Hotel 🏨: We stayed at The Mora Hotel, an all-inclusive resort. The dolphin chasing tour departed right from the hotel, but the round trip to Stone Town took three hours. If you don’t mind the hassle, you could spend one day in Stone Town and two by the beach—it’s up to personal preference (see my previous post for feedback).
Itinerary 🚶:
**DAY 1**: After checking in in the morning, we spent the whole day relaxing at the hotel, strolling on the beach � and hanging out by the infinity pool, taking photos and adjusting to the time difference.
**DAY 2**: Prison Island – Stone Town – Slave Market – Spice Market day tour. These spots are all close together, so it’s best to visit them in one day. I highly recommend hiring a guide for the Slave Market to learn about Zanzibar’s history. We booked a Chinese-speaking dive guide who also helped translate for our parents—made the experience much better!
**DAY 3**: Chasing dolphins 🐬 in the morning (they got super close—if you’re brave, you could swim right next to them!), followed by snorkeling 🤿 and feeding fish. In the afternoon, we sailed on a dhow boat to catch starfish and sea urchins. We went with the same Chinese dive guide, and she was amazing—constantly encouraging us non-swimmers to join in, teaching us how to use the gear, helping us take off our fins, and even taking underwater photos while catching starfish for us!
Highly recommend @强中美 for dolphin chasing in Zanzibar @我在桑给巴尔追海豚.
Since not many Chinese tourists visit Zanzibar, there aren’t many Chinese-speaking guides available. You could hire a local guide, but if you’re traveling with parents, having a Chinese guide makes things way easier!!!
Food 🍜: Since we stayed at an all-inclusive hotel, we only ate at one Chinese restaurant in Stone Town. The prices were reasonable, with plenty of options. It wasn’t super authentic, but the flavors were great (highly recommend their spicy conch, tofu, squid, and salt-and-pepper shrimp).
Transportation 🚗: Don’t rely on taxis or self-driving (the roads are terrifying). We always asked the hotel front desk to arrange a car for us at a fixed price.
I totally agree that spending a day in Stone Town and two on the beach is a great balance! The Mora Hotel sounds amazing, especially with the convenience of the dolphin tour departing right there. I’m curious, did you find the three-hour round trip to be worth it for the experience?