The Gorgeous Zanzibar, Tanzania

The historical Zanzibar has the best combination of colors that you will ever find in a single place, it has its turquoise water along the white sandy beach covered with green palms and to make it even more magnificent it has grey color of its old stone town. Zanzibar is as exotic as a place can get, this historical town has such a magical appeal to it that thousands of tourists have been arriving on its shores for more than a century and still even today its one of the Africa’s hottest tourist attraction.

People get attracted to Zanzibar for not only the natural beauty of the place but also because of the unique fusion of the different cultures and forms of architecture. As soon as you arrive on the harbor of the city you will witness this awesome fusion as you have the grand fort and cathedral of the city right in front of you, a perfect example of the European architecture in Africa while on either side of the harbor you will see the Arabian and Omani architecture, and the new town is all Swahili or Indian.

Zanzibar has a small airport but there are not many international flights available to it so the better option will be to take a cheap flight to Dar es Salam the capital of Tanzania and then either take a connecting flight to Zanzibar or use the ferry service for getting there. Well both the options have their own benefits, if you arrive in Zanzibar by air then you will be arriving in the Zanzibar town close to the old stone town where the accommodation is still very cheap and there are plenty of hotels from which you can choose one according to your taste and budget.

Arriving by the ferry service means that you will arrive in the city’s harbor which is an attraction in itself as it is located in the centre of the palm fringed beach and is always bustling with the spice trade. Zanzibar has always been the center of spice trade in the Indian Ocean and this was the reason behind a lot of colonial powers scrambling to control its riches.

You can divide your vacation in Zanzibar into two parts, first will be to observe and explore the historical monuments of the town. The most famous being the great cathedral of Zanzibar and the great fort both of which were built by the Portuguese who colonized Zanzibar in the 17^th century. The old stone town was built in the 18^th century and most of the buildings are still in a pretty decent shape. The spice market of Zanzibar is also worth visiting as it will provide you with an insight into the daily lifestyle of the locals of the city. Then you can head to the exotic beaches of Zanzibar and enjoy a relaxing vacation on their bone white sand. There are plenty of resorts along the beach who provide world class facilities although on a much higher price than the ones in the town. Snorkeling and scuba diving are the most famous activities for the tourists in Zanzibar as its waters are crystal clear and are rich in marine life.