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For Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar is an island state within the United Republic of Tanzania and is one of the best-kept secrets in the Indian Ocean, with its fascinating historical Stone Town and magnificent beaches it offers world class water-sports includingﾠscuba diving,ﾠsnorkelling, deep sea fishing, kayaking, windsurfing, waterskiing and sailing on traditional localﾠdhows. The Spice island of Zanzibar lies off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean. It is famous for once being the commercial centre of East Africa and the last place to abolish the slave trade. Today it combines ancient Islamic ruins, noble Arabic houses with miles of white sandy palm fringed beaches and coves. The ocean offers warm clear blue waters, idyllic islands excellent reefs for snorkelling and diving, fantastic deep sea fishing, water sports and of course delicious fresh fish. And if you thought that wasn't enough, visiting the Spice plantations (cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, cardamom and others) or haggling for carvings in the Central Market is great fun too.
The weather is pretty much ideal year round with cooling sea breezes particularly on the North and East coasts during the summer, which peaks in December. Zanzibar is blessed with an average of 7-8 hours of sunshine daily. Short rains can occur in November but are characterised by short showers which do not last long; longer rains normally occurﾠin April and May but even then it typically doesn't rain every day.
There are no large wild animals in Zanzibar, although some forest areas are inhabited by monkeys, bush-pigs, civets and small antelopes. There is a wide variety of birdlife, and a large number of butterflies in rural areas, and the coral reefs that surround the East Coast are rich in marine diversity, and make Zanzibar an ideal location for snorkelling and scuba diving.
The Zanzibar archipelago consists of Unguja (commonly referred to as Zanzibar Island), Pemba and several small surrounding islands including the Conservancy island of Mnemba.
We'd recommend Zanzibar and the islands to anyone who wants an idyllic 'get-away from the world as we know it' holiday or honeymoon.
