Zanzibar is an East African travelers’ paradise which offers best palm-fringed beaches with its spectacular sunsets, turquoise water & colorful coral reefs. We stayed at Zanzibar for a week and visited so many Zanzibar Best Beaches with beautiful stretches of white sand beach and literally now finding it hard to choose some of the best. Here is our comprehensive Zanzibar Beaches Guide. These are some of the best beaches in Zanzibar which is perfect for swimming, snorkeling & sunbathing.
NOTE: We would suggest visiting most of the below listed beaches during the high tides. At low tide hour its possible you might not love them to their deserving extent.
1. Nungwi Beach : Zanzibar Beaches Guide
Nungwi is the top and one of the most popular tourist destination beach among all. This white and wide stretch of sandy beach is located in the northern end of Unguja island which takes almost an hour from Zanzibar stone town to reach. It’s the busiest beach of Zanzibar and is definitely one of the liveliest area on the island, with numerous beach resorts, hotels, restaurants and bars which offers a wide variety of night-time entertainment too.
There are plenty of activities and excursions to do around this beach including a dhow boat trip, swimming with dolphins & various water sports etc. Towards west of Nungwi Beach, it also has some of the best sunset view in Zanzibar and a sunset cruise on a traditional dhow sailing boat is a must without a miss.
2. Mnemba Island Beach : Zanzibar Beaches Guide
This island is said to be a luxurious heaven which offers open air villas. Mnemba Island is a single small island located about 3km of the north east coast of Unjuga and it is one of the quietest parts of Zanzibar and a perfect choice for those seeking total relaxation, peace and privacy. If you are celebrating a special and a romantic occasion than is the perfect getaway for you from the rest.
However, this is not a public beach and owned by ‘And Beyond Mnemba Island’. So to be there one need to stay there. The color of the water and beach sand at Mnemba Island feels right out of a picture post card. We didn’t stay at Mnemba but visited the neighboring white sand beaches and found ourselves floating in the middle of the ocean, having some of the best snorkeling experience.
3. Kendwa Beach : Zanzibar Beaches Guide
This beach is also referred to as the “little sister “of Nungwi Beach, which is much quieter and is just 20 min ahead of Nungwi. This is one of the few beaches which is perfect for swimming, snorkeling and diving. One can enjoy the best sunsets at Kendwa beach which are absolutely gorgeous to relax and gawk at the pink sky with a glass of wine. Oh! Yes please.
4. Matemwe Beach
Matemwe lies on the north-eastern coast of Unguja, which is especially known for its unspoiled powdery coastline which also makes it an exclusive beach destination. It is also the quietest and longest beach in Zanzibar offering some of the finest sand beach and palm trees on the island.
5. Jambiani Beach
Jambiani beach is located on the south east coast of Unguja between Paje and Makunduchi beach. It takes almost an hour to reach from Zanzibar stone town. We did not spend much time there as we went during the low tide and didn’t find it too appealing at that time honestly. Also this beach doesn’t have any restaurants and shacks where we could chill out. But we are sure it would look gorgeous during the high tide.
6. Paje beach
Paje beach is very close to Jambiani which took us less than 10 min to reach. It is also called the kitesurfing beach, which is just perfect: having long stretches of white sand, palm trees and turquoise water.
Paje is one of the peaceful beach, in the south east of Zanzibar. This beach is great known for its water sports and the excellent kiteboarding and in addition to this, the clear, warm waters are great for scuba diving, as the reefs offshore are home to turtles, starfish, and other colourful marine creatures. We had spent time there more than we thought we would, and eventually dozed off for couple of hours enjoying the soothing breeze.
7. Michamvi Beach
Michamvi lies on the south east coast of Zanzibar which takes approx an hour to reach from Zanzibar stone town. This beach is also very close to Paje which took us less than 15min to reach. The beach here is stunning, which has white sand with blue turquoise water, making it a tropical paradise of the Indian Ocean. If you are a sea shell lover this beach is just for you. I(Puja)can spent hours collecting sea shells loosing track to time.
Also not to miss is one of the most iconic place to visit here is ‘The Rock’ restaurant which turns out be an extraordinary and Instagram friendly restaurant which is located in an unique position, on a coral rock in the middle of the Ocean. The restaurant is connected to the mainland by boat during high tide, and is also reachable by foot during low tide.
We found it so unique & interesting. Loved it!!!!
So whether you’re looking to explore the island’s colorful coral reefs or simply want to sun lounge on the powdery sands with a glass of wine, we hope you find this blog helpful to decide which beach is best for the type of vacation you are looking forward to.
Thanks!
Found this to be useful? Check out our other blogs on Zanzibar to plan your perfect holidays.
Amazing things to do in North Unguja, Zanzibar(around Nungwi)
Best things to do in Zanzibar Stone Town
