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About Zanzibar: Zanzibar is a Semi-autonomous part of the United Republic of Tanzania in East Africa. It is the Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which comprises main islands of Unguja (Informally referred to as Zanzibar) and its sister island Pemba as well as about fifty smaller islets. The land area of the two main islands is approximately 2,332 square kilometers of which Unguja is 1,464 square kilometers. Zanzibar (Unguja) is mainly a low lying island, with its highest point at 120metres above sea level.

The Island of Zanzibar is located in the Indian Ocean about 40 km east of Bagamoyo on the Tanzanian mainland. The island is about 85 km long and between 20 – 30 km wide at its widest points The Capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja is Zanzibar Town and its Historic Center, it is located about 35 kilometers off the Coast of Mainland Tanzania. Other nearby island countries and territories include Comoros, Mayotte to the South and Mauritius to the far southeast. Arab and Portuguese traders visited the region in early times and it was controlled by Omanis in the 18th and 19th centuries. Britain established a protectorate (1890) that became an independent sultanate in December 1963 and a republic after an uprising in January 1964. In April 1964 it joined Tanganyika to form a new republic that was renamed Tanzania in October 1964. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja is Zanzibar and its historic centre, known as Stone Town is a world site.

Languages: Swahili is the official and national language of Tanzania but English is also spoken widely in Zanzibar English is spoken by most of the islanders, and many have a working knowledge of Italian and Arabic It's extremely useful for the customer to have a working knowledge of Swahili, especially outside the urban areas and in remote parts of the country.

The Best time to visit Zanzibar: Zanzibar enjoys a tropical climate with average daytime temperatures of about 27° Celsius/80° Fahrenheit in summer and about 24° C/ 75° F in winter. July to October is one of the best times because the days are dry with low humidity and the temperatures are about 25° C/ 77° F - perfect for the beach. November to March is also a very busy time for Zanzibar. Having said that, the best time to visit Zanzibar is during the slightly cooler spring months of August to October, You will probably want to avoid the rainy season. The rains fall from March to May and are so heavy in April that some hotels close. April and May when the long rains fall are the quiet months in Zanzibar. During this time many resorts close, and at others the rates are highly discounted. The short rains in East Africa fall during this period and the weather is hot and humid. Scuba diving (though excellent year round) is also best from December to February

Health and Safety: Visitors to Zanzibar are required by law to have a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate when they enter the country. See your doctor for other inoculations -- Hepatitis A, Typhoid and Tetanus are recommended. You must also take a malaria prophylaxis, and continue the dose four weeks after leaving the malarial zone.

Shopping: Zanzibar is a great place for shopping,and especially Stone Town, is a shopper's paradise. The narrow winding streets are lined with stores selling local crafts, antiques,jewelry,clothes and spices.The local currency is the Tanzania shillings which are mostly used in many shops but USD, Euros, pounds, other currency also are widely accepted. Credit cards are accepted at most hotels, but not at many shops and certainly not at the local market .Shops open around 09:00-13:00hrs and many reopen 16:00-1800hrs Best would be to trade some of your dollars or Euros for TSH, and use that to buy food. If you buy curios with dollars and Euros you will definitely get a better deal.

Our guides: We work with selected experienced tour guides of long time, who knows Zanzibar and Tanzania mainland like the inside of their palms, they will make you enjoy and fall in love with Zanzibar/Tanzania and its people, the distinctive culture and superlative wildlife and surroundings.

Accommodation: A number of good hotels are available to choose from to suit every budget. Everywhere across the island, hotels and villas are generally available, but quality of service and quantity of rooms vary greatly. We take the greatest care in booking the best accommodation and villas for our guests

Air ticketing/ferry: Zanzibar has Several major airlines such as British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Oman air , Ethiopia airline, South Africa Airways, KLM, Swiss Airlines to name a few offer direct flights to Dar-es-salaam; a major international entry airport into Tanzania. From here you can connect with domestic carriers such as Zan Air ,Coastal Aviation and other domestic airlines fly to the island of Zanzibar, a mere hop across the Indian Ocean of less than 20 minutes. Some airlines such as Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airways offer flights directly into Zanzibar from their respective bases. Several European Air Charter operators such as Livingstone Airlines, Air Italy, and Air Europe offer weekly flights into Zanzibar.

Our vehicle: With regards to transport, our fleets of vehicles that we choose are all air-conditioned and very comfortable with windows asses for our clients who prefer fresh air. On arrival our guests receive a cool sealed bottle of mineral water from our well trained airport assistance; also they receive a cool chilled wet wipe, itinerary and one Santon Tours and Safaris Brochures