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Begin in Tanzania’s great southern wildlife reserves, Selous and Ruaha. Climb aboard the Tazara Railway to Dar Es Salaam, stopping to wander the bustling markets and sample the fantastic cuisine in this cosmopolitan city. Then it’s a speedy ferry trip to Zanzibar, stopping at Stone Town. And onto the beautiful beaches of northern Zanzibar to swim amid the coral reefs!

What’s so wonderful about the House of Wonders? Who was Tippu Tip, and how did he show off his wealth? Why would you ever want to visit the beach in the rainy season? Some of your questions (or not) about Zanzibar, answered.

The Spanish Meliá hotel chain took over management of this 40-acre, all-inclusive beach resort in Zanzibar from Kempinski in 2011. Airy, two-story blocks have rooms with huge baths and beach or garden views, and villas come with their own pools. Sheltered by a fringing reef on the northeastern coast of Unguja, Zanzibar’s main island, the resort’s calm white-sand beach has a long, shallow drop-off that makes swimming (as opposed to wading) impossible at low tide. However, the long jetty immediately in front of the hotel means swimming and snorkeling are always possible near the rooms: Golf carts departing every 20 minutes transport guests to the best all-day swimming area a kilometer from the hotel outbuildings. Here, the Gabi Beach Club offers Balinese-style loungers and a restaurant grill. Souvenir hawkers sometimes walk along the public-access tide line, but discreet security staff prevent unwanted solicitation.

If you step off the ferry in Stone Town and don’t know anything about Zanzibar, the House of Wonders (or Beit al-Ajab, as it’s also known) has you covered. Just a few steps away from the ferry terminal, you’ll get a crash course in Swahili history. The House was built by Sultan Barghash bin Said in 1883 and now that he’s gone, it houses the Museum of History & Culture of Zanzibar & the Swahili Coast. The inner courtyard is the unlikely home to a huge Swahili sailing vessel and an old car that belonged Zanzibar’s first president (didn’t know Zanzibar had a president, other than the Tanzanian president? Yeah, neither did I. This is why you’re in the right place to learn about these things.) Despite the many cool - even, I daresay, wondrous - items in the museum, it was actually known as the House of Wonders because it was the first building in Zanzibar to boast electricity and the first building in East Africa to have an elevator. Now that those things have become commonplace and boring, you can do a scavenger hunt through the building to find other wonders. Search for David Livingstone’s medicine chest (let me just say - I do not think he ventured into central Africa adequately prepared), a Christmas-themed kanga, and a centuries-old charm that reportedly contains the nose of a dog. As if that weren’t enough, the gift shop is pretty well-stocked with interesting curios, too.

This lodge offers a private island stay, paired with the option of experiencing the Swahili architecture, music, and culture of Stone Town (Zanzibar’s main town, 20 minutes from Mnemba by boat plus a 90-minute drive). Ten high-ceilinged, thatched bandas are footsteps from a flour-fine sand beach and are romantically furnished with elaborately carved wooden beds. For those who want a change of scenery, verandas and shaded beach beds offer a variety of places to sleep off all the early morning safari wake-up calls. Just under one mile in circumference, Mnemba Island has permanent residents that include poodle-sized Suni and rabbit-sized Ader’s duiker antelope, breeding doves, and enormous terrestrial coconut crabs. Sunbathers can spot dolphins from the beach year-round, and scuba divers might encounter the occasional whale shark.

Why we love it: Tanzania’s first Design Hotel delivers eco-chic 20 miles off the coast

Highlights:
- A very haute take on African village architecture with 56 thatched bungalows, suites and villas
- The sight of dhows (traditional wooden sailboats) silhouetted at sunset
- Lush tropical landscaping with a spice garden flourishing over a quarter of the 32-acre grounds

The review: Set on the equator, Zanzibar glows with color from the pearl-hued beach to lush vegetation and the turquoise Indian Ocean. “Zuri” means “beautiful in Kiswahili, the island’s language, and the hotel delivers on this promise at every turn. Of especial note: the carved doorframes, contemporary African art and locally made furniture, often crafted from old dhows. Enjoy nice upcycled touches too like the rainbow of hanging lamps in the open-air Peponi bar, made from old bottles.

Tucked on a west-facing slope, most of the accommodations face the sapphire Indian Ocean, and all have large terraces with bold-colored hammocks and wicker furniture. They also boast outdoor showers, where concrete floors contrast with curtains of paper beads, handmade by artisans at the female-led social enterprise Chaka. Inside, the warm tones of Tanzanian teak and eucalyptus compliment the nyasi (grass) thatch from the mainland. Make sure to veil your bed with the mosquito net, which contains an energy-efficient cooling system!

Bungalows can sleep up to two adults and some have hot tubs. Suites step things up with larger terraces, living rooms and private outdoor Jacuzzis. Or really splash out with an exclusive oceanfront villa that can host up to six adults, complete with an infinity pool and private swathe of sand.

Guests can dine on the shore, at the pool or in one of the beachfront restaurants. Expect a fusion of African, Indian and Arabian cuisine, though European and Middle Eastern elements come into play as well. Zuri Zanzibar is especially strong on shisha (hookah) offerings and sugar-cane cocktails, along with dishes like beef samosas, coconut-milk ceviche, octopus-tentacle salad and pilau rice with kachumbari (a tomato-onion salad popular in the African Great Lakes region).

As easy as it would be to spend an entire trip to Zanzibar lazing around on soft-sand beaches, it’s well worth skipping an hour or two of sunbathing to see Stone Town, the ancient district of Zanzibar. With its narrow cobblestoned streets, intricately carved front doors, and an array of alley cats slinking past your ankles, Stone Town has a charm that you’ll find in few places on earth. Historically, Stone Town was a flourishing capital for the spice and slave trades, which attracted businessmen from across the globe. They introduced different architectural styles as they built their homes and businesses, creating a unique blend of Arabic, Persian, Indian, European, and African buildings in the city. Explore the market where locals still shop and haggle for goods, and then settle at a table at one of the many rooftop bars to enjoy the sunset.

In search of Zanzibar’s best snorkeling, I learned of Chumbe Island Coral Park. Visitors to the protected coral reef are limited to those who stay on the small island. However, less expensive day trips can be arranged up to a few days in advance, provided the eco-lodges are not fully booked. Visitors are invited to follow a schedule, planned according to the tides, that includes snorkeling and a nature walk. In order to protect the reef, no SCUBA diving is allowed and snorkeling is only permitted during hours when the tide is sufficiently high.

Each evening as the sun sets, Stone Town’s Forodhani Gardens park transforms into an open-air food market. Skip the fish kebabs and head straight to the vendors selling urojo, a thick mango-and-tamarind soup served alongside chickpea fritters, boiled potatoes, cassava flakes, chutney, and as much hot sauce as you dare. Follow it up with hand-pressed sugarcane juice with ginger and lime.

I had the pleasure of ending my time in Tanzania with a trip to Chumbe Island, just off the coast of Zanzibar. This tower, called the Lighthouse, is the biggest structure. But there are several wonderful open-air bungalows that you can book for a relaxing stay. The snorkeling is amazing among the island’s pristine reefs.

My guide leads me underground into a dark, damp, stone-walled holding cell which, I am told, was reserved for women and children only. The atmosphere is oppressive and stifling and my mind wanders to imagine what these poor souls must have felt, in our not-so-distant past, as they were ushered, fearful, silent, and waiting to be auctioned. This is all that remains today of an original fifteen holding cells, a grim relic of the sordid East African slave trade. As I escape the chilling chamber where so many suffocated and starved, I surface outside and spot a memorial, erected in 1998, an unapologetic, sobering monument depicting four slaves wearing original neck collars and chains, their expressions beaten and devoid of hope at becoming nothing more than a commodity. I am told that the Anglican church was built, symbolically, on the site of the slave whipping post, where a slave’s value was determined by whether or not he cried out in pain. In my opinion, being accompanied by a quality official guide will really enrich your understanding of this incredible Zanzibari monument and bring it to life.

The crumbling architecture of Stone Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the town’s carved doors are one of its most recognizable features. I spent a lot of time searching for the door of Swahili merchant Tippu Tip, a notorious 19th-century slave and ivory trader who grew fabulously wealthy from his exploits in the interior of Africa. He showcased his wealth by slapping Stone Town’s most elaborately carved door on the front of his mansion in the mysteriously named Suicide Alley. If you can find Suicide Alley (it’s unmarked, near the Shangani Post Office in Stown Town), keep your eyes on the ground: the alternating black-and-white tiles of Tippu Tip’s front stoop might be the first thing you see. The house is now inhabited by several families, so be respectful when taking pictures and exploring the area.

The water is so clear, you can see the fish coming to greet you before you take the time to put on your snorkel. An easy day-trip (or, your front stoop if you stay at &Beyond’s lodge on the island), the shared dhow departed Nungwe Beach before picking us up in waist-deep water at Sazani Lodge, further down the coast. Perched on the top deck of the boat next to the sail, we bobbed along to the rhythm of the ocean. When we arrived, there was one other snorkel boat in the area and a couple other (smaller) dive boats, but it was no distraction from the incredible array of fish and coal beneath me. After my fingertips started to resemble prunes from spending much too long floating in the salty water, I hoisted myself back into the vessel to enjoy a cold Kilimanjaro beer. We sailed shortly to the mainland and a deserted section of beach, requiring a nimble trek to and fro across the coral dotted shore. After a basic lunch of rice, fish and fruit, the sail was hoisted for our return journey. The pace of the ship slowed as the waves picked up their tempo.

The east coast of Zanzibar is known for stunning beaches and fickle tides. When the water’s out, it’s way out; when it comes back in, arrange a sailing trip on an outrigger canoe to skim along the shore. The lower tides reveal the hangouts of the ocean’s monsters (only about as gruesome as particularly spiny starfish); but as the tides push you higher above the sand, the jewel tones of the water become even more spectacular. It’s win-win. Any hotel will be able to put a traveler in touch with a boat or captain, and prices are negotiable; expect to pay around $15 for an hour.

Accessible only by boat, and with a daily rhythm determined by the tides, this beach resort co-founded by Scottish fashion and costume designer Ellis Flyte sits on the southwest part of Pemba Island, a 30-minute flight from Unguja, the main, more touristy island of the Zanzibar archipelago. The 18 thatched-roofed, canvas-walled rooms and suites are set directly on the white-sand beach, shaded by the surrounding mangrove forest, or perched on the hillside above, providing panoramic Indian Ocean views. A wooden jetty extends over a long, shallow drop-off, enabling guests to swim in front of the hotel at low tide. But the best beaches and snorkeling are 15 minutes away by speedboat off Misali Island, a conservation zone with more than 300 fish species, giant sponges, sea fans, and fields of old-growth cabbage corals. More sites reachable by boat offer a variety of reefs and drop-offs for experienced divers. Other activities include sunset dhow cruises, kayak trips through the mangroves to the ruins of an Omani fort, windsurfing, water skiing, wake- and knee-boarding, dolphin watching, and deep sea fishing. The resort’s informal vibe encourages guests to go barefoot even at the dinner table, but bring wading shoes to protect your feet against sharp coral and sea urchins.