North Zanzibar Beaches
Deep swimmable water at every tide, sunsets over the channel and the island's liveliest beach nightlife.
Nungwi Beach
Zanzibar's most famous beach — swimmable at every tide
Nungwi sits on the northern tip of Zanzibar where the tidal range is small, which means you can swim all day without waiting for the water to return. It grew out of a dhow-building village and you can still watch boats being shaped by hand on the sand. Behind the beach is the island's densest cluster of hotels, beach bars, dive centres and restaurants — busy by Zanzibar standards, but the sand is powder white and the water is deep turquoise from morning to night.
Read guideKendwa Beach
Wide sand, full-moon parties and the island's best sunsets
Kendwa is Nungwi's calmer, wider neighbour — a long crescent of soft sand four kilometres south of the northern tip. It shares the same forgiving tide, so swimming is possible all day, but the beach is broader and the atmosphere more relaxed until the famous full-moon party takes over once a month. Sunsets here are the best on the island, with the silhouettes of dhows crossing the channel toward Tumbatu.
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