Premium Zanzibar travel destinations from Warere Beach? Born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946, Freddie Mercury, the flamboyant Queen frontman, is remembered in Mercury House. The small museum in the family’s former home pays homage to the island’s most famous son. Yellowing family photographs, the first piano he ever played and a selection of stage costumes await fans at the museum in Stone Town, which was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 2000. Nakupenda (Swahili for I love you) is the name of a slender slice of sandbank just off the coast of Stone Town. And what’s not to love? Abutting the brilliant blue of the ocean, this tiny beach is an idyll of sand as soft and white as baby powder. It’s the perfect spot for swimming, snorkelling in clear waters flickering with marine life and generally keeping cool under the hot African sun. If you’re lucky you might glimpse the local superstars – the much-loved dolphins, doing their own thing in the distance. Discover extra info at Warere Beach.
Excellent Zanzibar travel tours from Warere Beach: Zanzibar is described as a melting pot, with a blend of Arabic, African, Indian, European heritages, creating a unique cultural mix on the island, rarely seen elsewhere. One of the reasons for this is Zanzibar’s dark past and I think it’s important that people are aware of the atrocities that happened. Zanzibar was a major trading hub for many things, including slaves. The slave trade was brutal, with hundreds of thousands of people being trafficked through Bagamoyo on the mainland (where I lived for a little while), to be sold in Zanzibar, then shipped to the east or the west, with many passing through Liverpool in the UK, where I am from. Pay your respects at the Slave Monument (above) and you can also visit the old Slave Market and visit the house of David Livingstone, an important figure in the abolition of the slave trade, who once called Zanzibar home. You can either wander around by yourself or if you want to get the full history, you can take a specific tour like this one.
Best rated Zanzibar travel attractions with Warere Beach: The Darajani Market (or Bazaar) is the main bazaar in Stone Town, Zanzibar. It’s the most popular place to come and get spices, dates, bread, fruits, and almost anything you could need. Beyond getting some souvenirs, it’s a fantastic place to soak in the culture. On pleasant evenings at sunset, many young local boys will head to the Stone Town public beach to enjoy the last light of the day with some acrobatics and capoeira. What is capoeira? This is a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, and music. It’s pretty fun to watch from any of the nearby restaurants or on the beach. It’s far from the nicest beach in Zanzibar, but if you are in Stone Town for sunset, this is one of the best things to do in Zanzibar. Look out for the large crowds – these tend to form around some of the most talented boys!
Awesome Zanzibar travel destinations from Warere Beach: As I mentioned before, the island has a dark past. This market was the last functioning slave market in the world and it only closed in 1873. Although this might seem like a bit of a downer, it’s an important part of the history of the region. Thousands of Africans were brought to the island as slaves to work on plantations. Slave traders also used the island as a base camp before sending slaves on the long journey to the East to be sold in Persia, Arabia, the Ottoman Empire, and Egypt. At the Slave Museum, you can tour chambers where they kept slaves before they were sold. We went down to see the “rooms” where slaves were kept – a 12 by 12 foot basement with one tiny window near the ceiling. They kept over 30 people in these types of rooms. Although this happened hundreds of years ago it still gave me shivers as I stood there!
Awesome Zanzibar travel attractions by Warere Beach: Before we jump into this guide of things to do in Zanzibar let’s focus on the geography. Zanzibar is an island in the Indian Ocean, a two-hour (15 miles) ferry ride from Dar Es Salaam, a major city in Tanzania. Zanzibar is not a country but is considered a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania. Politically it is part of Tanzania. Zanzibar is also isn’t just one island but is the largest of the Zanzibar Archipelago, which consists of several islands. The four main islands are Unguja Island (which is Zanzibar), Pemba Island, Latham Island, and Mafia Island.