Zanzibar is one of those wonderful travel names, profoundly evocative even to many Westerners who wouldn’t know where to begin searching for it on a world map. Zanzibar, steeped in history and endowed with a steamy tropical environment, is that rare tourist location that truly lives up to every anticipation. Whether you’re looking for a fast cultural fix, thrilling diving, or simply a palm-lined beach to sleep away the day, spending time on Zanzibar is the ideal way to round off a dusty Africa safari on the Tanzanian mainland.

Zanzibar has tourism facilities to suit all tastes and budgets. For many, a tour of the ancient Stone Town, with its authentic Swahili ambience and plethora of intriguing structures, is the highlight of a visit on the island. Others are drawn to the water and coral reefs, which provide diving, snorkeling, and game fishing unparalleled in East Africa. Then there are the clove and coconut plantations that blanket the interior of ‘Spice Island,’ the dolphins of Kizimkazi, the colobus monkeys of Jozani, and the White Plains Tours’ enormous sea turtles. Above all, some may argue, are the apparently unending tropical beaches.