After my safari, I arrived at my Arusha accommodation around 16:30. There was some traffic and we needed to drop off a number of people at different parts of the city- bit of a schlep.
I had one night before catching a flight to Zanzibar the next day.
It got dark around 18:00 and I was told throughout my trip not to go out after 18:00. That sounds ominous, but I didn’t mean for it to be.
hello arusha
It took me longer to scour the internet for things to do in Arusha than it did for me to actually do the things in Arusha. There is no need to spend time here unless you’re volunteering or need to arrive before/after a tour.
The clock tower in the middle of a traffic circle- is certainly no Isengard, but is it even a tower? I could nearly touch the top of it if I stood on my tippy toes.
The Cultural Heritage Center was less of a “museum” and more of an art gallery where they encouraged you to purchase all the pieces on display. The bottom floor had some “artefacts”- you had to use your imagination about the history of them though since there were more price placards than history ones in the “exhibit”.
I ended up walking here from the center of town instead of taking a tuk tuk, which was a 45 minute- 30 degree adventure. On the way back, my cheap ass paid for a tuk tuk.
The Maasai Market Curios (not Curious) and Crafts is identical to all the other tourist shops around the national parks that I passed by or was taken to. I think they import a lot of the stuff from China since I find it hard to believe a “local painter” could mass produce an identical painting and have it available in a million shops.
money talks
I took $450 in cash with me from Amsterdam and paid for the taxi from the airport in USD, but I assume he would have accepted Tanzanian Shillings as well. My intention was to take out Shillings in Arusha since I was told in Zanzibar ATMs are few and far between plus sometimes the ones that are working run out of money (you had one job).
I could see how this is true since one of the ATMs in Arusha ran out of money- when I went inside the bank, the guy told me to go to a different one.
KCB ATM – Arusha near the the infamous clock-tower-round-about doesn’t charge a bank fee on the Tanzanian side of things (your bank or card may choose to stab a knife in your back though). I could only withdraw TZS 190 000 at one time, even though there was an option for TZS 900 000 on the screen. I had to keep trying numbers until it worked. Then it spat out my card and I did the whole transaction a second time. This machine gave me loads of 5000 bills instead of 10 000 so I had a thicc wad.
Since it was getting dark, I decided to go back the next morning before my flight to Zanzibar to get the remaining cash.
The next morning at the KCB bank, I tried thrice (with different amounts): the transaction declined each time. IMPOSSIBLE TO PROCESS the receipt said. I was worried it was going to charge my card, which I couldn’t see until I got back to the hotel with wifi. I’m well aware this stressor could have been avoided if I just got a sim card with data. Alas, I never will.
I ended up going to Diamond Trust Bank (go to this bank in Stone Town), which didn’t charge a fee and let me take out TZS 300 000. I don’t know why I keep typing TZS- clearly it’s not in euros.
I wanted to take out the equivalent of $350 for the 10 days I would be on Zanzibar since the one accommodation I booked called Makofi Guest House in the north said they accepted cash only even though the deposit I paid was done by bank transfer (with a fee). The entire time, I was a bit panicked thinking I would need $85 in cash- in the end they accepted credit card. Isn’t that always the case?
goodbye arusha
I left from Arusha airport to fly directly into Zanzibar. I arranged a taxi with my hotel and the driver was some famous wildlife photographer, so that was a fun car ride.
My one-way flight cost me a pretty penny (€236), which I booked about a month in advance.
You can get to Zanzibar from Arusha if you take a 9-12 hour bus that arrives in Dar es Salaam and then either a flight or ferry ($35) from there to the island.
I was told the train from Arusha to Dar es Salaam doesn’t actually run. They recently built a new track, but you have to leave from a town that’s 2/3 hours away from Arusha.
The Arusha airport is very small. You walk through the entrance, and immediately wait in a line to put your bags through a security check then you end up in a big open room where I saw another line. I didn’t have my boarding pass though so I was confused. I realised some desks had paper signs with the names of airlines on them, then it clicked that this was check-in.
I gave them my passport and they wrote up my paper boarding card. They weighed my bag and said I could take it on board since it was light enough (7 or 8 kg). I waited in the line I originally saw and put my bags through another scanner.
There were 3 ish gates, but when I went to the gate they initially called- the person checking tickets told me “safari first”. I interpreted that to mean all the American and other tourists who were on luxury safari packages got to board first.
Then I thought they called a different gate, but literally everyone in the airport lined up and my flight was departing in 10 minutes. Not normally my style, but I went to the front of the line and showed my boarding card then a worker told me to walk across the tarmac to the plane on the left. Everyone in line was boarding the plane to the right.
When I got to the top of the airstairs and peered inside the 30 seater plane, I realised there were no overhead bins. So I went back down and asked a worker.
She said I could place my bags on a seat.
I walked back up the stairs and looked on my paper boarding ticket for my seat number, it read “free” in blue ink, not exactly helpful when the seats were alpha numeric. So I went back down the stairs and asked the worker where I could sit.
She said anywhere you want that’s empty.
Okay then. I took an exit row on the righthand side of the plane, placed my smaller bag on the seat next to me, and then my larger bag at the window seat on the left hand side of the plane- occupying 3 seats in total. Turns out, my large bag had a nicer view of Mt. Kilimanjaro than I did, which is super embarrassing. I was giving it the stink eye the entire ascent.
They brought around a snack and water.
hello zanzibar
As of October 1 2024, you need to pay $45 for a tourist health load of baloney visa to enter Zanzibar. I had the QR code printed, so they scanned it and I had no issues, but I heard of someone who had paid for it, but the scanner didn’t work so they told them they needed to pay again. I also heard of someone who ducked around the person checking so they didn’t have to pay. Someone else also argued and told them they would only pay $5, which they ended up agreeing to.
So when I say it’s a load of baloney. I mean it’s a load of baloney. Also, it’s only valid for 30 days or something so if you go back and forth between the mainland and Zanzibar, you’re supposed to pay it every time. What the what?
It’s not even travel insurance because I have worldwide coverage plus my regular Dutch health insurance and the visa people told me it doesn’t matter. What the what?
Once you get through that nonsense upon arrival, I would take a dala dala (bus) to Stone Town.
From the airport exit, walk straight ahead out to the road and take a right. Walk to the very end where you’ll see dala dala waiting. Take the 505 to Stone Town. Watch on an offline map where you are because there are a few drop off points in/ around Stone Town- although everything is relatively close so if you get off at the wrong stop near Stone Town, you should be fine.
I was.
stone town: we will rock you
Freddie Mercury was born here- there is a museum that used to be his former home. I didn’t go in.
I paid 11 500 ($5) to enter the Old Slave Market/Anglican Cathedral aka East Africa Slave Trade Exhibition (Slave Chambers – Cathedoral Church Of Christ).
The first building near where you pay is the museum part. There are a series of informational panels of text and pictures on the walls that you read in chronological order. I didn’t have a guide, but I’ve read online, and sometimes a guide will join to explain things. Some people mentioned the guide expected a tip afterwards, others not.
After the panels, you end up where you can take stairs down to where they kept slaves, there isn’t any signage.
Out of this building, there is a church, which I don’t remember if I went into but it is built over the space where they whipped slaves. There is also a memorial here.
Google mentions a lot of buildings in Stone Town but most of them are under construction or have been turned into businesses or other stuff.
Cine Afrique is one of them.
The old dispensary is listed as a museum, but it’s a hospital from what I could see when I went inside for free. The outside is sublime.
House of Wonders- more like I wonder what’s behind the tarps and scaffolding. It was called that since it was the first place to have electricity in Zanzibar and the first building to have an elevator in East Africa. It is now in a state of disrepair with a 3.5 Google rating.
The Old Fort (I keep reading that as The Old Fart) is free to wander even if there is construction at one of the entrances. Inside there are a bunch of tourist shops.
People’s Palace Museum may have been open since the gate was, but from what I can gather it doesn’t have much inside. Not sure if you have to pay.
Darajani Bazaar is a goodie.
Lukmaan restaurant changed locations so you may see it appear in two different spots on maps. The one I linked to is the one that is open as of Oct 2024.
Lukmaan has good local food. I spent around $8/9 for two plate fulls and fresh juice. The waiter took me inside and explained everything to me then took my order and brought me my food. She left a little card with her name on it. Super sweet.
Forodhani Park after 18:00 becomes a night market so grab a bite to eat there. Mr. Nutella crepes were yum.
The size of avocados still blows my mind.
As far as prices go in Stone Town, barter for everything.
I bought some small bags of popcorn and it was 200 per little bag. At a different seller, I bought a bigger bag (probably 4/5 little bags) for 1000. Some turd at the market quoted me 9000 for the same size bag. I walked away because I don’t need that nonsense in my life.
spicy farm tour
I found myself in a bit of a pickle.
Tours in Tanzania are costly if you are alone because you need to pay for the entire transport and finding a spot within a group on the same day was tough. I went into a tour agency and was quoted $80, at my hotel $65 for a half day spice tour.
To travel alone/ do a tour alone means you have to be crafty, which I am, but I’m also terrible at crafts.
I read there are a lot of locals selling tours around the fort in Stone Town that will approach you. Not really.
I walked around and inside the fort on two different occasions before a taxi driver came up to me asking where he could drive me.
Me: Spice tour?
Yes.
Me: How much?
$15
When you are in a group, this is how much it costs- also online, but obviously, he acted like I asked for his left kidney before finally agreeing to the price.
I took his number, didn’t tell him where I was staying and told him I’d contact him. I wanted to double check online because it seemed too loosey goosey, even by my goosey standards.
I couldn’t find anything cheaper so I messaged him confirming what was included, travel times, how long the tour was etc. he told me 1.5 hours at the spice farm- with 40 mins each way, about 2-3 hours total.
I met him at the fort, hopped in the taxi and after we got petrol and did his errands for 20 mins, we finally were on our way to a spice farm. I hear the taxi guy say to the spice farm guide 40 minutes.
The spice farm guide was knowledgeable, but by the time I leaned over to see the peppercorn he was already talking about jackfruit (they weigh on average 20kg!) while walking towards the pineapple shrubs.
- Departed stone town: 10:34
- Arrived at Tangawizi Spice Farm: 11:13
- Finished tour: 12:08
- Schpeal to buy spices and cosmetics for 10/15 mins
- Back in Stone Town: 12:50.
You can’t fault the taxi driver, it was 2-3 hours but the “spice tour” portion of the spice tour was 30/40 mins tops.
After the spice tour, the spice guide who showed me around asked for a tip so I gave him 5000 shillings not thinking much of it. Later, I read that these unauthorized tours (ie a rando taxi driver in front of the fort) don’t give any money to the spice tour guides, they pocket it all for themselves. So I have a sinking feeling that the knowledgeable spice guide only earned €1.80.
What you should do if you want a cheap spice tour alone:
- Negotiate a tuk tuk or take a dala dala to the spice farm area (there were 8+ farms that we passed, to get to the one we were at)
- Guides are in abundance at the entrance (all guides were wearing a shirt with a label of the spice farm name) pay them directly
- Take a dala dala or tuk tuk back to stone town
That way the money actually goes to the farm guides and navigating local transport will give you a thrill like no other.
If you don’t want that spice level for a spice tour you can contact Zanzibar Tours company for a same day tour and they quoted me $30 for a private tour. Not sure if they are legit but they were the cheapest, same day, official tour I could find.
paje
I took the dala dala from Stone Town to Paje and that was a time. I had three large sacks of potatoes in front of me, children were getting passed out the front seat window because of said potatoes.
The dala dala doesn’t leave from Stone Town proper, you need to get to Kwrerekwe Market (left photo) first to transfer to Paje. I took a dala dala there but should have gotten a tuk tuk.
Paje is a quieter side of the island with 4 backpacker hostels. There are some resorts but they are smaller and less built up when compared to Nungwi. The beach is nice- but watch the tide because it goes from low tide a few kms out to high tide where you can’t walk on the beach because the waterline goes up to the hotel entrances.
With a group of backpackers we went to the Salaam Cave Aquarium in Kizimkazi- as seen on Instagram. It’s a little overdone, which is the case with 99% of these things.
To get there, a backpacker arranged for a taxi van from someone who charged a reasonable price. I think we each paid $15 for the entrance fee/ transport and there were 8 of us.
There were turtles, we didn’t pay for the seaweed because they were hanging around everyone anyways.
The time of day you go is a gamble. It was busy when we got there at 10:30.
After the turtles, we went to Mtende Beach (meh), which is a conservation area, so we had to pay to enter.
The rock restaurant that is shown everywhere I was told wasn’t worth it- it is expensive, not good food and hard to get to.
We went to Corner BBQ a couple times and it was good, albeit very slow service and prices that you would expect in a restaurant. Go before you are at the ravenous stage or you may become: a Grumpy Gus or Negative Nancy.
In Paje, you can walk along the beach at go to pretty much any resort and use their sunbeds, assuming you buy a drink there. We went to Oxygen O2- not the restaurant but something else not listed on maps.
Others said Ndame Paje Hotel is also good.
nunwgi
From Paje, I shared a taxi with two other people to Nunwgi for $10 each.
We stayed at Makofi Guest House. It is close to the beach, but by no stretch of the imagination located on the beach like the hotel description promoted.
Nungwi went heavy on the resorts/ all inclusives and because of that, there is nowhere along the beach stretching from Nungwi to Kendwa that is nice to put your towel down. All the shady tree areas are owned by the resorts.
The sunbeds in some of the places are accessible to non-guests but they cost $15 or more- we asked about 5 different places along the way. Including, if we stayed and bought a drink, could we get the sun beds for free.
All no’s, even though 90% of the sunbeds we saw open to the general public were available.
At one point, we wanted to call it and head back to our accommodation via the road so we tried to cut through a resort and were escorted off the premises because we didn’t have wristbands. There is a spot at the end of Kendwa Beach that has access to the main road.
The one thing we got at the end of Kenwa beach was a nice sunset and a cheap tour for the next day. There are a bunch of boats tied up at the end of the beach so we approached one and asked how much to rent a boat for the day- maybe snorkel, see an island and see a sand bar.
It was $75 for the 3 of us, then another person joined us so it was $75 for the 4 of us in the end. We paid a $30 deposit for the next day.
They provided snorkels and gave us some fruit and water about an hour or so in. I wouldn’t say we got the boat for the day (it was 3 hours or so). We basically went on a set tour, but we were able to leave earlier (10:00) than some of the other tours so we had the sandbar almost to ourselves for a little bit.
We snorkeled near Tumbatu Island, there were some fish but all of the coral was bleached from the rise in water temperature. There were also some little jellyfish that I thought stung me a little but the boat person jumped in the water and said no they just are. So I guess that meant I was making it up. Either way, I got out of the water because I don’t like jellyfish smacking my face.
We ate at MJ Cafe a few times not because it was spectacularly good but because it was much cheaper than eating at our accommodation.
Along with the Swedish police officer I met we ate once at a local Masaai place on the side of the road that isn’t on Google maps. That was good, cheap local food.
In a group, we went to Baraka Beach Restaurant because this Croatian guy knew his fresh fish (I quizzed him on his knowledge, he passed). What I ordered was good but some of the other fish wasn’t as good because the day we went it wasn’t freshly caught.
We took the dala dala back to Stone Town- they leave from the end of Nungwi Road by the traffic circle and drops you off just outside Stone Town center at a side of the road market. You could walk it (about 2kms), but with our bags we took a tuk tuk for 2000 (originally he wanted 6000).
