This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more

Skip to main content

Talk to an expert 1-800-242-2434 Lines open now

User menu
South-west Zanzibar
South-west Zanzibar
South-west Zanzibar
South-west Zanzibar
South-west Zanzibar
South-west Zanzibar
South-west Zanzibar

There are some excellent dive sites in south-west Zanzibar

South-west Zanzibar is the quietest part of the Island.

There are only a few but very lovely accommodation options...

...which are great for relaxing on the beach...

...as well as by the pool.

The beaches are amazing for swimming...

...and there is a lot to discover under the water’s surface.

South-west Zanzibar

Reviews of holidays to South-west Zanzibar

152 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include South-west Zanzibar.

Showing 61-70 of 152
Duration
Arrival date
Mrs H & family
London

"Tanzanian Safari - Magical and Memorable"

I visited Zanzibar and 1 other country between 26 Jul 2013 and 7 Aug 2013
"What a holiday - all we can say is Thank You Expert Africa and we hope we will be able to travel with you again!

Elsewhere in their review, they also commented:

We left Zanzibar the day of the Nairobi airport fire and cannot praise Expert Africa, in particular Liz Woollen, enough for her efficiency and help in getting us back to the UK via Egypt - in as painless a way as possible." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday
Overall trip
Excellent
F family
Sherborne

"Fascinating, significant and memorable."

I visited Zanzibar and 1 other country between 25 Jul 2013 and 9 Aug 2013
"Ilikuwa ni mkubwa! Asante sana.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We don't. You provided expert advice and expert services, and we will certainly be recommending you to our friends.

Liz at Expert Africa should be paid her weight in gold and given a free holiday. She rescued us when Nairobi airport caught fire and redirected us on another flight via Cairo. We were upgraded to business class, and provided with drivers to and from the airports as if it had all been planned weeks in advance. We arrived a mere few hours later than previously scheduled. Thank you!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs W
W Sussex

"My Jul 2013 trip"

I visited Tanzania and 2 other countries between 10 Jul 2013 and 24 Jul 2013
"A trip of a life time and it certainly measured up the everything we had hoped and more. Firstly please pass on our huge thanks to both guides. Martin of Asilia was amazing and so professional .We'll for ever be grateful for his patience for our bird watching interests and his expert knowledge. He was so good at finding the quieter places and picking up the signs before others got there!! Please note our grateful thanks to him personally through Asilia.

Also we would like special recommendation for Paulo Siololo of Nomad Tanzania...Arusha. as he was fantastic too. Think he has telescopes for eyes as he picked signs of animals at tremendous distances and had the patience to pursue and wait. We had numerous wonderful experiences just watching cheetahs and Leopards all on our own as well as so much more. He really put himself out to please us and make our experience memorable.

Fishermans tours on Zanzibar not quite so efficient as 3/4 hour late one trip and didn't turn up on last return drive to airport. Neither actually caused us problems as door man at Serens Inn got us a taxi and arranged for paymenbt between driver and F. tours.but thought you may like to know for future.

Well done Expert Africa and especially Ellie ,you judge it perfectly for us....right locations and timings ." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Ms S
Bristol

"My Jun 2013 trip"

I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 15 Jun 2013 and 27 Jun 2013
"Overall we had a fantastic trip and felt well looked after.

However there were a few points in the planning that could have been better explained or handled by Expert Africa;

1. On our safari we were unable to see the Wildebeest migration because it was too far away from Sopa lodge where we stayed for 3 nights. When we planned the trip we believed we were close enough to see the migration. If we had known Sopa lodge was so far away we could have spent 1 or 2 nights there and some the other nights in the Western Serengeti near the migration.

2. We booked our flights through Flight Centre but as Expert Africa had also quoted for the flights we had a double booking on our account which caused our actual flights to be cancelled and so had to be rebooked. We had hoped that this had been sorted out before we left but infact we had trouble checking in to both the outward and return flights, and were held up at check ins for 30 mins or so while the airline verified our tickets.

3. See Unguja Lodge feedback re windy season in Zanzibar." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Good
The P family
New York

"My Feb 2013 trip"

I visited Zanzibar between 7 Feb 2013 and 16 Feb 2013
"Trip was great, all connections and reservations were carried out seamlessly and on time. One miscommunication on a side tour was corrected to our satisfaction. Eco and Culture transfer vehicles and drivers were excellent, safe, and on time.

It's unfortunate that the local people don't take more effort to keep the trash cleaned up. Plastic bags should be banned as they are in Rwanda. Southern part of the island is cleaner, more green and tropical looking, and a little less humid." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 5 on a Zanzibar holiday
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs F
Newbury

"Good trip very well organised by Expert Africa"

I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 19 Jan 2013 and 27 Jan 2013
"Expert Africa's assistance when our flight was delayed overnight was very good and helped rescue the first part of our holiday.

All of the arrangements worked according to plan." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 2 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
The M family
DC

"My Dec 2012 trip"

I visited Zanzibar and 1 other country between 17 Dec 2012 and 28 Dec 2012
"We - wife, self and 9 yr. old daughter, had a great time - a very good experience. Agent recommendations were not good for Kholle house, and very good for Unguja Lodge.

Coastal aviation and local driver through in country agent were all seamless." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday
Overall trip
Excellent
The S family
Lewes

"My Dec 2012 trip"

I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 16 Dec 2012 and 28 Dec 2012
"The holiday was brilliant not just "very satisfactory"!

Martin Mollel, our driver really made the safari for us. He was very personable, very knowledgeable about the animals, very skilled at spotting them and a safe driver. He was very tactful and was very good chatting and playing with our children He was respectful of the animals. We felt safe and comfortable with Martin at all times.

We saw all the animals and many birds that Martin also knew about. We would fully recommend Martin for other clients.

Incidentally, on the jeep, it would have been good to have had a canvas cover that could have been put up above the roof openings to give some shade at times.

Thoughts on the parks:

Tarangire - A nice place to start, very quiet compared with the Serengeti we saw plenty of Elephants.

Lake Manyara - We only really saw baboons as animals in significant quantity. I would not recommend this park. It is more lush and so the animals are difficult to see. There are more prolific and variety of animals in other parks we went to. The lake has shrunk in size due to silting up and so the flamingo are just a pink band on the horizon many miles away. If there could be alternative access at the other side of the lake, then the flamingos would probably have been spectacular. I would miss this park out and make a more leisurely drive to Ngorongoro.

Ngorongoro - Specatcular scenery and the place to see Black Rhino. But there was much more - Lions Hyena etc etc. An early start is a must to see the animals before the crater gets busy.

Olduvai Gorge - unfortunately the compulsory local guide was quite old and difficult to hear and understand. He had a very strong accent and struggled to be heard above the wind. This was unfortunate as particularly for the children it could have been made very interesting if described and explained well Perhaps little information sheets that could be read before the visit would help understanding of what is being seen and its significance

Serengeti - we saw the migration which was excellent. There was a tendency in this park to see something and then find 9 other jeeps around. Sometimes with them edging very close to the animals. This seemed a bit circus like at times. That aside it was a good place to see lions and hippos, wilder-beast, giraffe and zebra etc etc

On arrival at Zanzibar, the baggage handlers ask you to identify your bags and then ask for tips prior to handing the bags over to you, which is not a very good introduction to Zanzibar. Also as the flight arrived 10-15 mins early, as we exited the airport, the transfer guy was not around and so we got mobbed by taxi drivers and other hawkers trying to get us to go with them and trying to take our bags. This was not very pleasant.

Eleanor Dunkels in London was always excellent always pleasant, helpful and informative. Her personal experience of the area was very useful. She was a pleasure to deal with.

Tips for other clients:

Don't wear blue. the TseTse flies really do get attracted to blue and give a nasty bite.

Make sure you do take some very good binoculars - a pair for each member of the group. Some of our pocket binoculars we took were woefully inadequate.

Wear wide brimmed hats that tie under the chin, otherwise they blow off

Long sleaved shirts are a good idea as its easy to get burnt with the open roof on the jeep." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
The K family
USA

"My Dec 2012 trip"

I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 1 Dec 2012 and 14 Dec 2012
"The planning and execution of the holiday was very well organized. We were well prepared and had very few problems that could not be solved.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No,your services were very good.

Will you be opening another similar service for Asia or South America? I would be interested!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr L
SW London

"My Aug 2012 trip"

I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 11 Aug 2012 and 24 Aug 2012
"Very satisfactory.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

no" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Showing 61-70 of 152
98%
152 reviews of South-west Zanzibar by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
143
10
0
1
0
Filter by month
Inspire me

Need inspiration?

Let our trip chooser narrow down the options for you

Inspire me

Where to stay in South-west Zanzibar

Our suggestions for beach lodges in South-west Zanzibar


Unguja Lodge

Unguja Lodge

Unguja is a small, rustic lodge in southern Zanzibar standing on a quiet beach, with some of the most spacious rooms we have seen on Zanzibar.


92% (79 reviews)
Chumbe Island Lodge

Chumbe Island Lodge

Situated on the tiny Chumbe Island, this lodge is an award-winning example of eco-tourism, with excellent snorkelling.


98% (48 reviews)
Fumba Beach Lodge

Fumba Beach Lodge

Fumba Beach Lodge is stylishly put together, with spacious, luxurious rooms, comfortable communal areas and a fantastic infinity pool.


87% (39 reviews)
The Residence Zanzibar

The Residence

The Residence is a very large resort hotel in south-west Zanzibar. Each villa has its own 8-metre lap pool.


100% (2 reviews)

Login to Expert Africa

Sign in with password

Sign in with email link


New to Expert Africa? Create an account

Forgotten your details?

It's free & quick to set up

  • Save your wish-list
  • Send us an enquiry
  • Pay online for your trip
  • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Give us feedback on your trip
  • Full site benefits of the site

Need some help? Talk to our team

Africa