The properties
We do not own hotels and we are not going to rank other people’s
A numbered list would tell you about our supplier relationships rather than about the island. What is useful is the taxonomy, the questions that separate two properties at the same price, and what no hotel here can control.
The categories
Five kinds of place to stay
They are not points on one ladder. They are different products, and the expensive one is not always the right one.
Five kinds of property
Large resort, small beach hotel, Stone Town merchant house, private villa, and the barefoot places. Each with what it is genuinely for.
All five
What changes a stay
Six variables, starting with which coast — and none of them is visible in a photograph of a bedroom.
What to ask
Board and inclusions
All-inclusive, half board or B&B. It matters far more here than at a safari camp, where everything is in the rate anyway.
Which basis
Villas
A whole house with staff and a cook. The maths works from about six people, and there are fewer of them on some coasts than others.
When it paysHonestly
Four things no hotel can control, whatever it costs
The tide, which on the east coast takes the sea several hundred metres away for hours at a time. The seaweed, which is farmed in the shallows and is somebody’s livelihood rather than a cleaning failure. The power, which is not always reliable, so good hotels run generators and you may hear them. And the mosquitoes, in a malarial region where a hotel can supply nets and not much else.
We publish this because a guest who blames a hotel for the tide had a planning problem rather than a hotel problem — and because the properties that mention these things on their own websites are, in our experience, the ones that are straight about everything else too.
- The tide — a property of the coastline, not the property
- The seaweed — farmed on lines, largely by women, for decades
- The power — generators are normal and audible
- The mosquitoes — take proper medical advice before you travel
Free download
Five Kinds Of Hotel
Not a ranked list of other people’s hotels — the categories, the questions, and the four things no property can fix.
- Why we do not publish a best-hotels list
- The five kinds of property
- Six things that change a stay
- Board basis, which matters here
- Villas and exclusive use
- Four things no hotel can control
- What to ask before booking
- Where the money is worth spending
No cost, no obligation. We ask for an email so we can send it and, if you want it, follow up once.
Before you ask
Questions about where to stay
Which is the best hotel in Zanzibar?
There is no such thing, and anybody publishing a ranking is ranking their own suppliers. What exists is a good match between a party, a coast, a season and a kind of property.
The small beach hotel — fifteen to forty rooms, owner-run or close to it — is the island’s strongest category and where most genuinely good weeks are spent. That is as close to a general answer as we will give.
Should we book all-inclusive?
It suits large resorts, families and coasts where there is nowhere much to walk to. It is good value if you drink, and it quietly discourages you from eating anywhere else on the island.
The catch is at small hotels: all-inclusive at a fifteen-room property with one restaurant means the same menu for seven nights. Ask how many restaurants there are before choosing it.
Is a villa worth it?
From about six people, frequently yes — it prices as a whole unit, so the per-head cost falls as the party grows, and it comes with staff and a cook.
Below six the arithmetic stops working and a small beach hotel is the better buy. There are also more villas on some coasts than others, which narrows the choice.
Do we need air conditioning?
In the hot, calm months, on the whole yes, and particularly in Stone Town where the alleys hold the heat and there is no sea breeze.
In the cooler, windier months a good fan and a sea-facing room are often enough. It is worth asking which the room has rather than assuming.
Who actually arranges my safari?
This site is a planning guide. When you send an enquiry it goes to Nomad Africa, our partner travel agency in Kenya, who prepare your itinerary and quote and handle the booking, the payments and you on the ground.
You deal with one team from the first email to the airport transfer home.
Start planning
Tell us how you want the days to work
Which coast, how many of you, whether you want to eat out or never leave — those three answers narrow the island’s properties faster than any amount of browsing.
Our Zanzibar specialist replies within 24 hours with properties that suit, what each rate includes, and an itemised price.
- Properties matched to the coast that suits your days
- Board basis explained rather than defaulted to
- Room counts and transfer times stated
- No deposit to see a plan, and no obligation at any point
Who answers
Nomad Africa, our partner travel agency in Nairobi, builds and prices every itinerary we send. You deal with one team, on the ground, for the whole trip.
Founded in 2017 as East Africa’s only dedicated travel magazine, Nomad still publishes — so the people planning your trip are the ones who write about these places for a living.
Get your tailored itinerary and quote
Our Zanzibar specialist replies within 24 hours with a costed plan built around your dates.
More from our Zanzibar guides
Specialist guides across our Zanzibar network
Each of these is a focused guide we publish. Same Zanzibar specialist behind every enquiry.