Zanzibar

After the long flights to South Africa and early mornings on safari, we decided to spend our third week in Zanzibar relaxing. We flew from Skukuza to Johannesburg and stayed overnight at the Intercontinental Hotel, which was the perfect choice. Just a short walk from the airport, it eliminated transportation worries. The hotel’s complimentary porter service made everything even easier—greeting us on arrival and the next morning taking us directly to our gate for our flight to Zanzibar.

It was a 4 hour Safair flight to Zanzibar and an easy movement through Zanzibar Customs since I had completed all the necessary documentation ahead of time, thank goodness as others were struggling to complete their visas. Our transfer person, arranged through the hotel, was waiting for us when we exited the luggage area. Much easier to get here than we had anticipated.

We stayed at the Matlai Boutique Hotel, which is about a 1 hour and 15-minute drive from the airport. The drive is mostly on paved roads, making it an easy journey. Matlai Hotel is located on the southeastern side of Zanzibar, at the northern tip of the Michamvi Peninsula. This is a quiet area with just a few small boutique hotels around us, which is exactly what we were looking for. In contrast, the north coast of Zanzibar (Nungwi and Kendwa – two of the region’s most popular destinations) has the most hotels, and it’s known for being the busier, livelier area to stay – we were told that the north of the island is “party central”.

As a point of reference, Matlai Hotel is a 10 minute beach walk from The Rock Restaurant, a popular spot set on a small rock in the Indian Ocean.
**Entrance to our villa, which has just two suites – our suite is on the right as we entered the villa.**

**Front view of our villa – our suite is on the left, and the centre area is the shared entrance.**

**View from our patio. We share the pool with the suite next door and the couple seldom used it. The pool was warm enough to get in easily, but cool enough to be refreshing – perfect!**

**Common area which opened directly onto the pool.**

**Great “walking beach” but not for swimming, unless at low tide you walked out to the sandbar. We had blue skies and temperatures in the low 30Cs every day.**

**Moorish style decor with lots of wood and tile. Our room was very large as was the bathroom.**

**One of the many spots on the Matlai property for relaxing – this was our favourite.**

**Beautiful gardens throughout the property**

We could have our meals anywhere on the property, including our patio, or in the oceanside restaurant.

Every morning we would have breakfast on our patio, complete with a latte. A couple of nights we also had dinner on our patio – very relaxing.

**Our butler and staff brought a cake and of course singing for my birthday.**

The Rock is a well-known Zanzibar restaurant and was just down the beach from our hotel.

**Low tide at the Rock** **Restaurant** **– which is when we went in for drinks.** **It was an easy walk in.**

**After drinks, we stepped outside to find the tides rising. With shoes off and shorts rolled up, we cautiously waded to shore—thankfully, we didn’t fall.**

**The Rock Restaurant is very expensive and has not had good food reviews** **but worth going for drinks**

Our hotel was located in a small fishing village so it was a very quiet beach.

We took a tour of Stone Town organized through the hotel. Our young guide was so enthusiastic and excited to tell us about Zanzibar and Stone Town.

This is a brief overview of what we learned.

The first Europeans to arrive in Zanzibar were Portuguese navigators at the end of the 15th century, who came seeking a trade route to India. They set up a trading post on Zanzibar and along the east African coast.

By the late 17th century, the Portuguese were replaced by the Omani Arabs. During this time, Zanzibar became a key center for the slave trade. In 1840, Sultan Said of Oman moved his court from Muscat to Zanzibar, making the island an important Arab state and a hub for trade and politics in the region.

In 1890, Zanzibar became a British protectorate and remained under British control until 1963, when it gained independence. Just a year later, in 1964, a revolution led to the overthrow of the Sultan and the government. That same year, Zanzibar joined Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

**There were many dilapidated buildings along the road into Stone Town.**

Zanzibaris speak **Swahili**. **Some words we knew from Lion King like Hakunamatata (no worries), We used Jambo (hello) and Asante (thank you)** **often at the hotel.**

We wandered through the winding, narrow streets of Stone Town – there were so many interesting doors.

**Door to Freddie Mercury’s House** – **now it’s a hotel**

Next we headed to the market area in Stone Town.

On our last night, we took a taxi to the west side of the island to enjoy a drink and watch the sunset. The ‘resort’ we visited felt deserted, and while it offered a nice spot for a drink, it was clear why it had so few guests.

**They were building additional accommodations nearby, but we were told that they are already facing financial difficulties, so the completion may be delayed or never finished.**

Several minibus loads of tourists were dropped off and squeezed into small boats for a sunset cruise – we counted 24 in this boat It was very hot and they were packed in so tightly it would be hard to move, plus there were no lifejackets. We were happy staying safe on the hotel deck.

**Some tourists went out in the dhow – very wet and no life jackets.**

Beautiful sunset!

During our stay, we were treated to the warm and friendly hospitality Matlai is known for. Matlai began as a vacant lot with just a few palm trees when Tim’s mother purchased it in 2010. In May 2012, the first building, “Asili House,” was opened, followed by the second house, “Villa Kidosho,” in 2015. Over the years, a lot of care has gone into the gardens, transforming it from a simple plot into a lush tropical paradise. When it was time to leave, Tim, the owner/manager, and our butler gave us thoughtful gifts—a plaque with our names engraved, a shopping bag, along with cookies and apples for the journey. It was the perfect send-off after a relaxing week in Zanzibar.

2 thoughts on “Zanzibar”

afrimoose says:

March 1, 2025 at 11:57 pm

Loved this update, Evelynn! Have always wanted to go to Zanzibar and this gave me a visual tour. Though I don’t always comment, I want you to know how much I appreciate the beautiful photography and insightful narrative th

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1. evelynnfunston says:
  
  March 4, 2025 at 5:26 pm
  
  Thank you so much for your comment!!
  
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