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Tanzania · Circuit 04
Where a safari ends barefoot.
The circuit
After a week of early starts and dust, the Indian Ocean is the obvious last chapter. It is a short flight from the parks, and the change is total: salt air, warm water, and nothing on the schedule but the tide.
Tanzania’s coast is not one beach. Zanzibar has Stone Town and its spice farms. Pemba is greener and quieter, with deep reefs. Mafia has whale sharks for half the year. And there are private islands where yours is the only party ashore.
Saadani National Park, on the mainland coast, is one of the few places in Africa where the bush runs down to the beach. It is simpler than the big parks, and it makes an unusual first or last stop.
Three to five nights is the sweet spot. Long enough to stop checking the time, short enough to leave wanting more.
Destinations
Stone Town, spice and white sand · All year
Stone Town’s lanes, carved doors and rooftop dinners make a good first evening. Then the coast: the calm south-east beaches around Bwejuu, or the north-east, closer to the reef at Mnemba.
We favour villas with their own plunge pools and enough distance from the next one that the only sound at night is the sea.
Read the Zanzibar guide →
A private island off Zanzibar · All year
A private island off Zanzibar’s north-east coast, with twelve bandas on white coral sand. You snorkel the reef from the beach, and turtles nest on the island.
It is a favourite of ours for the last nights of a honeymoon.
Where we stay
Reefs, cloves and quiet · All year
Greener, hillier and far less visited than Zanzibar, with clove plantations inland and deep reefs offshore. Divers love it.
Stay over a lagoon reached by jetty, or sleep in a room beneath the surface at The Manta Resort.
Where we stay
Whale sharks and a marine park · October to March for whale sharks
Mafia is home to Tanzania’s first marine park, and from October to March whale sharks feed in the shallow bay off Kilindoni, a short boat ride from shore. You swim alongside them with a guide.
Out of season there are reefs, quiet beaches and the old ruins on Chole Island.
Ask us about Mafia →
A private island off Mafia · All year
A private island off Mafia, taken by one party at a time. For a family celebration or a group of friends, it is about as private as Tanzania gets.
We pair it with Mafia’s whale shark season when the dates allow.
Ask us about Thanda Island →
Where the bush meets the beach · Dry season
One of the few places in Africa where a safari park runs down to the sea. Game drives in the morning, the beach in the afternoon, and boat trips on the Wami River.
It is simpler than the big parks, which is part of its charm.
Ask us about Saadani →Zanzibar for Stone Town, culture and the widest choice of villas. Pemba for quiet and diving. Mafia for whale sharks between October and March. A private island if you want the place to yourselves.
Off Mafia, from October to March, in the bay near Kilindoni.
Three to five after the safari is the right amount for most guests.
Yes. Mnemba, off Zanzibar, and Thanda, off Mafia, are the two we use most.
Tell us your dates and who is coming. Goodluck will come back with a route, and the reasons behind every camp on it.
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