While the island has become synonymous with white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters, there are a whole host of things to explore. Visitors can walk from a 15th-century Portuguese fort to a 21st-century harbourside restaurant. There are also inland tropical forests to stroll through and even an international film festival that is hosted annually. A wide range of activities can be found to really enhance the experience, from the obvious seaside-based offerings of snorkelling, scuba diving, and deep-sea fishing to the more adventurous horseback riding and kite surfing. If travellers fancy a bit of traditional adventure, they can take a ride on a traditional dhow and see the island as locals have for centuries.
As with what travellers would expect to find around an island, marine life abounds and the chance to see them is high. Dolphin sightings are a daily occurrence, and it is not uncommon to see the blow of a whale passing through the channel. But intriguingly, Zanzibar does also have a few rare native animals. Incredibly, this includes the Zanzibar leopard, which is critically endangered and thought to be extinct until lately, as well as the Zanzibar servaline genet.
There are no large wild animals in Unguja. Forested areas such as Jozani are inhabited by monkeys—the Zanzibar red colobus, an endangered species—bushpigs, small antelopes, and African civets. There is a wide variety of birdlife, and an incredibly large number of butterflies recorded. Pemba is home to the rare Pemba flying fox.
Zanzibar has a wide variety of accommodations. From the chance to stay in ancient, well-preserved forts and dwellings in Stone Town to very modern hotels. From rustic huts and backpackers along the beaches to 5-star luxury and private resorts stretching across the coastline, there are accommodations available to suit any type of traveller.
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Thanks to its location, Zanzibar has a tropical climate without any extreme variability in temperatures when compared to Southern Africa. The average daytime highs remain between 28 to 32 degrees Celsius, while the nighttime lows fluctuate between 20 and 25 degrees. The most popular time to visit is between June and February, outside of the wet season. This is also the perfect time to combine beach time with a safari on the mainland to create a Zanzibar holiday to remember.
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