When you go to Zanzibar on holiday, an important part of your holiday is most likely to be enjoying the sun on a beautiful beach. And fortunately, there are lots of beautiful beaches to be found on this special island. So wherever you go you will always find a beach where you will have a good time. But which beaches are particularly worth visiting? Check out this overview.
Nungwi beach
Nungwi beach on the North East coast is one of the most beautiful beaches in Zanzibar. In fact, in 2023, this beach ranked in the Top 20 most beautiful beaches in the world (chosen by the TripAdvisor audience).
The beach is located in a lively part of the island. Around the beach, you will therefore find many bars, hotels and restaurants. The coast at Nungwi is beautiful and the beautiful coral reef makes for good snorkelling and diving. With a bit of luck, you will also see dolphins. And that’s not all: you can also experience one of the best sunsets on Zanzibar here.
Kendwa beach
Kendwa beach is also known as Nungwi’s little sister. Like Nungwi, you can enjoy a beautiful sunset there. However, there is less entertainment around this beach, which directly ensures that it is a lot quieter during the day. Perfect for those who prefer a less crowded beach.
A unique feature of this beach is that the tide hardly changes during the day. This means the water is calm and you can swim well.
After sunset, this beach is transformed into a place for partygoers and is a fun place if you feel like dancing or having a drink.
Matemwe Beach
This is Zanzibar’s longest beach. It is a beautiful fine sandy beach that offers many possibilities. Not only can you enjoy lying on the beach, but this beach also offers good diving, snorkelling, kite surfing and sailing.
About two kilometres off the coast of this beach is the world-famous Mnemba Island, with one of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world. So a perfect place to take a dip. Note you can’t swim from this beach to Mnemba Island. But you can arrange tours from here.
Pongwe beach
Pongwe beach is the beach on Zanzibar where you can swim peacefully and safely. Thanks to the reefs in front of the beach, the waves are broken from the ocean, providing calm water. The beach itself is surrounded by palm trees and other green vegetation. Quieter than many other beaches, the beach is a nice place to spend some time.
Again, snorkelling is good here too.
Bwejuu beach
Like the beaches mentioned above, Bwejuu is also part of Zanzibar’s best beaches. This beautiful white sandy beach is surrounded by palm trees and is about an hour and a half drive from Stone Town.
It is located in a quiet part of island, but from here you can take many scenic excursions and see the important sights of Zanzibar.
Paje beach
This beach is located in the South West of Zanzibar. It is elongated with white sand, palm trees, turquoise waters and a beautiful sunset. This is also a relatively quiet spot with only a small village adjacent to this beach.
This beach is the ultimate spot for kitesurfers. It offers the perfect conditions for this water sport and therefore attracts surfers from all over the world. Snorkelling and diving are also good here, as are many other places on the island.
After sunset, this beach turns into a place for partygoers. But the atmosphere is good and relaxed.
Michamvi beach
Michamvi is a peninsula on the east coast of Zanzibar. Despite the hotel resorts on this peninsula, you will find large stretches of beach with virtually no other people. Also, Michamvi is the only place in the east of the island where you can watch a beautiful sunset.
This peninsula consists of two parts. On the east side is Michamvi-Pingwe and on the west side is Michamvi-Kae. The east side offers good opportunities for divers because of the coral reef that lies here. You will also find many diving schools here.
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