by If you wanted to compare Zanzibar to anywhere, the Caribbean might be a good place to start. It’s certainly what my friend found herself doing after recently visiting St. Kitts and Nevis with her boyfriend – saying the latter was a poor imitation of the African island she and I fell on. loved it as backpackers 17 years ago.
“The beaches were rubbish compared to Zanzibar,” she announced – loudly – for the whole cafe and her man to hear. “The sand wasn’t even white.”
It’s funny enough that anyone could go to the Caribbean and complain about the scenery, but the beaches in Zanzibar are pretty much unbeatable, with rolling seas so blue they seem to be washing anti-freeze on the snow.
But while the African archipelago may be more beautiful than many Caribbean rivals, it has less trash than, say, Bali or Thailand, and has more culture and history than its Indian Ocean neighbors (capital Zanzibar is like a mini-Marrakech), there is one thing. he really doesn’t – and that’s a wild party scene.
That is why there is such an uproar among my friends who live in the semi-autonomous region of Tanzania due to press reports that described Zanzibar as “the new Magaluf”. I have visited Zanzibar five times, and, like the expats and locals I have befriended during those trips, I worry about how anyone could compare their sleepy equator home to a Mallorcan resort that’s as fond of oversexed teenagers as it is of stags and bums. hen parties.
Yes, the beer could be cheap, as the reports correctly identified, with some locally owned bars selling bottles for as little as £1 a pop. But nobody is going to fly like that – and spend an extra £450 on airfare – to save a few shillings on drinks.
The two places could not be more different. Zanzibar has only one loud obnoxibar bartender who blasts dance music into the starry sky (and drives his neighbors wild). And, while there may be plenty of lounges and even some bijou clubs, it’s more about “cocktails on the sand” and “sunbathers overlooking the ocean”, rather than vodka shots, group T-shirts and everything else. to associate with you. with a Mediterranean bender at a cut price.
Even the legendary full moon party on the beach at Kendwa couldn’t be less “Magaluf” if it tried, with African DJs spinning Swahili hip-hop to a mixed crowd of locals, expats and 30-somethings -safari. flop.
“Anyone looking for Magaluf will be disappointed,” explained Sally, who moved to the island from England during the lockdown. “I went to Magaluf when I was 17, and that was enough. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere like that.
“There are certain pockets in Zanzibar where people party. But it is very inclusive. It’s not all Paje or Nungwi, maybe a few crops.”
It is a sentiment expressed by Fikile “Fix” Moeti, a former MTV Africa presenter, who used to DJ in Kendwa.
She said many “DJs, club promoters and publicists” based in Spain and the Middle East were flying to Zanzibar, which was creating a buzz in places like Paje, but she said there was nothing like this. it was brutal. an atmosphere you might find in Magaluf.
The South African, who moved to the island two years ago, runs a fitness studio-cum-bar in the eastern beach village of Kiwengwa, which she occasionally turns the decks at. Its Yoga Bar on the beach (yogabarzanzibar.com) is pretty typical of the kind of hangout you’d find yourself in on holiday in Zanzibar – relaxed, low-key and extremely friendly, with guests chatting over their shoulders for days on end. another holiday on tables. half-buried in the sand.
Just as easy is the handful or so fishing villages like Kiwengwa and Paje, around which Zanzibar’s tourism industry is based.
They are not full of soulless resorts, like you find on other islands in the Indian Ocean (or the Caribbean). They’re also incredibly safe, meaning that rather than being confined to your hotel, you’ll spend your days (and nights) strolling along their white coral sands, bumping into the bars and the small independently owned hotels you pass by for a while. a few drinks and a swim in their pool.
Tourism hasn’t forced the locals either, which means that even in the more developed villages, like Paje, you’ll find boat builders repairing fires near your lunchtime hangout, and you’ll see school kids at enjoy the sunset game 25-a. -side on the beach.
It’s a remarkable achievement given that resorts like Paje have been popular since 2020, when Tanzania’s late president – a PhD in chemistry – rejected green locks and other restrictions, leading to a rise in visitor interest and investment.
Everywhere you look, new guesthouses, holiday rentals and kitesurfing schools are popping up among the coral houses and banana plantations in places like Paje, Nungwi and Kiwengwa.
But while the number of tourist arrivals may have increased dramatically, jumping from around half a million a year before Covid, to just under 640,000 last year, the numbers are still quite low given the size of the island, and because tourists are so widely dispersed. around its north and east coast.
In fact, you only have to examine the statistics for Mallorca (16.5 million visitors, to 900,000 locals) or St Kitts and Nevis (540,000 visitors, to 47,000 locals), to understand why the most of Zanzibar’s 1.8 million residents still participate twice in the city. mzungu pale sight (foreigner).
This is especially true on the northern island of Pemba, where you’ll find only a handful of eco-resorts, backpackers, and the occasional luxury hotel such as The Manta Resort (themantaresort.com), famous for its underwater room with tropical fish swimming. past the window.
But even on the main island of Zanzibar, tourism has hardly affected the beaches and the maze, the former capital of Stone Town, and few tourists have taken the opportunity to walk its rainforest, or visit to call his Arab palaces, harems and slave dungeons. . It is something that the authorities are keen to put right.
It won’t be easy, though. Zanzibar’s beaches are notoriously hard to escape, and with everything from diving and dolphins to some of the best kitesurfing conditions in the world, it’s no wonder they leave such a lasting impression.
