7 Days Zanzibar Island Holiday

Meet at ZNZ airport and transfer to your hotel in Stone Town — the UNESCO-listed heart of Zanzibar. Check in among coral-stone alleyways, carved wooden doors, and the Indian Ocean breeze.

Evening harbour walk along the seafront, or dinner at Forodhani Gardens night market. Seven days ahead cover both coasts of Unguja plus the island's cultural and natural highlights.

Full guided walk through Stone Town's UNESCO quarter — House of Wonders, Old Fort, Sultan's Palace, Anglican Cathedral (former slave market), and the famous carved Zanzibar doors.

Cultural activity | Stone Town heritage walking tour

Full-day guided walk through palaces, markets, historic sites and seafront — Zanzibar's essential cultural introduction.

Lunch at a rooftop restaurant with harbour views. Afternoon free for Darajani market, the Peace Memorial Museum, or a sunset dhow cruise.

Morning at a working spice plantation — cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom and nutmeg in the plots that built Zanzibar's trading wealth. Touch, smell and taste fresh spices.

Cultural activity | Spice plantation tour

Guided walk through shaded spice plots with tasting — learn how Zanzibar earned the nickname "Spice Island."

Afternoon at Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park for endemic red colobus monkeys and a mangrove boardwalk through tidal forest. Jozani is Zanzibar's only national park — the red colobus is found nowhere else on earth and troops are habituated to visitors.

Return to Stone Town by late afternoon. Evening free for Forodhani night market or rooftop dinner before tomorrow's transfer to the north coast.

After breakfast, transfer to Paje on Zanzibar's east coast (approx. 1 hour) — famous for kite-surfing, dramatic low tides, and reef walks at ebb. The east coast delivers a different rhythm from the calm north shore.

Check in at your beach lodge. Afternoon on the beach — explore the exposed reef at low tide, watch kite-surfers launch from the sand, or swim in the warm Indian Ocean. Paje village has laid-back cafés and kite schools for beginners.

Beach activity | East-coast reef walk & swimming

Afternoon on Paje's dramatic tidal beach — reef walks at low tide, kite-surfing viewpoints, and warm Indian Ocean swimming.

Leisurely east-coast morning — final swim, reef walk, or village visit. Mid-morning transfer north to Nungwi or Kendwa (approx. 2 hours across the island).

Afternoon check-in at your north-coast resort — Zanzibar's calmest swimming beaches with reef-protected water year-round. Sunset from the beach.

Full beach day on the north coast. Optional Mnemba Atoll snorkelling (supplement) — turquoise water and pristine coral off the north-east coast. Or join a sunset dhow cruise from Nungwi.

Marine activity | Mnemba snorkel or sunset dhow

Choose Mnemba Atoll reef snorkelling or a traditional dhow sunset sail — both highlight Zanzibar's Indian Ocean at its best.

Alternatively, relax at the lodge with full-board dining, house-reef snorkelling, or a Nungwi village tour to see dhow-building on the beach. The north coast's west-facing position delivers spectacular Indian Ocean sunsets — a fitting end to the complete Unguja circuit.

Seven days cover Stone Town culture, spice and forest, east-coast tides, and north-coast reef time — the full island experience without flying to Pemba.

Breakfast on the beach overlooking the ocean. Check out and transfer to ZNZ airport (approx. 90 minutes from Nungwi). The complete Unguja circuit — culture, spice, forest, east coast and north coast — in seven days without flying to Pemba.

East coast (Paje/Matemwe) delivers kite-surfing and dramatic low tides; north coast (Nungwi/Kendwa) has the calmest swimming year-round. This itinerary samples both coasts plus Stone Town's UNESCO quarter — ideal for first-time Zanzibar visitors.