Zan Maldive Tours and Safaris

Tour type: Shared tour

  • Nakupenda Sandbank with Seafood Lunch

    Nakupenda means “I love you” in Kiswahili, and the sandbank earns the name. It sits a short boat ride off Stone Town, a strip of pure white sand surrounded on every side by shallow turquoise water. At high tide it shrinks to a sliver. At low tide it opens into a wide beach with nothing on it but your group, the shade tents and the sea.

    The day starts with a boat from Stone Town. On the way out you stop to snorkel over the reef, where the water is clear enough to see the coral and the tropical fish without effort. Masks, fins and life jackets come with the trip, and the crew stays in the water with anyone who wants support.

    On the sandbank your team sets up shade and serves a seafood barbecue: fresh fish, calamari, prawns and rice, with tropical fruit and soft drinks. After lunch the afternoon is yours to swim, walk the length of the bank or lie in the shade until the boat heads back.

    Morning and afternoon departures both run. Morning trips catch the calmest water and the best light for photographs. Afternoon trips work well if you are combining the day with a Stone Town walk.

  • Mnemba Island Half-Day Tour

    Mnemba is a small private island off the north-east corner of Unguja, ringed by a marine conservation area with the healthiest coral and the clearest water on the island. The island itself is a private resort and closed to visitors, but the reef around it is open, and it is the best snorkelling ground in Zanzibar.

    Boats leave from the beach at Matemwe or Kiwengwa in the morning, when the water is calmest. On the way out the crew look for the resident pods of bottlenose and spinner dolphins. Sightings are common but never guaranteed, and the crew keep a respectful distance and follow local guidelines on how to enter the water.

    At the atoll you snorkel over the coral gardens. The reef here drops away gently, so the shallows suit beginners while the edge rewards confident swimmers. Angelfish, parrotfish, moray eels and turtles are all seen regularly. Gear and life jackets are provided.

    At low tide the boat will also stop at a sandbank near the atoll before returning. Fruit and soft drinks are served on board, and you are back at your hotel in time for lunch.

  • Safari Blue Zanzibar

    Safari Blue is the classic full-day dhow excursion in Zanzibar, and it earns its reputation. The day runs from Fumba on the south-west coast, out into the Menai Bay Conservation Area, on a traditional wooden dhow with a local crew.

    The first stop is the reef, where snorkelling gear is handed out and you spend an hour over live coral and shoals of reef fish. From there the dhow sails on to a mangrove lagoon of extraordinary colour, then to a sandbank that surfaces as the tide drops.

    Lunch is served on an uninhabited island: a seafood barbecue with grilled fish, calamari, rice, salads and a spread of tropical fruit, eaten under the palms. The afternoon is free to swim, walk the shoreline or sit in the shade. On the sail home the crew raise the sail properly, and if conditions allow the day finishes with the sun going down over the water.

    The day is long, roughly eight hours door to door, and it is the single best value excursion on the island for anyone who wants sea, food and sailing in one trip.

  • Zanzibar Quad Bike Tour

    Most visitors see Zanzibar from a minibus on the tarmac road. A quad takes you off it. The route runs on sand tracks and field paths through rice paddies, banana and sugar cane plots and small villages in the island’s interior, on ground no ordinary vehicle reaches.

    The morning opens at the quad base with a safety briefing and a lesson on the controls. The machines are 450cc automatics, so no gear changing is involved, and beginners are common. You ride solo or two up with a companion.

    An English-speaking guide leads the group, sets the pace and stops regularly for photographs, questions and a stretch. One stop is at a village, where you meet people going about their day and see rural Zanzibar as it is, away from the beach hotels.

    The ride takes about half a day including the briefing. Complimentary fruit and soft drinks are served, and safety equipment is provided.

  • Sunset Dhow Cruise

    Sunset over the Indian Ocean is the one thing every visitor to Zanzibar remembers, and the best place to watch it is from the water rather than the beach.

    The cruise runs about two and a half hours from start to finish. You are met with a non-alcoholic welcome drink and taken the short distance to the launch point, where your captain and guide explain the route and what to look for. The boat then heads out along the coast, with the guide talking through what you are seeing and stopping wherever the view earns a photograph.

    Light refreshments and snacks are served on board at the viewpoint. As the sun drops the crew turn the boat so everyone gets an uninterrupted view, and after sunset you sail back in the last of the light.

    The cruise suits couples, families and anyone wanting a relaxed end to the day. It also pairs well with a Stone Town walking tour, where the town visit fills the afternoon and the boat takes the evening.

  • Zanzibar Zipline Adventure

    The zipline course runs on steel cables strung high above the forest, and it is the only way to see the Zanzibar canopy from above. You are fitted into a full harness, briefed by the ground crew and then sent out along a series of connected lines, some of them linked by suspension bridges.

    Between the runs there is a guided walk on the forest floor, where the guides point out the trees, the birds and the small wildlife living in the canopy you have been flying over. The mix of adrenaline and quiet forest walking makes the session more interesting than a pure adventure ride.

    Guides handle every clip and check personally, run the safety briefing before anything else happens, and stay with the group throughout. No experience is needed and first-timers make up most of each session.

    The activity works well for families with older children, for couples and for groups looking for something active between beach days.

  • Prison Island and Nakupenda Sandbank

    A full day at sea, pairing the island’s most famous wildlife with its most photographed sandbank.

    The morning boat takes you across to Changuu Island, better known as Prison Island. There your guide introduces the colony of Aldabra giant tortoises, some more than a century old, and walks you through the 1893 prison and quarantine buildings. There is time to feed the tortoises, photograph them and hear the story of how they arrived from the Seychelles.

    From there the boat sails on to Nakupenda Sandbank, a strip of white sand surrounded by shallow turquoise water and nothing else. Your shade tent is set up and a seafood barbecue is served with tropical fruit and soft drinks. The rest of the afternoon is yours: swimming in exceptionally clear water, snorkelling the reef nearby, walking the length of the bank or lying in the shade.

    The boat returns to Stone Town in the late afternoon, and your driver takes you back to your hotel.