outside the resort.
- We didn't spend much time on the West coast, we just went through Bububu, which seemed quite large and full of touristy options, including hotels, markets and shops of all kinds.
The first place we arrived and fell in love with for everything it
represents is Alibi's Well, in Jambiani, on the East coast of the island. A guesthouse
within a tourism institute, where young people from the village learn both
theoretically and practically - hospital management. The one who runs the whole
institute and coordinates other educational activities for the younger children
in the village is a Canadian teacher, dedicated body and soul to these kids.
The place is clean and decent, and even if it doesn't offer 4-star conditions,
it has a great view, but the best part is that the students take care of
everything and make you feel like in a real family. They are impeccably
dressed, speak English fluently and correctly and have a large smile all the
time. They are kind people and they show you that on every occasion. They are
interested in everything you tell them, but most of all they are interested in
helping you and making you happy all the time during your stay. It is
impressive what a lesson of humanity you can learn from them and how you
realize that there are not enough "thanks" in the world to be able to
express your gratitude. In addition, the money you pay for accommodation also
goes to support the institute, so by simply being there, you can support their
education.
Also in Jambiani, but closer to the heart of the village (although still
facing the ocean), we stayed at Blue Oyster Hotel - another bunch of welcoming
people, ready to provide you with all the necessary for your comfort. Clean,
airy, with a generous space where you can relax, with a restaurant where they
serve very well cooked meals and with a beach bar – this is the place where
your home away from home is.
In Paje we would have liked to stay at the bungalows at Mr. Kahawa, where
there are some enchanting gardens and which was recommended to us by the locals
from Jambiani. Unfortunately, they were fully booked until February so instead,
we chose to eat here for several days in a row and came back each time with
great pleasure.
In Nungwi we stayed at Amaan Beach Bungalows which we do not recommend just
because it is an extremely touristy and crowded resort, although the conditions
are decent, but inferior to those we found in Jambiani.
In Stone Town we stayed at the Upendo Hotel, where we were greeted by very
nice people, who helped us organizing everything we wanted (in terms of tours,
visits, dinner recommendations). The room was very beautiful, right in the city
centre, and on the roof they had a swimming pool with an incredible view of the
city, the ocean and the port, plus a bar where jazz was played on Thursdays and
where you could freely dream of clear skies and summer nights.
The price of one night's accommodation was, on average, $110/ double room/
night. There are other options, a bit cheaper, but we preferred to stick to a
European standard of comfort and cleanliness + a beautiful view (most often at
the ocean). Of course, there are much more expensive places, but what they
offer in terms of quality is not much above the $110 ones, so we chose
something in the middle.
Transport
Traffic on the island is dense and chaotic. Initially, we thought of renting
a car for the first few days, using it to explore as much as possible, and
getting an idea of whether it was worth keeping it for longer or if we could
simply use public transportation.
Well, public transportation (called Dala-Dala) is a mini-truck that piles
people in the trailer. There are also some buses (they even have numbers), but the
schedule is quite uncertain and they are usually quite crowded, plus they go
for many kilometres through lots of dust and heat, which did not seem like a
good idea.
Bicycles (especially among locals) and scooters (especially among tourists)
are very common. But considering that you need to exit the main road (and the
only paved one) to get to any accommodation/ bar/ restaurant/ beach/ resort/
place of activity/ village and you need to take these bumpy dirt roads, with
huge holes (full of water if it rained the night before) and especially
considering the extremely chaotic traffic, we thought the car was the best
choice.
In the end, we kept it for the whole period (10 days), also because we love
to explore as much as possible and we like to be as autonomous as possible, and
to be able to decide to go or stay somewhere on the spur of the moment. But for
those who prefer a quiet vacation, in only one resort/ accommodation, they can
choose a transfer from the airport (which costs about $50), and for any
organized activity the transport from/ to the hotel is most often included in
the price. Likewise, over distances of a few kilometres (even 10-20), taxis are
a good option, being much cheaper than in Europe. We used the taxi on one
occasion and for about 5 km from one end of the village to the other it cost us
less than $5 (in local currency).
The rental price for a car is $35/ day, and for a scooter about $30 (so the
difference is not significant). All rental cars are old, most of them are 4x4,
but quite well maintained. After lots of research, we chose to rent from KibabuCars (despite all known, online, trusted companies, etc.). We chose Kibabu
because I read many recommendations from tourists from all over the world and
indeed, they were more than ok. We only communicated on Whatsapp - we texted
them two days before our arrival, sent them the pdf version of the contract and
paid them when we picked-up the car (at the airport) and the rest (because we
extended our rental period - also via whatsapp) we paid when we handed the car
back, also at the airport. We had absolutely no problem with the car, but the
contract still specified that in case of any technical issue, Kibabu Cars was
to provide us with full assistance. The company also took care of our driving
licenses.
International driving licenses are not enough to drive in Tanzania. We also
needed a local permit, which cost $10 per person, and we both did it so we
could be covered in any situation.
Other useful things to know:
- in Tanzania you drive on the left side
- there are A LOT of police filters (on our way from the West coast to the East coast we were stopped at least 3-4 times)
- the police check the car insurance and the technical control (two large stamps that should be on the windshield - it's good to know that they must be there and check with the rental company - we did so from the beginning)
- the police also check that you have a local permit, but also an international permit
- the speed limit is 50km/h on most roads (I think there is only one where you can go with 70-80 km/h)
- there is 0 alcohol tolerance, so it's best not to drive after having a glass of wine
- it's very difficult to drive in general because there are no signs at all (of any kind), we saw only one traffic light - in Stone Town, there are no sidewalks and no pedestrian crossings or too many rules for all traffic participants
- therefore, driving means avoiding pedestrians (on and off the street, as well as those simply crossing the street anywhere they feel like it), avoiding cyclists, scooters, animals and anything else that can pop up in your way totally unexpected.
- in the night is even more difficult to drive because there is no public lighting and all those you have to avoid are not signalled at all
- Stone Town is extremely crowded - preferably not to drive in/ around it at all
However, we managed to do a few hundred kilometres (both of us), to reach
Stone Town safe and sound, without any incidents, whilst very proud of our
little a success. At the moment we are terribly grateful for the roads and
driving in Europe :)
Food
The food in Zanzibar is delicious. Healthy and tasty, very well prepared in
almost all the places we tried. It's true that we avoided fish markets (even
the night market in Stone Town) or other places that didn't seem hygienic or freshly
stocked. Instead, we also ate at restaurants where there were more locals than
tourists and the food was always very very good. Lots of fish, seafood, rice
and lots and lots of fruits. Pineapple, mango and watermelon are there at
almost every meal, but we also enjoyed coconut, passion fruit, bananas,
jackfruit and we especially liked the baobab fruit.
In the touristic areas you can also eat international dishes if you really
want to, but we enjoyed delving into fish meals and having a break from
everything we normally eat at home.
Prices vary depending on
the restaurant and the village/ area. In the less touristy places a two-course meal for two persons (including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages) costs around $40-45,
but in the North of the island or restaurants where there are only tourists in Stone
Town for example the same meal could cost around $50-55.
Money
The local currency is TSH (Tanzanian Shilings) and the exchange rate is
about $1 = 2,300 TSH. Throughout the island, however, you can pay in cash in
both local currency and dollars or even euros. Only petrol can only be paid in
cash in TSH. In many places you can pay by card - but this involves a
commission of 5% of the total value, so it is best to have cash. ATMs are
mostly found in Stone Town and I think there would be one in Nungwi as well,
but we didn't find any on the East coast, so we made sure to withdraw money
while we were in the 'capital' (Stone Town ).
What I really liked was that I didn't feel ‘cheated’ at all. The locals do
not ask for exaggerated prices and do not try to take advantage of you being a tourist.
It's true, in the North part, the prices are higher and maybe there is this
label of "profitable" given to tourists, but otherwise we felt
treated fairly and respectfully. Everything is negotiated, which is part of the
"business", as they say. However, in every single moment you are sold
something: jewellery "made" by Masai, a tour, a souvenir, a painting,
a boat ride, drugs, anything you could think of. It's quite difficult to
politely say no, so the easiest way is to tell them that you already have a
guide/ tour or that you will come back later.
What to do & see
We walked through Stone Town, we got lost on its busy narrow streets, full of all
kinds of shops and all kinds of people. We admired the carved wooden doors, we
tried to guess the signs of every piece of history that passed over Zanzibar. We
went to the port, in the night market, we accidentally reached the fish market
as well. We went to the Freddie Mercury Museum, which was an enjoyable small
place to visit, we learned the story of the great mosque as well as the collapsed
one - now under reconstruction. We would have liked to go to the Slavery
Museum, but it’s on our list for a future trip to Zanzibar (same for the spice
tour). We talked to the locals, we went into the jewellery stores to admire the
Tanzanite, we watched a beautiful sunset from a restaurant’s terrace.
We went with a local guide to find out the stories of the island’s capital
city and with him we got on the boat and went to Prison Island, where we saw
turtles, peacocks and even a deer and found out all the history of the place.
We did the real Safari Blue tour - the one that started in Fumba and took
us to two magnificent places for diving and snorkelling, then we took a fish lunch
(freshly out of the ocean) and came back using only the power of the wind in
the sails, which it is, in itself, an incredible experience.
Otherwise, we walked on the beaches, we admired sunsets and sunrises, we
went to quieter or more vibrant places, parties with locals on the beach or
with tourists at the resorts, we enjoyed peaceful evenings with long walks in the dark, by the ocean, and cool mornings’ breakfast full of pineapple and mango juice.
Thoughts at the end of the adventure
What I’d like to keep with me forever, like in a scrapbook, from this trip:
the endless stretches of white sand, washed by the fine foam of the ocean;
dozens of shades of blue, turquoise, green, white, azure, intertwining, mixing,
parting. Seeing the ocean swallowing from the shore like a hungry man, hearing
the waves receding until you forget that they were ever at your feet… Seeing
the gentle wind and the almost storm in the evening. Sleeping whilst listening
to the rain intensifying and living a flawless calm in the morning.
There were days with thick clouds, scattered, sometimes darker or sometimes
invisible. There were days with burning sun, when you could feel the heat
flowing over any physical object, melting the sand and the water and the fish.
I saw exotic fish, of all shapes, sizes and colours. I have seen the miracle of
the depths of the ocean, with all the creatures that live there in a hidden
universe, but which glows wonderfully on sunny days. We touched tortoises, descendants
of those brought from Madagascar – sadly they are today’s prisoners of the Prison Island (the same
place where the slaves were taken back in the day as prisoners, and where later those with
contagious diseases were quarantined). Played with water turtles - feeding them
and watching them swim gracefully and realizing how much joy can such a moment
bring in one’s life.
We saw lots of tourists and few of them. We saw crowded and deserted
places, just ours. We went through the villages, talked to the locals and gave
candies to the children. The moments when we felt the least tourists and the
most invading, privileged, spoiled and yet grateful for the world we come from
- were those when we desperately wanted to embrace those people there, to offer them a relief or our support for all the needs and difficulties that could only be seen when you look
beyond the beautiful, fragile, friendly surface, full of warmth and goodwill. A
life lesson. A lesson you have to learn again and again and again, until you
get healed from your indifference and sense of entitlement and you simply understand
that food is a gift.
Zanzibar is the island where the sun rises and sets - truly and figuratively.
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