Why Zanzibar is worth visiting
Zanzibar lies around 40 kilometers off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean and is one of East Africa's best-known dream islands. The main island, Unguja, is ringed by powder-white beaches and shallow, turquoise lagoons protected from the open sea by offshore coral reefs.
Beyond the beaches, historic Stone Town defines the island, its winding alleys, carved wooden doors and Arab-Indian-African architecture reflecting centuries of trading history. Inland, spice plantations scent the air with cloves and cinnamon, a legacy of Zanzibar's past as the world's leading spice island.