Zan Maldive Tours and Safaris

Travel style: Honeymoon

  • Luxury Hotels in Zanzibar

    Luxury in Zanzibar means space and privacy rather than marble lobbies. The best properties on the island are small: eight to twenty rooms, spread along a private stretch of beach, with a pool per villa and a team who learn your name on day one.

    The strongest luxury locations are Matemwe and Michamvi for privacy, Kendwa and the north-west for swimming and sunsets, and a handful of restored merchant houses in Stone Town for the first or last night of a trip. Pemba, the quieter sister island, has a small number of exceptional properties for anyone wanting to go further.

    What you should expect at this level: airport transfers included or arranged, a dedicated host, high-quality food using local seafood and produce, a spa, and staff who arrange excursions properly rather than handing you a leaflet.

    Tell us your dates, your party and your budget and we will send a short list rather than a catalogue. We book through local partners and hold direct relationships with most of the properties worth staying in.

  • Boutique Hotels in Zanzibar

    Boutique properties are where Zanzibar is at its best. They are usually owner-run, usually under twenty rooms, and they carry a personality the larger resorts cannot.

    In Stone Town this means restored merchant houses: carved doors, high ceilings, Zanzibari beds, a rooftop terrace for breakfast and dinner, and a location in the middle of the old town so you walk everywhere. On the coast it means small beach lodges built from coral rag and makuti thatch, with a handful of rooms facing the sea.

    The trade-off is facilities. Boutique properties rarely have large pools, kids clubs or several restaurants. What they have instead is character, food cooked to order, and staff who know their guests.

    This category suits couples, independent travellers and anyone who would rather stay somewhere memorable than somewhere large. Tell us your dates and budget and we will send options.

  • 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.

  • Honeymoon Hotels in Zanzibar

    Zanzibar is one of the most popular honeymoon destinations in East Africa, and for good reason: it is a short flight from the safari parks, the beaches are exceptional and the standard of small luxury property is high.

    For a honeymoon, three things decide the area. Sunsets: Kendwa and the north-west face west, and Michamvi is the only part of the east coast where the sun sets over water. Privacy: Matemwe, Michamvi and Mtende are the quietest developed coasts. Swimming: the north coast is swimmable at any tide.

    The extras matter and we arrange them in advance rather than leaving them to chance: a private dinner on the beach, a table at The Rock, a private dhow at sunset, a couples spa treatment, flowers and a room set up on arrival.

    Tell us your dates, your budget and what would make the trip. We will build it, and we will tell you honestly if a property is not what its photographs suggest.

  • 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.

  • Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar Beach

    The most requested trip we build, and the reason a Zanzibar-based operator is the right company to build it. You see the wildlife first, while you have the energy for early starts, then fly to the coast and stop moving.

    Two routes work. The northern circuit runs Arusha, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, and then a flight from the Serengeti or Arusha to Zanzibar. It is the classic, and it is where the migration is. The southern circuit runs Nyerere and Ruaha, reached by light aircraft directly from Zanzibar, with boat safaris, walking safaris and almost no other vehicles.

    Most trips run seven to fourteen nights in total. A workable minimum is four nights on safari and four on the beach. Longer is better, particularly if you want more than one safari area.

    We handle the whole route: the safari, the internal flights, the Zanzibar hotel, every transfer, and the excursions once you are on the island. One company, one point of contact and one invoice.

    Note for the operator: the source material supplied no safari itineraries or prices. Add your day-by-day itineraries and rates here before this page goes live, or leave it as an enquiry page and quote each trip individually.

  • 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 Cooking Class

    Zanzibari food is the clearest record of the island’s history. Indian spice, Arab technique, Portuguese ingredients and African staples meet in dishes like pilau, biryani, urojo soup and coconut fish curry.

    This class puts you in the kitchen rather than at the table. A local chef takes you through ingredient selection, preparation, the order in which spices go into a dish and why, and how the flavours are balanced at the end. The teaching is hands-on and unhurried, and the group stays small enough for everyone to cook rather than watch.

    Beyond the cooking, the session includes the wider setting: Swahili dress, local music and dance, and conversation with the family hosting you. You then sit down and eat what you have made.

    The class works for complete beginners and for confident cooks. It is a good option for a rainy afternoon, for families, and for anyone who wants to take a genuine skill home rather than a souvenir.

  • Horse Riding Experience

    Riding a horse along an empty Zanzibar beach at low tide is one of those experiences people plan a whole trip around. The stables run guided rides for complete beginners and for experienced riders, matching the horse and the pace to your level.

    The route follows the shoreline and inland trails through coastal woodland and small settlements. Guides ride with you throughout, and for beginners they lead from the ground until you are comfortable.

    The highlight for most people comes near the end: taking the horses into the shallows and swimming with them. It is a calm, gentle thing, and the horses are used to it. Bring a waterproof camera.

    Sunset rides are the most requested option and suit couples and honeymooners. Morning rides are cooler and better for families with children.

  • The Rock Restaurant Experience

    The Rock sits on a coral outcrop in the Indian Ocean, a short distance off the white sand of Michamvi Pingwe on the south-east coast of Unguja. It is one of the most photographed restaurants in the world, and the setting is genuinely as unusual as the pictures suggest.

    How you reach it depends on the tide. At low tide you walk across the sand and rock from the beach. At high tide a small boat runs you over from the shore, usually at no extra charge, and the building appears to float.

    The kitchen focuses on seafood, and the atmosphere is relaxed and romantic rather than formal. It suits a long lunch, a sunset dinner, an anniversary or a proposal, more than a quick meal.

    We handle the part most visitors find difficult: the table. The restaurant is small and books out well ahead in high season. We reserve for you, arrange return transfers from your hotel anywhere on the island, and time your arrival to the tide.

  • Transparent Kayak and Drone Experience

    A transparent kayak turns a paddle into a viewing platform. The hull is clear, so the coral, the fish and the sand ripples pass directly beneath you while you stay dry on top. In the shallow, calm water off Nungwi and Kendwa the visibility is good enough to see everything without putting your head under.

    A local instructor briefs you on paddling and safety, then goes out with you. No experience is needed and the kayaks are stable enough for complete beginners, including children paddling with an adult.

    What makes this trip different is the drone. A professional operator films you from above throughout the session, and you receive the footage and stills afterwards. On clear water at the right time of day the aerial shots are the best photographs most guests take home from Zanzibar.

    The session lasts about an hour on the water and works best in the calm hours of the morning or late afternoon.

  • 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.

  • Stone Town and Dhow Sunset Cruise

    Combining the Stone Town walking tour with a dhow sunset cruise gives you the best of the town and the water in one afternoon and evening, and finishes with the part most day tours miss.

    The walk starts in the afternoon, when the light in the old lanes is at its best. Your guide covers the former slave market, the Old Fort, the House of Wonders and the seafront, mixing the history with the stories of the people who lived here, and helps you bargain in the craft shops.

    As the afternoon closes you board a traditional dhow. The boat heads out along the coast and turns so everyone has a clear view as the sun goes down over the water. Soft drinks and seasonal fruit are served on board.

    Back on land the day ends at Forodhani Gardens, where the night food market sets up along the seafront: grilled seafood, Zanzibar pizza, sugar cane juice and a crowd of local families. Missing it would be a shame, and this is the tour built around not missing it.