- 4 December 2023
The hotel, hostel or resort you are staying in is an important aspect of your holiday. Especially on a beach-focused island such as Zanzibar, you might spend a lot of time in or close to the place you spend the night. In December 2019, I spent slightly over a week in Zanzibar discovering the ‘capital’ Stonetown and the beach villages Nungwi and Jiambiani (close to Paje). In general, Nungwi is seen as more lively whereas Paje and its surroundings are very well suited for kitesurfing and other water sports. In this article, I’ll show you 4 spots where we have stayed to answer the question: Where to Stay in Zanzibar, Tanzania?
First of all, our time in Stonetown we spend in Zlife Hostel Stonetown. The place is located at the border of the ‘old town’ and therewith very centrally located. We stayed in a basic room with our own bathroom (plus points). We’ve only paid €37 for tow nights for two people. Don’t expect something too fancy, but it is a good location and a decent hostel. You can book it through Airbnb.com.
If life isn’t available anymore, I could also recommend you Spice Palace Hotel. This one was also on top of our list.
When in Stonetown, definitely check out my free self-walking route to visit the different highlights of the city.
Makofi Guesthouse is the place we’ve stayed in Nungwi and it is great! We honestly loved the place. There are enough hammocks and other places to relax, it is located on a 2-minute walk from the beach and the vibe is amazing. The personnel is very kind and you’ll enter the holiday vibe straight away.
At first, we thought it was a shame that the place does not have a pool, however, the beaches are so stunning, you wouldn’t even want to miss out on that.
We stayed in a room suitable for 2 people and we made use of the shared showers and toilets. Of course, this is slightly less comfortable than having your bathroom facilities, but we weren’t bothered.
You can order beers and other drinks at the bar and put them on your bill. Next to that, twice a week the place offers a bbq where you’ll sit yourself on a long table together with all holidaymakers in the resort.
And look at this – they even have their own Aloe Vera garden in case you are sunburned. Recommended! You’ll find the place through their website or booking.com. At the time, we just paid €56 for two nights for two people.
This place wasn’t open for a long time when we visited. There is another New Teddy’s which is located in Paje and is known as a party hostel. (We went here for a party on of the nights we stayed in New Teddy’s on the beach). However, the place in Paje is not located on the beach and this one is!!
Honestly, the pictures say it all right? How beautiful is this place? Enough places to relax, a great hostel vibe, enough games to play and decent rooms to stay in. We only stayed here for a single night as we already booked the next place before we headed to the island. We definitely wouldn’t have bothered to stay here a little bit longer and were happy we discovered the place.
New Teddy’s on the Beach is suitable for you when you like the hostel vibe and are looking for a beachy spot. You can book this amazing hostel on booking.com.
Lastly, but surely not last we spent our final three nights at Fun Beach Hotel in Jambiani. The place is rather isolated from anywhere else, so bear in mind you’ll have to order a taxi in case you want to go somewhere. On the other hand, that is not much different from any other place in Zanzibar except when staying in Nungwi or Paje city centre.
Fun Beach Resort is a great resort with the best rooms we had during our stay. The food they serve in their restaurant is fortunately very good, so we also decided to have dinner here two out of the three nights and on top of that, also breakfast is great! Fun Beach Hotel is a place you want to visit when you are looking for pure relaxation. We’ve booked the place for €218 for 3 nights for 2 people. You can book the hotel through booking.com.
Of course, there are more hotels and hostels to be found on the island. As we booked rather last minute, this also meant that not all place were still available. However, we also got some advice on the nicest places to go (such as Makofi and New Teddy’s) on the road. Next to that, we did some extensive research for the best price/quality ratio when looking for places to stay. I honestly was really happy with the different places we visited and would recommend all of them. So if you ask me: Where to stay in Zanzibar, Tanzania? I would definitely say that Zlife, Makofi, New Teddy’s and Fun Beach are all great places to spend the night.
