Ocean Breeze & Zanzibar Stories: 6 Days Adventure

This is Zanzibar tilted a little further toward the active side. Six days, one night in Stone Town, three nights on the east coast, and one night at Kizimkazi in the south - the fishing village whose bay holds a resident pod of bottlenose dolphins. The itinerary is written for travellers who want the island's stories, not just its beach hotels.

The Kizimkazi dolphin morning is the anchor. Boats leave the harbour at first light and the pod is usually located within twenty minutes; the crew hold position and swimmers enter the water in small groups. It is a wild encounter, not a show, and the ethics have improved noticeably since local operators formed the current guidelines. From Kizimkazi we continue up the east coast to the reef-protected lagoon at Paje or Jambiani for three nights of the classic east-coast experience.

The final Stone Town night is deliberately at the end, not the beginning - you arrive off the beach with time to walk the streets at sunset, eat at Forodhani Gardens with the locals rather than at a hotel, and take an early flight the next morning without a long transfer to the airport.

The trip suits couples in their thirties and forties, small groups of friends, and anyone who has already done a straight beach holiday on the island and wants a fuller version.