Zanzibar on a Budget..
Zanzibar, a stunning island off the East coast of Tanzania is known for its luxurious honeymoon resorts which cost a small fortune. However, you can travel Zanzibar on a budget too.
Don’t come here expecting another Thailand. It’s much more laid back than that. It’s not as cheap. And it attracts a different type of traveller.
The type of backpackers on Zanizbar tend to be those coming for a spot of relaxation after going on a safari on mainland Tanzania or hiking Kilimanjaro, or those like me simply here to chill and enjoy the beautiful beaches and scenery.
As a solo traveller who likes to do things on the cheap, here’s my tips for how to do Zanzibar on a budget…
Stay on the East Coast of Zanzibar:
The more popular, well known beaches of Nungwi and Kendwa on the North of the island may have perfect white sand and clear blue sea, but the accommodation also tends to be much more expensive and the area more built up with luxury hotels. It’s also full of families and couples. For a more low key, low cost, backpacker vibe, the East Coast is where it’s at.
I highly, highly recommend Paje. Its key draw is its kite surfing scene. However, even if you’re not interested in kite surfing, don’t let that put you off. It’s actually really nice to watch the kite surfers out at sea, and what a beautiful sea it is…
See my Paje post here for where to stay and things to do.
Further up the coast is Jambiani, the next beach village along the coast. I went to a really fun night there with live music at the Red Monkey Resort. This was pretty cool, although for me personally Paje was a better option to stay as it has more going on.
Stonetown on a budget…
I was really excited and intrigued by Stonetown as I’d read many blogs raving about its virtues. However, one day here was enough to get a feel for it and see the key sights in my humble opinion. It’s a very small town and you can walk from one end to the other in about half an hour.
Being located near to the port and airport, it is a convenient place to spend a day before your flight/ferry out of Zanzibar. Particularly if your flights are at awkward times.
Stonetown has a range of backpacker hostels.
Firstly I stayed at the ten to ten hostel for a night. Although this looks super cheap online, bear in mind they don’t add on the city tax of 9 US dollars until you check in. I saw this on the small print and wasn’t surprised when they added this on, but a fellow traveller I arrived with was. So be prepared for this.
This hostel is in a good location near to the sea. It has individual lamps and plug sockets by each bed. Each bed has privacy curtains. Plus it has a female only dorm which I prefer. It has a little kitchen so if you’re really watching your pennies you can pick up some goods from the market and cook for yourself here.
Breakfast isn’t included. I got breakfast at a nearby cafe as I heard the breakfast wasn’t great at the hostel which was 4 US dollars.
The other hostel was lost & found hostel. This had amazing reviews. It was again in a good location. Similar facilities to ten to ten hostel.
Things to do in Stonetown..
Shop and wander- the labyrinth of streets is interesting to wander through. The shops are filled with local art, souvenirs and much more. There’s a range of quirky shops- even an Obama shop, oh and Freddie Mercury’s house. Did you know he was born in Zanzibar?! Well you do now! There’s also the spice markets where you can pick up a colourful array of spices, tea and coffee including saffron, vanilla coffee and cinnamon tea.
Drink coffee- Find a nice coffee shop to drink some locally grown coffee.
The Slave Chambers – For an entrance fee of five US dollars find out about the harrowing slave trade in Zanzibar. Make sure you go downstairs in the shop to see the chambers where slaves were kept before being sold at the market.
Watch the sunset– because Paje didn’t get the sunset I really wanted to see it here in Stonetown. Sitting and watching the local guys do capoeira on the beach with a G&T in hand as the sun went down on the horizon wasn’t a bad end to the day!
Eat at the Night Market- there’s no need to spend a fortune on fancy restaurants- simply grab a local bite to eat at the night market.
The famous Zanzibar Pizza is no more than 5,000 shilling – about two US dollars. It’s nothing like a pizza as we know it. It’s more like a crepe, you can get a savoury or a sweet version. Having a sweet tooth I opted for the sweet version of Nutella, mango and mars bar! Yup it was amazing! That warm gooey goodness, yum. There’s also shawarma and various other food plus freshly squeezed sugar cane juice.
Prison Island-
There’s other tours and trips from Stonetown such as visiting Prison Island which I didn’t do but you can read about it here and a Spice tour which you can read about here.
I had prepared to spend three nights in Stonetown, but after a day wandering around I knew I’d made a mistake in booking this long here and instead changed my plans and booked a night in Kendwa to break it up..
Kendwa:
Kendwa is a popular beach resort area in the North West of Zanzibar. It’s more low key than Nungwi another popular beach spot on the Northern tip of the island.
My experience on a dala dala..
An hour or so up the coast from Stonetown, my hostel offered me a private taxi for 40 US dollars. A guy on the street offered to take me for 25 US dollars and the public transport – a mini van or ‘Dala dala’ was about 1 US dollar…
Being conscious of my budget, and wanting to see ‘the real Zanzibar’ I opted for the latter. After all travelling by public transport is one of the ways to get an insight into local life.
I had to push my way on – the English queuing etiquette simply wasn’t an option. I scrambled on and managed to get a seat by a window where I was soon squished to within an inch of my life!
Before we set off, a local guy approached me, nobody else just me, demanding 15,000 Tanzanian shillings. I was the only white person on it, so an obvious tourist. I already felt I stood out like a sore thumb so this was the last thing I wanted.
I knew the fare was 2,000 and so asked why he wanted 15,000. If he’d asked for say 5,000 I would have just accepted it but over seven times the going rate seemed excessive! After all I could have got a private taxi for 25,000 so I really didn’t want to pay 15,000 for what would be a much more uncomfortable, longer ride. Plus it wasn’t about the money, (although I didn’t see why I should pay over 7 times as much as anybody else!) But the main issue was that I felt singled out, and it wasn’t a nice feeling.
He told me “government taxes”. I didn’t really know what to do. Should I pay to avoid any hassle? Although that would mean fishing around in my purse in my bag which I really didn’t want to do – whereas I had the 2000 at hand.
Should I try to get off? By this point it seemed impossible with the number of people squashed on.
Should I ignore him and hope he’d eventually give up?! Before I had to make a decision, a local man who’d witnessed this interaction from outside the bus poked his head through the open window and shouted “don’t pay until you go. 2,000 shilling only!” I smiled gratefully and thanked him forhis advice. And others then also started shouting at the guy who tried to rip me off. An argument then ensued, to which I was unwittingly the cause. I guess to him he just sees a rich (I wish), white tourist.
I was grateful to those who helped me out but I couldn’t help but feel a little upset by the incident. I’m used to people being kind and wanting to show the best of their country and to paint it in a positive light.
When things like that happen you do feel a bit more vulnerable. Not that it will stop me. Come on I grew up in the nineties era of girl power! I know it wasn’t a big deal, and I know being ripped off as a tourist is par for the course but it did make me feel that bit more vulnerable. It was also a bit embarrassing to be singled out so blatantly. “There’s the white tourist, let’s take advantage.”
Anyway, back to the journey. Squished next to the window with someone practically on my lap, we were packed in like battery hens, so sitting by an open window provided a welcome breeze!
The journey was interesting, we passed many local villages with stands selling fresh mangos and avocados. Farmers herding goats and cattle across the roads. Schoolchildren dressed in their headscarves coming out of the Islamic schools.
I was pleased to see more of the island otherwise I would have felt I’d missed out. The beaches in the North are the most renowned in Zanzibar and so I was excited to get to Kendwa.
The dala dala doesn’t take you directly to Kendwa beach as it’s a little off the main road, but guys on scooters are waiting at the stop to take you there for a small fee. It takes about 5 minutes on the back of a scooter, whereas walking down the hot, dusty roads would probably take about half an hour- err no thanks! And so on the back of a scooter I hopped. The heat really takes it out of you and I was a hot, sweating mess by this point!
I’d booked a dorm room at Kendwa Rocks hotel for a night. It was still about 25 US dollars- not exactly cheap, but much cheaper than the resorts costing hundreds of dollars a night.
The beach here is gorgeous, postcard picture perfect. But to me a bit bland. Yes it has beautiful white sand and azure blue sea. But it’s more of a typical tourist resort.
It’s not really a solo traveller or backpacker destination. Yes you do get them here, but you get a lot more couples and families and so I felt a little out of place, unlike in Paje where there were lots of solo travellers and backpackers. I have heard that when Kendwa Rocks hosts their full moon parties they attract a lot more backpackers.
The other option for my stay instead of Kendwa was Nungwi, which is right on the Northern tip and apparently has stunning beaches. But a girl I spoke to who’d been there said that it was an older crowd there- mainly middle aged Russian women and their African ‘beach boys’ (basically male prostitutes!) Erm no thanks. I may be single but I’m not that desperate!
So I arrived at the beach and promptly plonked myself down at a table and ordered a few strawberry daiquiris and a fish and salad wrap with an ocean view! You’ve got to treat yourself sometimes right?!
Zanzibar gave me a perfect taste of Africa. It has certainly left me wanting to see more of this amazing continent.
Zanzibar is not exactly a budget destination in comparison to India or Thailand. But there are ways to do it cheaper than spending thousands in the fancy resorts. As you may have guessed, Paje is definitely my pick of the places I’d been to, and everybody else I spoke to who’d been loved it there too.
Zanzibar is absolutely stunning. I personally think a week is enough to spend here, but then again I’m not really much of a lay on the beach traveller and I was ready to get exploring.
Getting to Zanzibar…
There’s one main airport. Most people have to fly to a nearby bigger airport such as Nairobi, and then get a smaller airline to Zanzibar. You can also get here by ferry from Dar Es Saalam on Tanzania’s mainland.
With FlyDubai I could fly directly from Dubai to Zanzibar and the flight took about 5 hours.
The airport in Zanzibar is tiny. Bring a pen as there’s plenty of paperwork to fill in.
I don’t know the visa regulations for every country, but certainly for me as a U.K. citizen I got a visa on arrival although had to pay 50 US dollars for the privilege. Strangely they wouldn’t let me pay with cash and I had to use my card.
So this is a summary of my stay in Zanzibar as a solo female traveller on a budget. I didn’t have a super strict budget, but certainly didn’t have money to splurge.
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