How to explore the beaches and islands of Tanzania’s Swahili Coast

20.09.2023 - 01:45 / lonelyplanet.com

In Lonely Plan-It, we take you step by step through how we planned some of the most complicated travel adventures. Below, Mary Fitzpatrick shares tips on how to explore Tanzania’s Swahili coast. 

Tanzania’s Swahili Coast is timeless, with daily life shaped by the rhythms of the sea and the winds of the monsoon.

Dhows slip silently past dense stands of mangroves, their white sails billowing in the breeze. The lanterns of small wooden fishing boats twinkle on the night horizon. Coastal ports buzz with activity, as buckets of fish are carried to shore for auction. Palms wave in the breeze, baobabs stand sentinel over ancient ruins and the scents of jasmine and ylang-ylang waft through the air. 

Apart from Zanzibar Island, this coast seldom features on standard travel itineraries. Yet a few weeks (or longer!) spent beach- and island-hopping here is a magical experience, and a fascinating step into the Swahili world.

While it’s easy enough to reach Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam – the main hubs – much of the rest of the region is off the grid. Yet with a bit of planning and an adventurous spirit, the area is straightforward to explore. Here are a few tips to help you get ready for what is likely to be one of your most memorable journeys in East Africa – or anywhere.

Explore broadly, or in depth? And by plane, bus and/or ferry?

The Swahili Coast is the ultimate slow-travel destination, with a functional network of local buses and ferries to help you make your way around. Daily flights on small planes are also available. It’s helpful to decide at the outset whether you’d prefer traveling the coast’s full length, or instead pick one or two locations as bases to discover more in depth.

A good starting point for either plan is Zanzibar Town, with regional and international flight connections, a wide range of accommodation and facilities and plenty to do around the old Stone Town and nearby beaches. To continue your travels, ferries and small planes link Zanzibar with Pemba Island, the Mafia Archipelago and the mainland coast.

Useful connections include daily Azam Marine ferries between Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, and flights on Coastal Aviation and Auric Air that link Zanzibar with various mainland destinations and with Mafia Island (generally via Dar es Salaam). Once on the mainland, buses run up and down the coast, north to Pangani, Tanga and the Kenyan border, and south to Mikindani and Mtwara via Lindi and Nangurukuru junction (for Kilwa Masoko). Dar es Salaam’s Magufuli Bus Terminal is the main departure and arrival point, although a number of southbound buses leave from the city’s Temeke and Mbagala stations. Daily bus and flight connections also link the coast (Tanga/Pangani, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar) with