This is where the real vacation begins! We have a whole week on the island of Zanzibar at Nungwi Beach to relax as our reward for killing it on Kilimanjaro. I am amused by the baggage claim in the airport in Zanzibar. It’s just a bench they load all our bags onto and everyone swarms around to grab theirs.

We’re staying at the Z Hotel right on the beach and it’s so luxurious!

We splurged a bit on these accommodations, but it’s worth it. There’s 2 restaurants, a deli and a spa, and the pool ends up being our favorite place to relax (and drink cocktails) as the beach can get a bit trying (more on that in a minute).

 

Before coming here, I’d read a lot about Nungwi Beach and how it’s not always the most enjoyable beach to stay on as there are many accounts of tourists being harassed by locals while walking and swimming. They try selling you on everything from shells to snorkel trips and don’t readily take no for an answer.

Maybe I was expecting the worst, but our experience isn’t too bad. Both Amy and I have people talk to us, trying to get us to buy something, but at most, it’s once or twice a day. It’s a bit annoying, and does keep us closer to the pool than the beach. Amy is much nicer than me, which works against her here as she isn’t as easily able to say no, but even still it doesn’t seem like we’re too bothered.

Every morning we eat breakfast here, looking out over the water.

Every afternoon a guy carrying coconuts comes and stands in front of our pool yelling “Fresh coconut juice coconut juice coconut juice Zanzibar!”. I never see anyone buying anything from him, but I assume it must work sometimes.

We have a bit of rain every day, some days worse than others. When it rains too hard, we head to the reading room or the pub to have a drink and do some reading or photo editing.

I love walking in the ocean, up and down the beach. It’s just so beautiful and the water is a color I’m not sure I’ve seen before!

We’re here during the full moon and incredibly low and high tides. In the morning when the tide is out, the local women come down to harvest shellfish. There are hundreds of them!

The tides are so low, the boats are all beached. The local men take this opportunity to work on repairs.

There are several restaurants along the beach. My favorite ends up being the Sunset Grill and Sports Bar (who’s shocked?). They have the cheapest wine of any place we’ve been, half the cost of everywhere else and fresh caught fish and lobster for dinner. And of course, sports on the TV!

Langi Langi up the beach a bit further also has really good food and great views!

Our last night here, the tide is so high we can’t walk on the beach, but it’s really cool to look over the rail and see people swimming below. And the sunset is possibly the most colorful I’ve ever seen.

Even though we are here to relax, we do have a couple tours planned. We’re doing a day trip to see a spice farm and Stone Town, and I definitely have to get out to the Mnemba Island for some SCUBA diving. More on these trips to come!