Island geography
Discover Zanzibar Beaches
Where you stay changes everything on this island — the tide, the swimming, the wind, the price of a taxi to your tour. Here is every beach, grouped by region, written by the people who live here.
North Zanzibar
Deep swimmable water at every tide, sunsets over the channel and the island's liveliest beach nightlife.
Northeast Zanzibar
Wide white sand, fishing villages and calm lagoons — the classic barefoot-luxury stretch of Zanzibar.
Matemwe Beach
The closest beach to Mnemba Atoll
Read guidePwani Mchangani Beach
Long empty sand between Matemwe and Kiwengwa
Read guideKiwengwa Beach
Resort country with caves and a pretty lagoon
Read guidePongwe Beach
A sheltered crescent with almost no seaweed
Read guideUroa Beach
Fishing dhows, kitesurfing and easy access to Stone Town
Read guideEast Coast Zanzibar
Kitesurfing flats, seaweed farms and turquoise shallows that shift dramatically with the tide.
Michamvi Beach
The east coast beach where the sun sets over the water
Read guideDongwe Beach
A quiet luxury pocket between Bwejuu and Michamvi
Read guideBwejuu Beach
Casuarina trees, empty sand and village life
Read guidePaje Beach
Zanzibar's kitesurfing capital
Read guideJambiani Beach
Seven kilometres of village, seaweed farms and pastel water
Read guideMakunduchi Beach
The southeast corner — remote, wild and rarely visited
Read guideSouth Zanzibar
Dolphins, sea caves and quiet coves where Zanzibar still feels undiscovered.
West Coast Zanzibar
Sheltered bays close to Stone Town — sunset dhows, slave caves and easy day trips.
Fumba Beach
Gateway to Menai Bay and Safari Blue
Read guideBububu Beach
The closest real beach to Stone Town
Read guideFuji Beach
Stone Town's sunset beach
Read guideChuini Beach
Palace ruins above a quiet west-coast bay
Read guideMangapwani Beach
Coral caves, slave chambers and a swimming grotto
Read guideNot sure which beach suits you?
We know all 20 of them. Tell us how you like to spend a day and we will match you with the right coast, hotel and tours.