Karibu Zanzibar!

*Karibu (Swahili) – Welcome.

“Karibu Zanzibar!” was a phrase I heard daily while in Zanzibar. This simple greeting is used to welcome someone or to let one know that they are welcome to a place. This phrase perfectly describes my time in Zanzibar, because it was impossible to not feel welcome on this beautiful island.

I had the pleasure of traveling to Zanzibar, Tanzania, with the group trip company Nesufu Travels. The company organized our transportation, hotel, and activities, however, because the owner is my best friend, I was able to arrive to Zanzibar early and enjoy a few extra days before the official trip began and the travelers arrived.

One of the best parts about coming to “the continent” is the amazing prices on hair braiding. Both my best friend and I arrived with nappy, natural heads and were able to get BEAUTIFUL small knotless braids for roughly 40 USD. A style that would run us close to $250 USD or more back home in the states.

A local at our arrival hotel (Equalia Boutique Hotel) recommend Tina’s Hair Braiding to us while we were eating breakfast and we were there by lunch getting braided up. It took about seven hours but it was worth it. We were beautifully braided and ready to bask in the Zanzibari sun!

The next day the group trip began and we relocated to our official hotel, The Nest Style. The stunning hotel was beach front and had lush green grounds with lots of wildlife (and bugs!). The other ladies arrived and we did introductions and shared about our home countries over dinner. We had nine days of adventure and activities ahead of us, so we turned in early and excited!

The next few days were spent basking in the sun, enjoying beautiful beaches, and eating our body weight in fresh fruit. We were truly in paradise! Our first major outing was to Mnemba Island, a unique sandbank that sits in the middle of the ocean. Low tides cross at this point revealing a span of sandy ground where boats can dock and people can walk and wade around. This was my favorite activity during the trip. It was truly fascinating to be standing in the middle of the ocean while looking out at the ocean.

Our tour guide chopped up some fresh fruit and served us like queens as we frolicked in the water and walked from one end of the sandbank to the other searching for starfish -check out the starfish I found! When we returned to shore, we feasted on a delicious fried seafood platter… I still fantasize about that platter to this day!

We spent the next few days enjoying our hotel and fighting jet-lag. Beachside massages, dipping in the pool, and sipping mango juice is how we filled our rest days. In the evenings, we enjoyed some nightlife. The hotel’s activity manager recommended several local spots, with our favorite being Kae Beach! This open air bon-fire bumping beach party was the bomb (say that five times fast). The party had live acrobatic entertainment, a full-service bar, and easy access to jump into the warm Indian Ocean. It’s not a trip to Africa without a power outage and midway through the party everything went black, but we continued partying by the bonfire and swimming by the light of the sunset. Later in the trip we also enjoyed a local spot in the neighboring town of Paje called Summer Dream Lodge! – a 10/10 pool party experience!

While nightlife was fun, the highlights of my trip were learning about the history and culture of Zanzibar. We started off by visiting the East African Slave Trade Exhibit, in Stone Town. Our guide taught us the countries history, shared ancient stories, and even showed us the dungeons where the slaves were held. There were so many powerful parts of the exhibit, it was impossible to not be brought to tears thinking of those who were forced into slavery and suffering against their will.

We continued our learning with a tour of one of the many local Spice Farms. Spices are one of the island’s largest exports and we were able to enjoy spices to the fullest during our tour. An abundance of spice and fresh fruit samples were offered to us at every corner of the farm. We even enjoyed a fresh coconut, as one of the staff scaled a palm tree, collected, and hacked open the coconuts with a machete right in front of us!

At the end of the tour, we were all crowned spice queens with headdresses of flowers and spice leaves.

Our trip was full of history, culture, nature, and sun, but my favorite part of the trip was the cuisine. As a curry connoisseur, I thoroughly enjoyed the traditional stewed and curried dishes of the island, with my favorite being octopus curry. Towards the end of our trip, we were able to snag a reservation at the infamous Rock Restaurant and feast on traditional dishes and fine cuts of meat. A classic ginger soda called Stoney Tangawizi became my go to during the trip to quench my thirst and beat the heat… I’m a non soda drinker, but drank probably two of these a day. While in Zanzibar, I can assure you that there will never be a meal that you won’t enjoy.

As the days began winding down and departure was upon us we spent our final days enjoying our hotel and resting up for the long travel ahead. Several of the ladies were headed to other African countries, and others back to their home countries. I was off to Dubai for a few days and then to South Korea to meet my boyfriend. We began saying our goodbyes and leaving one by one. It was a one of a kind experience traveling with a group of women. Strangers from different countries and all walks of life, but bonding over our love for travel.. our love for Africa. Some of us still remain friends to this day! If you haven’t had the opportunity to go on a group trip, I highly encourage you to, especially to a location that you may not feel confident to brave alone.

My nine days in Zanzibar, Tanzania was truly spent in awe and wonder. There were so many moments where a sense of gratitude would wash over me – I couldn’t believe that I was actually in Africa! For so long I had had an “idea” of what I thought Africa was like. You know.. that idea that they sell us in our school text books and in the news. It was so refreshing to visit an African country and form my own ideas and opinions. I encourage you to do the same. Karibu Zanzibar! Now go book that flight!