Choice of destination:
Looking for an exotic destination for a trip during the February school break, we decided to check on Zanzibar since none of the family members had really been in Africa before. The sky over Geneva had been sunless for over 6 weeks and there wasn't any good snow for skiing either. A few of the magazines we read mentioned this relatively untouched island and claimed that it must be seen before the tourists spoil it. An average temperature of 32 degrees C. and some nice palm-lined beaches were all we needed to convince us. A 2 hour time difference with Geneva was also an important factor in deciding on our destination for the one week trip.
Preparing:
We contacted a few people who we knew had been there about 2 years ago and got some guidebooks, pictures and tips. We decided to take Swissair from Zurich since they have a night flight to Dar es Salaam via Nairobi arriving at 8:30 in the morning which would give us plenty of time to get to our final destination: Zanzibar. As is the case for citizens of many different countries, we had to apply for a tourist visa. This was done here in Geneva at the Tanzanian Mission to the UN. The fee was 50.- Swiss Francs per person with own passport which meant 200.- Swiss Francs for the 4 of us. We also went for the usual required and recommended vaccinations required were: yellow fever and cholera ... recommended in addition were: polio, DTP (includes tetanus), typhoid, and malaria. Cholera, polio, typhoid and malaria were not injected but taken orally either in liquid or pill form. The cost per person was about 200.- Swiss Francs or about 800.- Swiss Francs for the 4 of us. Ouch.. what a budget!
Itinerary:
Although going this far and not going on a safari is a real shame, we decided that we needed to relax and that the safari would have to wait for a future visit. We planned the following itinerary:
Sunday Feb. 18
at 8:30 AM arrive at Dar es Salaam airport
take cab to the port of Dar es Salaam (next to downtown) and
take a hydrofoil (fast boat) to Zanzibar.
take a taxi to the Hotel from the port of Zanzibar with expected arrival about noon.
spend one night in Stone-Town (the old town of Zanzibar) at the Coco de Mer Hotel which
looked good on the www.leisureplan.com site with family rooms at $40.- including breakfast for
the 4 of us.
Monday Feb. 19
sleep as long as possible knowing that check-out time is 10:00
and that breakfast is served until 10:00 also.
visit parts of Stone-Town on foot
go to Changuu (Prison) Island to see the turtles
have the driver of our next accommodations, the Matemwe Bungalows,
on the north-eastern part of the island pick us up at 14:30
Monday afternoon Feb 19 to Saturday morning Feb 24
spend 5 nights at the Matemwe Bungalows at what they call "the sunny side of paradise" just relaxing "hakuna matata".
Saturday Feb 24
have the driver pick us up at the Matemwe Bungalows at 10:00
for a one hour drive to the port.
take the 12:00 hydrofoil to Dar es Salaam to spend the last night on the mainland
in order to catch the 09:50 flight back to Zurich on Sunday morning.
take a taxi to the hotel near Kunduchi 25 km north of town.
spend one night at the Bahari Beach Resort about 40 minutes from downtown
Sunday Feb 25
leave the hotel at 07:50 in order to be at the airport at 08.50 for departure at 09:50.
Monetary instruments:
After having paid in advance to a New York bank for the 5 nights at the Matemwe Bungalows where full board is included, the amount of money we needed to carry around was considerably reduced. Credit cards are very rarely accepted so you need quite a bit of cash and some traveller's checks. We decided to take $ 600 in cash with a lot of small bills (nothing over $20). The $30 in one dollar bills was just enough for the small tips we gave out. A one dollar tip per driver, guide, porter or helper seems to be customary. For small help Tsh 200 is also appreciated. We didn't need any tip money during our stay at the Matemwe Bungalows since there they've arranged a "tip book" for guests checking out and wishing to leave a tip to be divided up amongst the entire staff. We also took $500 in traveller's checks ($250 in my name and $250 in my wife's ). The traveller's checks were used to buy local currency, the Tanzanian Schillings, and to have a small reserve. Taxi drivers and tour guides seem to prefer Tanzanian Shillings to dollars but will generally also accept payment in dollars. Hotels generally want dollars preferably in cash and will take Tanzanian Shillings for incidental expenses such as food and drink. The boat operators between Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar will require you to pay in dollars and the port authorities will require payment of the port or airport tax in dollars also. (seaport= $5 airport=$20 per departing passenger)
Prices: (all prices except for those explicitly marked $ are in Tsh)
Hotels:
Coco de Mer Hotel $40 to $50 for a family room for 4 people with breakfast
Matemwe Bungalows $110 to $140 per double including full board for 2
Bahari Beach Resort $ 120 for a triple (slightly more for a quad) breakfast included.
Many hotels and transportation services have a considerably lower price for residents of Tanzania who may pay in Tsh but who are probably accepted on a standby basis only.
Food, drinks:
Typically restaurants and hotel restaurants charge between Tsh 1800 and 3000 for a dish and sometimes up to 5000 or 7000 for big steaks or lobster etc... the exchange rate was Tsh 540 per dollar while we were there. Almost everyone charges the same price for soft drinks... Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Tangawyz ginger beer, and sparkling soda water all bottled by Coca-Cola are readily available and cost Tsh 300 (per 350ml bottle except the soda water which is in a slightly smaller 300ml bottle) in the restaurants and hotels. The big plastic 1 and a half litre bottle of mineral water runs between 800 and 1000. Beers are between 800 and 1000 and special drinks about 2000. Open wine is 800 to 1000 per glass and generally served at the right temperature. Tea and coffee is 200 to 250. Bananas purchased at the market run about 300 / kg.
Transportation:
Taxis from the airport to downtown Dar es Salaam or seaport (actually downtown) run from about 5000 to 7000 depending on your negotiation skills. The guide books say "always agree on price before getting in". Anywhere in town from town is 1000 and that's the same in Zanzibar from the seaport to a downtown hotel. The trip north to the Bahari Beach Resort from DAR ES SALAAM will run you between 12000 and 16000 and it's almost all on good paved road now (last 7 km are a bit bumpy). The trip across the island from Zanzibar Stone Town to Matemwe Bungalows is all on good paved road now so you can find offers between 15000 and 20000 which is considerably less than the $60 per carload charged in the past.
The boat trip with the SEA EXPRESS is quite expensive but departures are frequent and the boat is air-conditioned (hydrofoil built in the USSR, same as the Flying Dolphin in Greece). The price is $30 one way per person or $35 in first class. We found a way of booking the return trip at a restaurant in Stone Town (the Lunga Mare) and got a non refundable ticket for only $20 on the noon departure with advance purchase. Don't forget that the port fee of $5 per person departing has to be paid in addition. It seems that the other fast boat called the "Flying Horse" is only $10 per person but operates less frequently and I have no idea what the comfort is like.
Tours and visits:
The SPICE TOUR is almost a must for anyone visiting Zanzibar, and typically it lasts 3 to 5 hours with a meal included. Prices run from 3500 per person to 30000 for a comfortable air-conditioned minibus carload. One 3500 trip is with Mr. Mitu who leaves from in front of the movie theater daily at 09:30 and takes you on a 5 hour tour with a lunch stop (lunch included in tour). The CHANGUU (Prison Island) TOUR consists of a round trip boat trip to the island for about 12000 to 15000 and takes slightly more than 30 minutes one way. On the island there are: walking paths, nice beaches, huge turtles and a turtle farm with baby turtles (the admission fee to the island is one dollar per person in cash). Other tours include snorkelling, diving, and sightseeing with local fishing boats, the latter being available at Matemwe for 12000 for a 4 hour trip for a group of no more than 4 people.
The TOUR that we didn't take but which we priced anyway was a 2 day safari with one night at the Mikumi National Park. The park is about 300 km from the Bahari Beach Resort and the driving time is about 4 hours one way on a good road. The Tour desk at the Bahari Beach Resort can arrange the trip for 4 people in a chauffeur driven car with all expenses paid for slightly under $800 for the group of 4. Some taxi drivers can also arrange to take you to the Mikumi National Park and spend the night at a private hotel called "camp" made up of bungalows with 2 beds each for a fee of $35 per night per double plus the admission fee to the park of $20 per person per 24 hour period plus meals and the drive to and from the park which will work out to about 10 to 40 percent savings on the previously mentioned all inclusive trip for 4.
Our trip:
The Airport and Dar es Salaam:
We arrived right on schedule in Dar es Salaam after getting a peek at the Kilimanjaro on our leg down from Nairobi. On the plane we received the necessary immigrations entry forms to fill out and I wish we would have asked for 3 more sets for the rest of our trip since the very same forms can be used for entrance and exit and were required entering and leaving Zanzibar and also for departure from Dar es Salaam. We claimed our baggage which arrived without much delay and took it all through customs without any hassle. Some people had to open all of theirs and the customs officials checked the contents. Right after customs you are still in the airport building and can go to the foreign exchange booth while the taxi drivers who have to remain outside try to get your attention through the glass windows. Changing money at the airport is practical and the rate isn't bad either. In the banks you can easily wait for an hour with all kinds of complicated line changing and form filling. At this point, while I was in line for the money exchange, a taxi driver tried to set a deal with me. We managed to agree on Tsh 6000 to downtown. He was all smiles and showed us to his taxi when we walked out of the airport building.
The ride is 15 km to downtown (or seaport, also downtown) and on the way our driver gave us some information on DAR ES SALAAM. His name was Ali and was very friendly, he told us that he frequently drove Swiss people around and sometimes arranged trips to the nearby Mitsumi National Park for his Swiss clients. He also said that he would probably be free to pick us up again when we returned from Zanzibar on Saturday. We told him that if we saw him when we got back that we would ride with him of course. We even agreed on the price of the trip to the Bahari Beach Resort although I have a feeling that it was a bit on the high side. No matter, we felt well with him as our driver. On arrival at the seaport he told us that we should leave the baggage in the car and that I should go with him to the Sea Express office to see if we could take the 10.00 boat leaving in about 50 minutes. We had to wait our turn in line for a very long time while the other 3 family members remained in the car about 5 meters away and were talked up by the people from the crowd around the seaport. It had my son worried a bit but everyone was friendly and just wanted to chat with the "tourists" and maybe find a way to make some business. When it finally came to my turn, I paid $120 cash for the 4 tickets and had to show our 4 passports. The ticket agent took down the taxi driver's name (probably to pay him a commission for bringing in customers). I then had to pay the port tax of $5 per person at another counter. Here someone asked for payment of a helper fee which I refused to pay pretending not to understand... after he explained that it was so that these people could eat I emptied my coat pocket in which I had stowed some goodies from the plane... some Swiss cheese, some jam portions and even some slightly melted Swiss chocolate. This seemed to do for now. With many people sitting and waiting we thought that we would have to wait also.. but no, some other tourists went directly to the boat so we followed them which was the right thing to do. During the one and a half hour trip we all slept off and on.
Zanzibar, Stone Town
On our arrival in Zanzibar, we were met by some taxi drivers who offer their services as helpers and porters because you have to go to immigrations and customs through a maze of paths and warehouse buildings. The first time you do it you'll definitely need help to find your way around. We told the fellow who helped us out that we would not be very lucrative customers since we will only be going downtown to our hotel. He said that this didn't matter and continued to guide us around until we got to his taxi outside the port grounds. It was a real antique but managed to accommodate the 4 of us and our baggage without any trouble. The trip into town was short and the last part of road to the hotel entrance was full of holes and mostly unpaved. We paid the 1000 fare and gave the driver a $1 tip which he seemed to appreciate. He told us that he could arrange to either take us on a tour of Stone Town or on a spice tour should we be interested. We declined the offer, so he gave us his contact point (hotel front desk) should we change our mind or need his help the next day.
The hotel had our reservation which I had phoned in about 2 weeks before our trip. The Coco de Mer Hotel was about what you call a "pension" or "guest house" with a court in the middle and a bar and restaurant not visible from the street. This is important during the Ramadan period since the people of Zanzibar are Muslims (over 90%) and it is against their religious law to eat or drink between sunrise and sunset. We knew that the first 2 days of our stay in Zanzibar would be during the Ramadan period. Despite the Ramadan, many restaurants (mostly in hotels) will serve lunch to tourists though out of sight from the street. Everything kind of slows down a bit during this period and it's easier to tour Zanzibar before or after the Ramadan. The family room was more like a suite with a big room where the 4 beds were in line all covered with mosquito nets (some had holes) next to a room with a table, 2 chairs, a closet and a door leading to the bathroom with toilet and shower. It was an older building with high ceilings. The room looked clean enough but the floor was in poor shape and not everything was working perfectly. Instead of air-conditioning we had 2 large fans on stands that swept back and forth each blowing on 2 of the beds. We decided (or maybe we didn't) to take a nap. Although it was quite noisy, we managed to sleep for about 2 hours. There was some bassy African music coming from somewhere that rocked us to sleep. At different times of the day or night you would hear the call for prayer coming from the Mosque not very far away. The hotel manager, Mrs. Underwood, and her office assistant, a girl from the Seychelles, were extremely friendly and helpful. We put some valuables in the hotel safe which is a good precaution anywhere in the world.
After our nap we walked around a bit in the narrow streets of Stone Town. The buildings are old and many are in poor shape. Our hotel was right next to another similar one called the Karibu ("welcome" in Swahili). We were about 200 meters from the Tembo, the Emerson's, the Dhow Palace Hotel and the Africa House. Just a few steps away were the Old Fort, the House of Wonders and the park that comes to life after sunset. A bank and the central post office were just steps away too. Some small shops (the narrow streets are just lined with them) were open even though it was Sunday evening.
The next morning we heard the Mosque call at about 5:00 and fell back to sleep u ntil about 8:00. Breakfast was fine except the scrambled eggs we ordered seemed to be made up of just whites and no yellows. We later learned that the egg yellows are of a much lighter color than those that we're used to and that our scrambled eggs probably had the yellows in them too. On my request the hotel arranged for a boat trip to "Prison Island". We agreed on a departure time of 11:00 and were told that we could leave our baggage in the office until we left the hotel in the afternoon. The beach boy showed up at 11:00 and we agreed to give the set price of 15000 to the young man on duty at the front desk who would hand it over to the beach boy upon our return. It turned out that we had a boat driver and a guide who accompanied us over to the island in a motor boat. We took $4 in cash as we had been reminded that there is an admission fee to the island. The trip lasted slightly over 30 minutes and we went ashore on a beautiful sandy beach were many other similar boats were anchored. A big boat used by a major diving school was also anchored slightly offshore. We went to the counter, paid the admission fee and walked up the path to the huge turtles lazing under a tree. Our driver and guide remained near the entrance and we agreed to be back in an hour. After our walk on the trails around the island we stopped for a Coke at the restaurant. On our return trip we could see a new resort that had just opened on an adjacent island. The view of Zanzibar Stone Town was impressive as we approached. We arrived back at the hotel just a short time before our arranged pick-up by the Matemwe Bungalows driver (it had been agreed that we would pay the driver 20000 directly for the one way trip). While we waited near the hotel entrance, we observed the children playing in the street, some making mud pies, others playing checkers with bottle caps, and some playing a local game with a board containing round and square compartments each containing a certain number of stones... the game is called Bao.
Matemwe
We chose the Matemwe Bungalows because they had been described to us by a friend who recommended the place and some write-ups said that their motto: "Welcome to the sunny side of paradise" was no exaggeration. We agree.
The one hour drive to Matemwe was comfortable in an air-conditioned Toyota Hi-Ace with plenty of room. We stopped to pick up another guest on the way.. it was an Italian architect who had gone to another resort to use the phone and fax since there are no such things at the Matemwe Bungalows (they do have phone and fax at their downtown office in Stone Town of course). Here again we had a driver and a guide. The guide first welcomed us with: "Karibu times 2... welcome to Zanzibar and welcome to MATEMWE" and went on to explain some things about the Swahili language to us. We learned that the language was born of a mixture of Portuguese and Arabic along with the same written alphabet we use in English. There were numerous villages with the typical huts and lots of lush vegetation: banana, coconut palm, baobab and flamboyant trees. Driving on the left hand side is impressive when overtaking others on the somewhat narrow roads. As we approached Matemwe we could see the ocean and the road narrowed as we drove through several fishing villages under the palms before reaching the Matemwe Bungalows.
We arrived at the reception which was in the same building or huge hut as the restaurant, bar and cushion covered lounge area. There were no walls on 3 sides and the lounge overlooked one of the most beautiful palm-lined beaches one could imagine. We were shown to our two bungalows which shared a shower/toilet in a third similar hut. The toilets were of the stand up kind and they were frequently cleaned by the personnel. The grounds were very nicely landscaped with walkways through the planted gardens. Further down there was even a wooden covered bridge for the walkway as it went over a depression. The 12 bungalows were all in line facing the ocean and ours were quite small on the inside but just right for 2 people. In addition to the 2 twin beds with mosquito nets there was a desk, a chair, rotin shelving and a set of wooden shelves. The floor was concrete with some straw rugs. The patio was just big enough for 2 or 3 deck chairs and a low table. This is were the early morning tea, coffee and cookies are set down (at around 7:30) a much appreciated eye opener before the usual 8:00 - 10:00 breakfast at the restaurant. You also get boiled water in a closed pitcher for brushing your teeth. The tap water is OK for all other washing needs. The hotel has it's own solar (photo voltaic) power for some lighting needs. In the evening it's a candlelight atmosphere with oil lamps at most tables. A lit oil lamp is brought to each bungalow and set on the patio. Inside the bungalows there's a second oil lamp but don't count on using it for reading a book. The walkways are bordered by a low (6 inch) white wall with niches about every 20 meters. The niches house a small oil flame that lights the path at night. This gives the place a very romantic atmosphere. Also the stars in the sky shine so much brighter than back home.
The hotel is run by 2 Swedish sisters and 2 other partners. If I have the story right, the 2 sisters were backpacking on a trip which was supposed to take them around the world via Africa, India, Asia etc... they got as far as Zanzibar and decided to stay. They went through the paperwork and the construction of the hotel in 1989/90 and opened in 1990. You can tell that they work hard to give the guests a feeling of the easy going African life... there are 39 employees for 24 beds. They plan to expand the facilities in the near future and will probably increase the already very good comfort level. This will mean that all the bungalows will have their own bath and that there will be some very luxurious ones on the hill overlooking the rest of the grounds. The prices may increase slightly to $120 - $190 per double with full board. They hope to increase the quality of the service (which we have nothing to complain about) by sending their young employees who are often from the immediate area to a newly opened hotel school. Probably the best time to come is early November when there are few tourists and the weather is dry. There are plenty of tourists in December and January and it seemed to us that February was a busy month too. From April to early July is the main rainy season and although some places remain open it's not at all the same.
The hotel shares a beach with the fishing village next door and the best part about it is the mutual respect between the tourists and the local residents. It feels good not to be behind a fence in a tourist ghetto. What a wonderful sight watching the local fishing boats passing by in front of our bungalow, the fishermen pushing along their way with poles. When they reach the open sea beyond the reef, they deploy their sails. They schedule their departure and return according to the tides.. it is only possible to cross over the reef at high tide during a 3 hour time span. The local fishing boats are narrow dugouts made of baobab trees. There are a couple of wood beams across the breadth with attached floats on each side. Mast and sail complete the standard equipment.
The hotel can organise a trip with a local fishing boat, snorkelling excursions with a motor boat and scuba diving with lessons. Aside from that, activities are "taking it easy" and walking along the beautiful beach that stretches for miles once you pass the apparent end of the first beach next to the hotel. On this second endless beach there are more fishing villages with one being the scene of the daily fish market when the fishermen return from sea. You can watch them "knotting" the octopus in the fine white sand which is so fine that you would think it was cement.
Food at the hotel was great too. The morning breakfast included juice, cereal, fruit, toast or bread, butter and jam, an egg any style or sometimes a couple of crêpes which they called "pancakes". Tea and coffee were available at the buffet almost any time of day. Lunch was served as a buffet and was quite varied with salads, fruits, vegetables and dessert. The desert and the tea and coffee remained out for the most of the afternoon for those wishing to indulge in 4 o'clock tea. Drinks could be ordered from the bar at all times and were charged to the room. Dinner was served by the waiters and consisted of a small first course, very delicious, and a choice from 2 main dishes generally from the sea with a choice of sides and salads at the salad-bar. Dessert was often something like cooked banana with vanilla topping etc... There was sometimes meat instead of seafood but even non seafood lovers will prefer the fresh seafood here. They say that if you have any special wishes with respect to food they will try to take them into consideration.
This spot is ideal to relax after a safari on the mainland too. Some of the guests had spent 2 weeks in the wildlife parks and were glad to come here and relax. For us time flew by too quickly and before we knew it, it was Saturday and time to leave again (sniff). If you get a chance to do more than just "cyber-visit" the place tell them that Edmond from Geneva sent you, and who knows, I might run up some referral credit to spend another week down there in the not too distant future.
Bahari Beach Resort
The trip back to the port of Zanzibar lasted about an hour and our guide helped us through the formalities until we got to the boat. We were just on time. Quite a crowd boarded and we thought that we were lucky to find some seats.. maybe they would have let us sit up front in first class had there been no seats left. On our arrival in Dar es Salaam we were greeted by Ali who took us through the formalities there and introduced us to one of his buddies who took us in his car. He told us to pay the agreed fare directly to his buddy on arrival at the hotel. On the way we pulled into a gas station, and the driver asked us for some small change (1000) being almost out of cash. He offered to pick us up in the morning to take us to the airport. We declined having made other arrangements already. The trip to the Bahari Beach Resort took about 45 minutes, the last bit on very rough unpaved road.
We had chosen this resort because we needed to be on the mainland for the last night before our departure from DAR ES SALAAM airport at 9:50 the next morning. Recently friends stayed at some well known downtown hotels and had been very disappointed. The Bahari Beach Resort was one of a chain belonging to Bushtrekker Ltd. It was a bit upscale and the grounds looked very nice. I'm sure that if we hadn't been spoiled by our "paradise" we would have been very impressed. The restaurant building was huge and the reception roof was built around a tree. All the rooms were air-conditioned and set in 2 story round buildings. We found out that many airlines have their staff stay here and that there is a European doctor available at the hotel. The beach area was also lined with palms but the shore looked less inviting at low tide. There was a pool too. After a stroll through the grounds we had an early dinner and went to bed in order to get up early the next morning. Sleeping wasn't easy with the truck engine sound of our air-conditioner and the bass from the live house band playing African music. I regretted not having gone to the performance.
We got our last glimpse of Tanzania on the way to the airport.. the roads were lined with small shops and businesses and the scene was very colorful. The one hour margin we had given ourselves for our plane departure proved a bit short because of the many formalities leaving the country. We just managed to get to the gate on time. Although we had adapted well to the African way of life, it was a change to get the European comfort and service again on our Swissair flight back.. good non-molten Swiss chocolate too. |
