Zanzibar Islands

Zanzibar Islands  : Zanzibar Archipelago also referred to as “The Spice Island” is composed of a chain of island running the shore of East Africa, off of the coast of Tanzania and South of the Somalia Sea. Most of the Zanzibar Archipelago belong to Zanzibar Semi- autonomous region of Tanzania.

Islands making up the Zanzibar Archipelago are as detailed below

UNGUJA ISLAND

Unguja Island often referred to as Zanzibar is one of the major islands of Zanzibar Archipelago, the island is also the largest and most populated island of the Zanzibar Archipelago.

Unguja Island is located in the northern half of the Archipelago about 59 kilometers south of Pemba Island which is the second largest island of the Zanzibar Archipelago.

Unguja Island features beautiful beaches with crystal white sands and is surrounded by the vivid underwater world, the island is separated from the mainland of Tanzania by Zanzibar Channel and is famously known for the Stone Town – a historical city.

Unguja Island is divided into 5 main sectors that are Zanzibar City,  the northernmost tip, the North East, the East Coast and the South Coast, these sectors can easily be accessed between each other.

GETTING TO AND FROM UNGUJA

Unguja Island is a hilly island stretching approximately 85 kilometres long (north – south) and 30 kilometres at its widest, the island has a size of approximately 643 square miles and is surrounded by a number of small islands and islets with only Tumbatu and Uzi being inhabited.

The minor island surrounded Unguja Island include Bawe, Chapwani, Changuu, Chumbe, Kizingo, Kwale, Latham, Mautani, Miwi, Mnemba, Mwana wa Mwana, Nianembe, Popo, Pungume, and Ukanga islands.

To get to Unguja Island, you can use either air or water means of transport.

By air – there are direct flights from Dar es Salaam or Kilimanjaro Airport to Zanzibar “Abeid Amani Karume International airport”. Flights to Unguja Island are offered by several flight carriers including Condor, Jetfly, Ethiopian Airways, Kenyan Airways, Oman Air, Qatar Airlines, Arkia Israeli Airlines, KLM, FlyDubai, Meridian, Fasyjet, Mango and Turkish Airlines.

By water – there is a ferry operating from the harbor in the center of Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar City, the journey takes approximately 2 hours. The sea is often rough, however it is an adventure of its own. You can also opt to using traditional dhow which takes approximately half a day.

WEATHER AND WHEN TO GO TO UNGUJA

The weather in Unguja Island is similar to the Mainland Tanzania, the island experiences 2 rainy seasons with the long season from March to May and the short rain season from October to December. The long rain season experiences monsoons meaning the beaches are crowd free and hotels offer the most affordable rates.

The island’s dry season is from December to February which is a long dry season with average temperatures of 30-35 degrees Celsius, June to October with average temperatures of 29-30 degrees. In this period of the year, the beaches are very busy as it is a perfect time of the year for a Zanzibar beach holiday.

Unguja Island is generally hot and humid throughout the year, as a traveler remember to bring modest clothing for your holiday however make sure you bring attires that can cover your body most especially women as Zanzibar is a Muslim dominated area.

Where to stay in Unguja Island

Unguja Island has a diversity of accommodation options ranging from simple boutique hotels to all-inclusive resorts, honeymoon resorts and backpackers hotels. These accommodations are scattered around the 5 sectors of the island and they include

Zanzibar City

• Flamingo guest house
• Chavda hotel
• Ten to Ten hostel
• Zazi Reosrt
• Serena Lodge among others.

The northernmost tip

• Dhow Palace Hotel
• Nugwi House
• Makofi Guest House

The North East

• Matemwe Retreat
• Morningstar Bungalows

The East Coast

• The Breezes Beach Club and Spa
• The Baraza Resort and Spa
• Zwadi Hotel
• The Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas

The South Coast.

• The Residence

PEMBA ISLAND

Pemba Island is the second major Island of Zanzibar Archipelago situated within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean, the island is also one of the largely undiscovered islands by travellers and this is because it is often overshadowed by the larger Unguja Island.

Unguja Island covers an area of 988 square kilometers, about 50 kilometers to the north of Unguja which is the largest island of the Archipelago and about 50 kilometers east of Tanzania – the mainland across the Pemba Channel.

Pemba Island and Mafia Island are situated south of Unguja form the Spice Island, the most part of Pemba Island is hiller and more fertile than Unguja and dominated by small scale farming with large plantations of various cash crops including cloves.

Pemba Island is often referred to as THE CLOVE ISLAND and is still the predominant global producer of cloves producing 70% of all the world’s cloves.

This magical island is generally hilly with gentle undulating hills and deep verdant valleys that are covered with cloves, coconut, mango and clove plantations.

Activities on Pemba Island

There are a range of exciting activities to do in Pemba Island and these include

• Visiting Archaeological sites
• Visiting the spie farms
• Kidike Flying fox sanctuary
• Scuba diving
• Deep-sea fishing

Where to stay in Pemba Island

Unlike Unguja Island, Pemba Island has few accommodation facilities which are secluded and scattered around the coast, the accommodation options include

• Fundu Lagoon
• The Aiyana Resort
• The Manta Resort among others

When to Visit Pemba Island

There are 2 rainy seasons at Pemba Island with long and short seasons, long rain season is from April to May. This period experiences the heaviest rain and it should be avoided by travellers, also most of the resorts get closed. The advantage of this period is the monsoons that results into mangrove forests and swamps.

The shorter rainy season is experienced between November and December, in this period visibility for diving is much lower and a fewer malaria carry mosquitoes.

The rest of the year is a dry season in Pemba Island with favourable conditions for water sports such as diving and snorkelling, sunbathing, kite surfing among others.

  Pemba Island is situated near the equator with average temperature of 26 degree Celsius all year round.

Getting to get Pemba Island

Pemba Island is a secluded Island and can be accessed by air or water means.

• By Air – there are chartered flights from Dar es Salaam to Unguja Island, these flights take approximately 30 minutes.
• By Water – there is a ferry from Zanzibar via ferry, the crossing is rough and it can be unsafe. The most reliable ferry is Zazm Marine.

Mnemba ISLAND

Mnemba Island is a small private Island owned by The &Beyond, the island is situated approximately 3 kilometers off the northeast coast of Unguja – the largest island of Zanzibar Archipelago.

Mnemba Island is an exclusive island lying within a halo of coral reef and is adorned with pristine white sand beaches and a casuarine pine forest, the Island is roughly triangular in shape about 500 kilometers in diameter and about 1.5 meters in circumference and it is surrounded by an oval reef seven by 4 kilometers in extent.

Mnemba Island and its reefs that is often referred Mnemba Atoll to as have been recognised and declared a marine conservation area, the conservation area comprises of 4 distinct habitats inhabiting a diverse array of the Indian Ocean wildlife.

The areas is a nesting place for the threatened green sea turtle that can be seen laying their eggs on the beaches between February and September, humpbacks Whales present from July to September, 3 species of dolphins and whale sharks. The island is also a home for both migratory and resident shore birds which are seen feeding and roosting on the island, there are also species of coral reef fish.

Mnemba Island is one of the most romantic beach destination in the world offering privacy and rustic exclusivity unparalleled on the African coastline, the island is famous for its celebrity guests and being a great post-safari getaway for families.

 The island owned by &Beyond and there is only one luxurious beach resort on the island, this beautiful beach resort offer 12 luxurious beachside bandas accommodating 24 guests and have attentive staff outnumbering the guests by 2 to 1. Since Mnemba Island is a private island, non-guests are not permitted on the island.

Mnemba Island is a popular destination for scuba diving site with a wide variety of corals associated species and occasional sightings of larger species such as turtles and dolphins. .

Activities to do in Mnemba Island

At the private Mnemba Island there are thrilling water sports to do including

• Snorkelling
• Deep sea fishing
• Sun bathing
• Kayaking
• Windsurfing and cycling

How to get to Mnemba Island

Only guests to Mnemba Island are allowed to access the Island so to get there, one of &Beyond private chauffeurs will collect you from Zanzibar’s main airport Abeid Amani Karume International Airport or from the Stone Town. To cross Unguja Island, it is a journey of about 1.5 hours and the final 20 minutes’ drive is on a bumpy, unpaved road. The rest of the journey takes approximately 15 minutes of boat cruise in an open top boat across crystal waters, there are no jetties on Mnemba Island so you landing involves a little wading but still the staff will ensure that you will have a comfortable landing.

Other Islands situated in Zanzibar Archipelago include

• Thanda Island
• Chumbe Island
• Mafia Island

Book your safari to one of the beautiful islands of Zanzibar Island with Petnah Africa Tours and Travel.