ZANZIBAR - SPICE ISLAND PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR

This will be my third Zanzibar photo tour in 3 years. The island is a photographer's paradise, and Decemnber is the perfect month to go - escape the cold/wet/dreary UK weather and enjoy some wonderful African sunshine and heat before Christmas!

The dates are: Depart the UK December 4th 2025, arrive in Zanzibar December 5th 2025       Depart Zanzibar on December 13th 2025, arrive in the UK December 14th 2025

The tour will start in Zanzibar’s fascinating capital, Zanzibar City, more commonly known as Stonetown, where we stay for the two nights in the Maru Maru Hotel (https://www.marumaruzanzibar.com). The first two days of the trip will be spent exploring the town’s maze of narrow streets with a local guide I’ve known for years, photographing the amazing heavy carved wooden doors (a show of wealth), the crumbling old buildings, the bustling Malindi fish market and anything else that captures our imagination. We’ll shoot sunsets from a beach or rooftop and hopefully capture dhows drifting by as the sun goes down. The local kids like to dive off the seawall too, providing great opportunities to capture their acrobatics. 

On the third morning, we check-out and head to the southeast coast and the village of Jambiani, where we'll stay for 2 nights in the Fun Beach Hotel (https://www.our-zanzibar.com/hotel/fun-beach-hotel/). The journey takes around 90 minutes. Once there we’ll spend the rest of the first day exploring Jambiani with a local guide. This will include a walk around the local village to photograph people going about their daily lives, local women collecting seaweed and shellfish, and opportunites to capture the amazing colour of the sea. After a sunrise shoot on Jambiani Beach, we'll spend the second day exploring other local villages such as Bweju, Pingwe and Kizimkazi.

After a dawn shoot on day 5 at The Rock, a small coral island near Pingwe, we’ll have breakfast at our hotel then leave Jambiani for Nungwi on the northern tip of the island. En-route to Nungwi, we’ll stop off at the villages of Maruhubi, Bububu and Mkokotoni, where you’ll have the chance to photograph locals going about their daily lives and fishermen repairing their dhows on the beach. We’ll then head to Nungwi on the northern tip of Zanzibar, arriving late afternoon, where we’ll stay for the remaining 4 nights of the trip.

There are two sides to Nungwi – the tourist hotels on the northwest side and the local village a 15 minute walk away around the beach on the northeast side. We’re staying in the superb Z Hotel (https://www.thezhotel.com) which is located on a beautiful white sand beach and metres from the Indian Ocean. 

Our days will start early when we wander along the beach before sunrise to watch and photograph the dhows returning from their overnight fishing expeditions and landing their catch. You’ll have the chance to shoot portraits of locals carrying fish up the beach to the village market – swordfish, shark, tuna, barracuda and a myriad of other species - the wonderful old dhows and the activity around the market. 

Once the sun is up and the temperature rising, we’ll head back to the hotel for breakfast. After breakfast, we’ll visit local villages with our guide - Nungwi itself, Matemwe and Pwani Mchangani. Each day in Nungwi we’ll take a break from around 1pm until 4pm as the sun is very hot and unforgiving and the light harsh. You can use this time to swim in the sea or the hotel pool, relax in the shade, process images, snooze, read a book – it’s entirely up to you. We’ll also have lunch at the hotel during this period. 

Every afternoon, the local dhow fleet gets ready and heads out to sea. We’ll wander along the beach to watch and photograph this until the sun sets around 6.30pm. We'll also spend time photographing the dhow builders who create traditional boats from locally-felled trees using techniques that are centuries old and take a trip on dhow on the final afternoon, cruising along the coast until sunset.

Once sufficient bookingds have been received to make the triop viable, I will advise on flights, visas, vaccinations etc. Recommendations for equipment and clothing for the trip will also be given approx 2 months before the trip. If you wish to extend your stay and be a tourist (in paradise) for a couple of days, let me know and I’ll check availability with Z Hotel. As always, if you have any queries, feel free to email me.

With Europe in the grip of winter, I can’t think of anywhere better to be at that time of year. The weather in Zanzibar is hot and humid, and the sea temperature is 26°C. I promise you’ll get the chance to take a dip!

FOR MORE INSPIRATION, CHECK OUT MY ZANZIBR PORTFOLIO ON THIS WEBSITE!

• At A Glance...

• Deposit / Price

  £300.00 / £3,750.00

  Sharing Discount - £350.00

• Date

  05th - 13th December, 2025

• Included

  8 nights accommodation in en-suite rooms for single use (2 nights in Stonetown, 2 nights in Jambiani, 4 nights in Nungwi). The first 4 nights are on b&b basis. The last 4 nights at Z Hotel are on fullboard, private hotel transfers on a group basis, local guides, included excursions, tips.

• Excluded

  Flights to/from Zanzibar, insurance, meals not mentioned, drinks from the bar, any extras of a personal nature, photographic equipment and materials.

• Fitness Level

  Moderate

• Location

  Zanzibar, Tanzania

• Max Group Size

  8