Honeymoon Experience in Stone Town Zanzibar, Tanzania

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[dropcap custom_class=”normal”]  I am writing this post to share my honeymoon experience in Stone Town Zanzibar with you, should incase you were considering to ever go to Zanzibar or perhaps confused of a honeymoon destination or holiday destination or simply want a good read of an African destination :). Happy New Year to all my bella readers. I pray that this year will be filled with an explosion of blessings in Jesus name (Amen). It’s been a while, but trust me it’s for a genuine reason. I had a very busy wrap to year 2015 as I got hitched to my best friend on the 17th of December, 2015, went from Miss Bukky Bello to Mrs Bukky Asehinde. It was an amazingly beautiful ceremony, all Glory to God and thanks to my amazing family and friends that came out to support. I saved a picture for you and will share it later in the post.
I am sure by now you know that I am a lover of all things Africa to include destinations. I’m also very glad my husband (grins) is the number 1 supporter of my dreams and aspirations.  To be honest, I had 5 options in mind for honeymoon destination (Mauritius, The Gambia, Seychelles, Kenya or Zanzibar), however, a friend that had just recently visited Zanzibar influenced our decision. So we got booking, and finally booked a flight with Kenyan Airways that could take us to Zanzibar via Nairobi (2 locations in 1, whoop whoop). [/dropcap]

Honeymoon experience in Stone Town, Zanzibar

Our honeymoon experience in Zanzibar, Tanzania was a combination of a long awaited get away holiday, so it wasn’t for a few days, but for 2 solid weeks! (dancing).

At muritala airport, on the way to Zanzibar on bellafricana digest, African destination, Nairobi
At Muritala Mohammed International Airport enroute,

Ticket check, yellow card check (you need to get a yellow card to travel to majority of the African Countries), cash at hand check, luggages check, smiles check. We took a night flight so that we could get to Nairobi, Kenya in the morning and spend the whole day before taking off to Zanzibar. We got a Kenyan evisa from http://evisa.go.ke/, which just cost us $21, got it under an hour and all we had to do was print it along for the journey (I must commend the Kenyan embassy or whoever created this online platform to make our life easier getting a Kenyan evisa, kudos!).
We landed in Nairobi at about 10.20am (the journey took about 6 hours). Luckily for us, we had a Kenyan friend who was on standby to pick us from the airport and show us abit of Kenya. Saved you some pictures below from Nairobi;
Sanya, Bukky and Naima in Kenya, bellafricana Digest
Sanya, Tobi and Naima in Kenya, bellafricana DigestWe got hungry, and so headed to Tamambo Karen Blixen Coffee garden..
Tamambo Karen for lunch in Kenya, honeymoon, holiday destination, bellafricana digest, African holiday
Lunch in Kenya on holiday, honeymoon, at Tamambo karen garden kenya, bellafricana digest, African tour, destinations

fish and chips in kenya Tamambo Karen Gardens, holiday, destination, African tour, bellafricana digest, honeymoon experience in Kenya
My fish and chips cravings finally released.
Bukky and Tobi Asehinde, honeymoon in Kenya, African tour destination, Bellafricana digest
Mr and Mrs A

After feeding our belly, we took a quick stop at the giraffe centre in Nairobi, Kenya;
The giraffe centre in Nairobi, Kenya, honeymoon in Kenya, holiday in African, African tour, bellafricana digest
giraffe centre Nairobi Kenya, holiday, African tour, bellafricana digest, honeymoon experience by Bukky A
feeding the giraffe centre Nairobi Kenya, holiday, African tour, bellafricana digest, honeymoon experience by
giraffe centre Nairobi Kenya, holiday, African tour, bellafricana digest, honeymoon experience by Bukky A
giraffe centre Nairobi Kenya, holiday, African tour, bellafricana digest, honeymoon experience by Bukky A
At the giraffe centre Nairobi Kenya, holiday, African tour, bellafricana digest, honeymoon experience by After the giraffe centre tour, we became knackered as we hadn’t slept for 24hrs. So our friend was kind enough to take us to her lovely home to have some hours sleep before our flight by 11.30pm.
We had some local food in Kileleshwa, and had some Ugali, Sukuma and Nyama choma (sorry I didn’t take any picture, try google it).
Off we went to Zanzibar, which only took us about 1hour, 30mins from Kenya. We got our visa on arrival which took about 5mins and we paid $50 each.
Contrary to the wrong information we got, taking a trip to Abuja from Lagos to get a Tanzanian Visa before our flight, which ended up a waste just because the embassy took an early close to the year with the only access to information pasted on the gate (sad face). We placed a call from Lagos asking when they will be closed and was told a later date (If you are reading this and happen to work in the Tanzanian embassy in Abuja or know someone, kindly help tell them they have an unhappy customer).
We were told that getting a visa on arrival to Zanzibar was a long process, and we tried avoiding this, hence why we got on the plane to Abuja. Please don’t fall victim of this, it was a seamlessly straight forward process and only cost $50.
We had a hotel booking in Stonetown from booking.com at Grand Palace Hotel.
P.s: An important tip when travelling to maximize your honeymoon experience or holiday, always go with some cash at least some universally acceptable currency. Which happened to be Dollars in Zanzibar. The atm machine right outside the airport wasn’t working, so good thing we had sufficient dollars in hand.
The taxi man initially charged us $20, and we told him we had checked before arrival that the hotel is about 5km away and shouldn’t cost that much (thank God for some negotiating skills from home, Nigeria). We ended up paying $10 and shared the taxi van with some visitors that just arrived.
My first lesson on getting there, put on your negotiating cap when in Africa (well I don’t know if it applies everywhere in the world), but not every cost called to you is a fixed price, so beat it done to a reasonable cost you deem valuable to what you’re purchasing.
Our first impression as we took a drive to the hotel… ummm! what kind of village is this? infact few minutes after, we nearly asked the taxi man if he was lost (hahaha)…save that thought!
Honeymooners after about 9 hours flight and 1 day in transit, finally arrived at the first hotel about 2:00am, The Grand Palace Hotel, Stone town, Zanzibar. Wondering how the bedroom looked like, I saved you a picture (wink). We booked a suite…
bedroom in grand palace hotel stone town zanzibar, honeymoon destination, African tour, Zanzibar, Bellafricana digest
bedroom in grand palace hotel stone town zanzibar, honeymoon destination, African tour, Zanzibar, Bellafricana digest
bedroom in grand palace hotel stone town zanzibar, honeymoon destination, African tour, Zanzibar, Bellafricana digest
bathroom jacuzzi bedroom in grand palace hotel stone town zanzibar, honeymoon destination, African tour, Zanzibar, Bellafricana digest
Went to bed knackered and hoping to see a changed dead village looking assumption of Zanzibar at first sight!
You would think, the normal thing to do is to sleep the whole day and start our touring the day after, but nah, we excitedly got up early to get a better view of Zanzibar.
stonetown Zanzibar, honeymoon experience, bellafricana digestWhilst taking a walk to the beach, we met a very convincing Tour man by the name Salem, who got us to have our first adventure. A boat ride to see the Prison Island.. first tour..
stonetown Zanzibar, honeymoon experience, bellafricana digest, African tour to Zanzibar, Holiday
Whilst taking a walk to the beach, we met a very convincing Tour man by the name Salem, who got us to have our first adventure. A boat ride to see the Prison Island..
Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar -Whilst taking a walk to the beach, we met a very convincing Tour man by the name Salem, who got us to have our first adventure. A boat ride to see the Prison Island..At this point, we learned that Jambo means ‘hello’ in Swahili, asante sana means ‘thank you’, Karibu means ‘welcome’…those were all we needed to get on… The blue western Indian ocean was so beautiful…
Whilst taking a walk to the beach, we met a very convincing Tour man by the name Salem, who got us to have our first adventure. A boat ride to see the Prison Island..
Whilst taking a walk to the beach, we met a very convincing Tour man by the name Salem, who got us to have our first adventure. A boat ride to see the Prison Island..
Whilst taking a walk to the beach, we met a very convincing Tour man by the name Salem, who got us to have our first adventure. A boat ride to see the Prison Island..
Whilst taking a walk to the beach, we met a very convincing Tour man by the name Salem, who got us to have our first adventure. A boat ride to see the Prison Island..
Whilst taking a walk to the beach, we met a very convincing Tour man by the name Salem, who got us to have our first adventure. A boat ride to see the Prison Island..

Wow, I never knew tortoise live this long. 192 years old..

 

Whilst taking a walk to the beach, we met a very convincing Tour man by the name Salem, who got us to have our first adventure. A boat ride to see the Prison Island.. bellafricana digest
Oooops, did I remember to mention I had loads of pictures… I need to take you through each tour now..

The city tour

Free International calls Zanzibar stone town city tour bellafricana digest
You have to climb the tree to place a free International call, lol.

doors to keep animals away Free International calls Zanzibar stone town city tour bellafricana digest

slave chains at the slave chamber in Zanzibar, tourist center, honeymoon destination, African holiday, bellafricana digest
The Slave Chains
slave chains at the slave chamber in Zanzibar, tourist center, honeymoon destination, African holiday, bellafricana digest
This was the slave chamber where they kept the slaves. Really sad!

Cultural arts centre zanzibar, bellafricana digest

The Dolphin Tour

We got on the boat and took a ride to the middle of the ocean searching for Dolphins. The plan was to take a picture with them, but they were moving too fast. If you trusted your swimming skills, you jump into the ocean to take a picture of the dolphins under the water. I had a swim in the ocean and that was an experience of a life time for me.
Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar- getting on the boat for the dolphin tour in zanzibar, honeymoon experience, African tour, bellafricana digest

Bukky in her snorkel in zanzibar
Me in a snorkel ready for a dive

Click to view video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYHECE4Ql70
Someone asked if I had lost my mind, swimming in the ocean (lmao) and I answered saying I think I actually lost my mind at that moment I jumped in and was revived and back to reality when I got in the ocean. I also think my husband was very brave to allow me jump in because he knew I could swim, but then again I forgot it was the ocean and wasn’t a swimming pool.
P.s: Please don’t try it if you don’t already know how to swim and have the courage to come out alive, lol.
Swimming in the western indian ocean, honeymoon experience, zanzibar, bellafricana digest
Swimming in the western indian ocean, honeymoon experience, zanzibar, bellafricana digest

Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar- Swimming in the western indian ocean, honeymoon experience, zanzibar, bellafricana digest
Dolphins

Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar - After dolphin tour, zanzibar, honeymoon destination, bellafricana digest
Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar-After dolphin tour, zanzibar, honeymoon destination, bellafricana digestA quick stop at the Jozani Forest to see some monkeys…
Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar-Jozani Chwaka bay national park Zanzibar
We hired a cab to the North to witness some fireworks and have a taste of night party life in Zanzibar. Spent our New Years Eve at the Kendwa Rocks, the Rocks beach.

We changed hotel to Forodhani Park hotel to have another experience and rate another hotel. This had a swimming pool at the roof top which was a plus…
forodhani hotel zanzibar

Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar -Forodhani park zanzibar
Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar

Avocado Prawns zanzibarSpice Farm Tour

We had a 2 hours tour of the major spice farm in Zanzibar. The farm was filled with so many fruits, spices, vegetables like the cinnamon tree, nutmeg tree, ginger, jack fruit, vanilla pea, curry and so much more.
Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar spice farm zanzibar, bellafricana digest

Zanzibar park, bellafricana digestAfter the spice farm tour, we went to Zanzibar park and saw a number of animals; crocodile, zebra, hyenas, snakes, porcupines and so much more. We had one full week of adventure but missed out on Safari blue tour. Afterwards, all we wanted to do for the few days left of our honeymoon was to chill chilllll chillll on the beach and in our hotel (winks).

Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar - Hakuna matata, dont worry zanzibar honeymoon, bellafricana digest
Hakuna Matata means don’t worry

Bukky and Tobi, Zanzibar, honeymoon, Bellafricana digest

Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar beach, bellafricana digestLet me tell you a little history of Zanzibar I collected;

Honeymoon destination in Zanzibar is full of exciting things and has a collection of cultures and this reflects in their cuisine, clothing and architecture. Zanzibar’s Stone town is the largest, living, Swahili stone town in the world, and was designated a “World Heritage Site” by UNESCO in 2000. There are over 1000 coral “stone” buildings having architectural significance and more than 200 carved doors. In the late afternoon, local people like to sit outside, drinking coffee, talking and playing board games.
Zanzibar is predominantly Muslim.
English is widely spoken, but it’s fun and friendly to try some Kiswahili, particularly for greetings and shopping in the market.
The local currency is Tanzanian Shilling. Banknotes are issued in denomination of 10000, 5000, 2000, 1000 and 500 shillings. Coins are also commonly found in circulation, 200, 100 and 50 shillings. ATM points can be found at most banks in town and you will also find some bureau de change.
We mostly shopped for souvenirs in Memories and Zanzi one collection and few at the local shops.
memories souvenir shop zanzibar tanzania, honeymoon destination, bellafricana digest
zanzi one collection memories souvenir shop zanzibar tanzania, honeymoon destination, bellafricana digest

Honeymoon experience in Stone town Zanzibar -Zanzi one collection memories souvenir shop zanzibar tanzania, honeymoon destination, bellafricana digest
I love supporting upcoming entrepreneurs, she had just opened this shop. I did most of my shopping at hers.

In summary, to get the best honeymoon experience, we ended up staying in 4 hotels, just to ensure we had our personal recommendations for future honeymooners, and explored almost all the tours. Beware of mosquitoes! Fear not, at about 7pm everyday in the hotel, they will come to fleet your room with insecticide. The water is also not very skin friendly as it was hard water, just ensure you stay moisturised. The heat from the sun is also high, lol yes compared to Naija sun, so instead of us tanning, we were getting darker (lol). It’s predominantly muslim, so at 2, 4 and 7pm, they will have a call for prayers out loud.
Overall, we had an amazing honeymoon experience in Zanzibar and will highly recommend you go and try it out yourself. It’s a lovely honeymoon/holiday destination. A village but a definite African travel/tour destination, which is all you need on honeymoon, some peace and quiet with your spouse.

tour man memories souvenir shop zanzibar tanzania, honeymoon destination, bellafricana digest
And we are off, bye for now Zanzibar. Meet Salem, our tour man. We got stuck on him and so did he, God bless you.

High point of my honeymoon experience in Zanzibar: swimming in the ocean 🙂
Low point: Dollar exchange rate in Nigerian currency 🙁 (you will relate better if you are a Nigerian reading this right now or live in Nigeria)
I hope I was able to answer some questions you have in mind or covered some areas of concern like getting a visa on arrival..
Leave a message below if you have any questions and will be sure to answer.
Finally, here are two pictures from my wedding as promised..only the ones that read till the end gets to see 🙂
Mrs A, Euclase photography bellafricana digest
Founder of Bellafricana Nigeria wedding, bellafricana digest
I WISH YOU AN AMAZING 2016! I’m excited, and you should be too.
Happy Reading of my Honeymoon experience and God bless you…
Bukky Asehinde (née Bell0)…

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