Flying Air Tanzania from Arusha to Zanzibar: Review

It’s been a minute since Part 7, but I'm finally back with another honeymoon diary entry!

Need a quick refresher? Check out the previous post here~

After wrapping up our epic 5-day safari tour in Tanzania,

we were finally off to Zanzibar for some well-deserved beach relaxation!

Arusha Airport & Air Tanzania Flight Review

Arusha Airport

Air Tanzania

Arusha Airport is a lot smaller than Kilimanjaro Airport.

Just like other airports, different airlines have different check-in counters.

But here’s the catch: they aren't all in one building—each airline literally has its own dedicated check-in building! 😅

Our amazing safari guide, James, dropped us off right in front of the Air Tanzania check-in building.

The check-in process itself was pretty standard.

I just downloaded the Air Tanzania app and showed them our mobile boarding passes, and they checked us right in.

(I still carried paper printouts, just in case!)

Then you place your luggage on the scale behind you, and the staff eyes the weight like a hawk.

I’d read online that light aircraft are super sensitive about weight limits, so I was a little nervous!

Baggage weight checked, and check-in complete! ~

They handed over our boarding passes and luggage tags,

but at Arusha Airport, you actually have to attach the luggage tags yourself.

You just peel off the backing up to the line that says "STOP" and stick it together.

Snapping a quick photo with the plane taking us from Arusha to Zanzibar!

I’ve flown on small planes a few times before, but being in Africa made me feel a bit more nervous.

(Can you see the tension in my face? ^____^:)

It’s small, but it has everything you need!

As soon as we boarded, they served us beer (choice of Kilimanjaro or Heineken) and cashews.

Talk about a perfect little in-flight snack!

It was a short flight, but we got to fully enjoy every minute of this cozy light aircraft experience~

Sitting right next to the propeller meant it was incredibly noisy,

but the stunning views of the Indian Ocean made it all worth it.

Zanzibar Airport

Abeid Amani Karume International Airport

Finally, catching our first glimpse of Zanzibar outside the window!

Unlike our experience at Kilimanjaro Airport,

they didn't check for yellow fever vaccination certificates here,

and we breezed through without any major checks.

(Maybe because it was a domestic flight from Arusha?)

After grabbing our bags, we contacted the driver we had pre-booked the day before!

Since Zanzibar is Tanzania's ultimate tourist hotspot, taxi fares here are notoriously high.

And of course, it's not just taxis—haggling is absolutely essential for all tours and activities!

WhatsApp: +255 777 472 323 (Abraham/Ibrahim)

His car was spotless, his rates were incredibly fair, and he was so friendly and kind.

If you ever need a ride in Zanzibar, we highly recommend booking him!

✔️ Zanzibar Taxi Rates

Stone Town - Nungwi: $25–$30

Nungwi - Paje: $40–$45

Paje - Stone Town: $25–$30

We took a taxi from Zanzibar Airport to our hotel in Nungwi for $30.

The driver navigated without any GPS and just asked us to give him verbal directions once we got close to the property.

I sat in the back with Google Maps open, keeping my eyes glued to the screen to monitor our route...

But he took the exact correct route the whole way! Incredible local knowledge.

Zanzibar has historically served as a major trade route connected to the Islamic world,

so unlike mainland Tanzania, you'll find a much larger Muslim population here.

You can easily spot the beautiful traces of Islamic trade and cultural heritage all over Stone Town.

Driving right through a breathtaking Zanzibar sunset,

we arrived at our hotel after about an hour.

Daniel Zanzibar Hotel

Daniel Zanzibar Hotel

The place we booked is located on the western side of Nungwi Beach.

The eastern side of Nungwi is packed with expensive resorts,

and the beaches there are either strictly private or quite rocky.

We had heard that most of the tour operators and local action are on the west beach,

so we decided to book our stay on the west side.

Since we were arriving late on our first night and only needed a place to sleep, we looked for a budget-friendly option.

And that turned out to be the source of our trouble...

Being an island in the Indian Ocean, Zanzibar was incredibly humid compared to the mainland.

Loud music from nearby clubs blasted until midnight,

and while there was an AC to help us beat the heat, the power cut out completely at 1:00 AM, leaving us sleepless.

(We later learned that power outages are just a regular part of life in Zanzibar...)

The next morning, the host mentioned that there was an unpaid balance on our booking.

Sensing a potential scam, I went straight to Google to search! Haha.

As it turns out, tourists in Zanzibar must pay an overnight tourism tax for every night they stay.

Since this was a budget-friendly spot, the tax was $2 per night, so we paid $4 in cash for the two of us.

(Our later hotels charged a higher tax rate, so it seems the tax scales depending on the accommodation's star rating.)

Still, when morning came, the property felt incredibly peaceful.

They have a swimming pool and serve a different breakfast menu every day.

As we were eating breakfast outside, a stray cat showed up and started acting cute for some scraps, lol.

The breakfast was decently savory and quite satisfying.

And finally, we even spotted the monkey that was making a fuss last night.

Now that check-out time is here, it actually feels like a pretty lovely place to stay. ^^

Our next hotel was located right near the main road, so we decided to just walk and drag our suitcases over.

However, the alley leading to the main road was an unpaved gravel path, so we ended up huffing and puffing as we lugged our heavy bags through it.

The hotel's mascot monkey!

And the absolute cutest little cat... 😭

Billy Juice & Pho Bo

Billy Juice & Pho Bo

Since I arrived so late at the Daniel Zanzibar Hotel reviewed above,

I started looking for a nearby place to eat and found a rice noodle (pho) spot right here in Zanzibar, so I decided to check it out.

The streets can feel a bit dark and scary at night, so if you're planning to go, I'd highly recommend visiting during the day! 😭

Unlike my expectation of finding a Vietnamese owner running the shop,

it was run by a Zanzibar local!

We had a bit of a language barrier with English, but after some serious gesturing over the menu,

I managed to order a regular-sized bowl of rice noodles, a Coke, and bottled water.

(This is the moment you have to explain passionately whether you want cilantro or not! lol)

Honestly, I didn't have high expectations for Vietnamese pho in Zanzibar,

but the broth instantly made me feel like I had traveled straight to Vietnam!

The slow-cooked beef was also tender and delicious!

However, the noodles were quite different from the typical pho noodles we know.

It was a bit... hard to describe. A very unique noodle texture.

Like slightly undercooked Cup Noodles? Or for Korean guys, maybe that nostalgic taste of undercooked military instant rice noodles?

But the broth was absolutely divine, so I ended up scraping the bottom of the bowl!

Plus, all of this was only around ~$4!!!!!

If you're ever in Zanzibar, I highly recommend checking this place out!!!!!

Mnemba Island Dolphin Tour

Mnemba island dolphine tour

One of the main reasons we wanted to visit Zanzibar in the first place

was definitely the Mnemba Island Dolphin Tour!

It's the very spot Kwak Tube visited on the Zanzibar episode of 'Earth Marble World Tour'!

Snorkeling in the beautiful Indian Ocean,

swimming with dolphins out in the open sea,

and enjoying a seafood feast on a sandbar that only appears during low tide—I was so incredibly excited just thinking about it.

WhatsApp +255 777 304 886 (Tour Broker Contact)

Since we were arriving late at night, we figured we wouldn't bump into any tour promoters on the street.

So, we researched blogs beforehand and reached out to a broker via WhatsApp.

At first, they quoted us $140,

but you absolutely *must* haggle here.

If we had negotiated in person on the beach, I think we could have gotten it down to under $100,

but trying to negotiate over text without seeing their facial expressions wasn't easy.

So, I whipped out my secret weapon: "Hakuna Matata" lol

In Zanzibar, you really only need to know two phrases: "Pole Pole" (slowly, slowly) and "Hakuna Matata" (no worries/it'll be fine).

If you say, "It's too expensive, my friend! Hakuna Matata!", they magically start giving you a better deal haha.

But unfortunately, on the very day we arrived in Zanzibar, Tropical Cyclone HIDAYA moved north.

We later learned that this tropical storm actually caused several missing persons and casualties.

We reached out later to see if we could go on another day,

but the entire duration of our stay in Zanzibar was affected by the storm, so we couldn't do the dolphin tour in the end.

Book easily via Klook

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This post is getting a bit long, so to be continued in the next part...

In the next post, look forward to our entry into the all-inclusive resort,

and a secret cave swimming experience! Stay tuned! ~