Zanzibar Island

Stone Town:
* Many hours can be spent wandering through the winding streets of the old town visiting shops, the museum, site of the former slave market, the churches and mosques. In the evening, dining at one of the seafront or rooftop restaurants is a magical experience. Photos

Out of Town:
* The Spice Tour (normally about half a day long) is a fascinating tour of the spice plantations, which gave Zanzibar its old name: "Spice Islands". The tour provides an excellent opportunity to learn the history of the island and the spice trade.

* The magnificent coral reefs surrounding Zanzibar are a snorkellers and scuba divers paradise. Everyone can find something to satisfy them exploring this enchanting underwater world. Most beach hotels offer snorkelling equipment and boats to take you out to the coral reefs that surround the island. Here you can swim in a variety of depths of water - from one metre to 30 metres in depth. Many scuba diving centres are located around the island offering taster courses, and a variety of advanced courses leading up to PADI or similar qualifications such as Open Water Diver or even Master Diver. Wrecks and deep coral walls offer superb locations to view a great variety of fish, whales, dolphins, eels and coral formations.

* Swimming and playing with dolphin is another wonderful experience. Several dolphin groups are found around the island, but mainly near the south tip. They follow boats and if you dive in, with them they will swim and play around you. Good swimmers will be able to get very close and even touch the dolphins. This is a most rewarding half-day trip that can be arranged from most parts of the island.

* Sailing and deep-sea game fishing are also popular activities that can be arranged readily at most of the beach hotels.