giovannicF7966TP
25 Sep 2024
Travel diary Zanzibar
Hello everyone,
This is the second part of the travelogue to Zanzibar with my wife.
Arrived in Paje from Nungwi by taxi, just under 2 hours for $40, to spend the second week. You cross the interior of Zanzibar, with many villages along the way, you will not get bored.
Before I forget, we left with mosquito repellents and bite creams, well not even a mosquito, absolute zero even though all hotels have mosquito nets. The climate ranges from 27 to 29 degrees, in Paje well tolerated because there is always wind, but not annoying indeed pleasant.
Paje is smaller than Nungwi, there is less tourism and we are fine with it, it is more international tourism, many kitesurfing and a bit of a pain. Also here Maasai, massages and beach boys but less annoying.
The peculiarity of the south / east are the tides very well evident, when there is low tide you can get to the reef, about 2/2.5 km, we have done it and you see hedgehogs, starfish, octopuses, fishermen and women intent on cultivating and collecting seaweed to make soaps, detergents, creams. I recommend the shoes if you do not want to be stitched or cut yourself on the reef.
Even in Paje long beach to do at low tide, to know the times there are specialized sites that tell you every day what time there are, since it is not always the same.
Bathing: in Nungwi there is more possibility while here you can do it halfway through the 2 tides, when it rises and falls, however every day both in the morning and in the afternoon.
In the middle / center of Nungwi there is a dirt road, just behind the hotels, full of their shops, there is also a small supermarket and a money exchange that is convenient because in bars and restaurants the change is more disadvantageous.
Here too, day and night life, except at high tide, takes place along the beach with bars and restaurants. Recommendation to go to dinner in a place made of containers, Bento, is a street food just behind the hotels, with music and even dancing, you drink and eat from pizza to meat to fish to sushi to Mexican hamburger etc.
If in Nungwi you see the sunset, in Paje you see the sunrise. Recommendation if you like to sunbathe for many hours, choose a hotel with a low structure and low trees, otherwise at about 2pm the shade arrives as the sun sets behind towards the interior of the island.
For the prices it seemed to be a little cheaper here.
From Paje to Sone Town about 40 minutes by taxi and the usual $40.
We spent a night in Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as we had the plane back at 9am.
Surely the old town is worth a visit of one / 2 days, and 'chaotic, true, they, with many tourists brought to visit by city boys; to see the Freddy Mercury Museum, the Point of Sale of spices and fruit fish, a maze of alleys to be missed. Get a map of the city and discover it. Here too many small shops, in the evening wandering through the alleys and the old houses a bit ‘dilapidated has its why, there are no dangers. For dinner there are great and nice restaurants along the sea towards the port.
With Neos remember that you have to pay an exit fee of $54 and the return flight makes a technical stop in Mombasa of almost 2 hours. Departure at 9.10am arrival at Malpensa at 7.10pm. Last note the Wi-Fi on board never works.
I hope I've been of help to someone.
Giovanni