Travel reviews by Ms A from London

Great diving, great food, great people!

On this trip, I visited Zanzibar between 19-Oct-2010 and 27-Oct-2010 and I travelled with 1 other person.

Overall, our trip was fantastic. I'd definitely recommend a traveller do the following:
1. Go out into the sea - either on an organised snorkel or dive trip. We had a great time diving out there! It was our first time, and we saw beautiful things - like turtles!
2. Go on a spice tour - even if you're not interested in food or spices.
3. Walk around Stonetown, get lost & try haggling!
4. Have sunset drinks at either Africa House Hotel or the Serena Inn - although get there in time to get a good seat!
5. Go to the night market at Fordhani Gardens - even if you don't want to eat, just breathe in the atmosphere.

Things we'd wished we had known:
1. Taken smaller $ notes with us - everybody expected a tip! We don't mind tipping, but when you've only got £20 notes with you, it can become quite annoying/expensive!
2. One night in Stonetown is sufficient, just get there early and you'll be surprised how much you can pack in. We did two nights there, but we did our spice tour from Stonetown rather than from the NE coast, so in the end it was OK.
3. Going for drinks/dinner at 235 Hurumzi was a waste of time/money - there are much better places for food/drink/atmosphere!
4. Make sure you have enough space in your luggage for all the lovely stuff you will want to buy in Stonetown!

I stayed at and have reviewed:

Place	Overall rating
Mchanga Beach Lodge, Zanzibar 20-Oct-2010 review: Great atmosphere, people & food!	Excellent
Al Johari 25-Oct-2010 review: Avoid Al-Johari at all costs!	Terrible