Zanzibar: Pemba, Mafia (Bradt Travel Guides)

A new, thoroughly updated ninth edition of the most comprehensive guide to Zanzibar available, with a complete review of accommodation listings to cover new options in all price brackets on all three main islands (over 300 properties visited personally). Also included is more detailed coverage of Zanzibar's cultural, historic and environmental status than in any other travel guide, while many of the city/town/village maps have been redrawn and accurately updated, with every property, major attraction, eatery and road recorded. The authors aim to direct readers to the more ethically minded hotels, tour operators and activities, from a focus on fair-trade shopping to marine awareness guidelines. Bradt's Zanzibar is the most frequently updated book on the islands: the authors are personally known for their face-to-face, on-the-ground research methods and this is the book of choice for hoteliers and expatriate workers/residents on Zanzibar. The guide also includes a dedicated section on southern Tanzanian safaris in the Selous and Ruaha National Park, making this the ideal choice for a bush and beach combination.

Zanzibar is a magical and evocative name, and for many travellers, the name alone is reason enough to come, as is testified by the growing number of post-safari visitors from the USA. The islands are magical and full of promise but the choices are vast: from the burgeoning hotel scene to the array of operators offering seemingly the same trip. The authors have been visiting Zanzibar for more than 15 years and strive to provide all the information required to make the right choice of where to stay and how to make the most of your time on the islands, as well as offering details of how to get off the beaten track. They say: ‘a tremendous amount of change has taken place, and yet it remains impossible not to be enchanted as you approach from the air, looking down on sparkling turquoise waters, darkened only by patch reefs, and punctuated by the billowing triangular white sails of passing dhows. We still always smile as we step off the plane, to be enveloped by Zanzibar's exotic blend of warmth, humidity and aromatic spices.'