Zanzibar East

Zanzibar's East Coast provides the vision of an archetypal Indian Ocean beach that we all associate with Zanzibar - a seemingly endless stretch of powder-white beaches, stretching out to the barrier reef about a kilometer off shore. However, since the beach slopes very little, the tide does go out rather a long way, meaning that swimming has to be carefully scheduled.

The roughly 40 kms of coast line here is punctuated by a number of traditional fishing villages, sited among which is a wide range of places to stay. As with most places on Zanzibar, freshly caught fish will figure highly on your hotel's menu.

Again, this a region from which to undertake good diving and snorkelling, or simply - since the area is much less frequented than it is around Nungwi - just chill out in the sun (if that juxtaposition of words makes sense).

The exclusive, and expensive, island of Mnemba lies just off this coast - for details see elsewhere.