Jambiani

Jambiani runs for several kilometres along the south-east coast, just south of Paje, and it is one of the few places on the island where the village and the beach are genuinely the same place. Houses, small hotels, fishing boats and seaweed drying racks share the same strip of sand.

The water is a startling turquoise over white sand, protected by the same reef that shelters Paje. At low tide it retreats a long way, exposing seaweed farms worked mostly by the women of the village and firm sand you walk for kilometres. At high tide the lagoon fills and turns swimmable.

The pace here is slower than at Paje and considerably slower than the north coast. There are no large resorts, no nightlife to speak of and very little pressure. People come to read, walk, swim on the tide and watch a working village get on with its day.

Kuza Cave, the natural coral swimming cave with a strong Swahili cultural programme, sits a few minutes inland.

Jambiani is a real village on a beach rather than a resort strip. Seaweed farming, fishing and daily life carry on around you, and the absence of large hotels keeps the pace slow.

June to October is dry, breezy and comfortable.
December to February is hot and bright.
March to May brings the long rains and near-empty beaches.
Sunrise is the event on this coast. It faces east, so the mornings are the best light of the day.

Jambiani has small beachfront hotels, guesthouses and a few boutique properties. Nothing here is large. We book across every category and will match the property to your budget.

About an hour and ten minutes by road from Abeid Amani Karume International Airport. We meet every flight with a name board and a fixed price agreed in advance.