hedonist222
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I made my way to Zanzibar last week. I had intended on going (back) to either the Philippines or Indonesia, but I did not have enough time.
I wanted to go somewhere that only needed a direct flight and little to no commute on arrival. Zanzibar fit this. A direct five hour flight from Dubai to Stone Town.
I'd wanted to go in the past but most dive centers, seemingly, cater to resort divers - what this entails, and there is reason behind this too, that they only do two dives a day. Maybe a night dive. This was my impression from contacting a few dive centers of the years. Apart from resort divers tending not to dive like theres no tomorrow, but the ebb and flow of tides is a massive factor. What this means is if you're able to start the day at the hotel or dive OP beach, the tide gets so low within a few hours that Depending on the dive OP, they may not have easy access to return and therefore must return to mainland by a nearby port. Again, the dive OP willingness to do this and proximity to a port affect this.
Here are two pictures taken a few hours apart from the hotel beach.
But thanks to @Jaan for passing on a dive guide contact a few years ago - Hasan.
Thank you, Jaan. Offering his contact a few years ago was very helpful. And I'm glad he didn't change numbers
.
Considering this trip was a last minute affair I probably would not have had enough time to arrange a private guide/boat and would not have made this trip!
Turns out that Hasan worked at ScubaReef for 9 years.
We were in contact by whats app for a few days before arriving.
I explained that I would like to do three or four dives a day.
They have a special vibe and everything is okay or works out.
He was genuinely kind, clear, and helpful. And since I asked him to arrange everything, he was very cognizant in planning and working with me.
From collecting me at the airport, to passing by a local mobile shop to purchase a SIM card to even arranging for diving on arrival day.
Everything was seamless.
Tip: When going to remote places like Zanzibar, its nice to offer to bring things they may need. Not only do they not have access to these things, if and when they eventually are able to procure them, it takes time and costs a lot. He asked and offered to pay for some Go Pro accessories that he needed. He was so happy!
I arrived around seven in the morning, and was already in the car twenty minutes from landing.
Hassan and Juma, a manager at ScubaReef, picked me up in a relatively nice car (I was expecting Flintstones style cars) - A comfortable and modern Toyota Harrier.
Notes on currency: I purchased Tanzanian Shillings from Dubai. 550,000 TZ cost me $300. In Zanzibar, 550,000 TZ is $200. Ouch! I instantly lost a third of my money.
I understand that while Dubai has some of the best currency exchange rats in the world, the TZ is scarce these days and therefore this premium.
So, perhaps bringing in USD or Euros may be a better option. Caveat emptor!
Hassan suggested I base myself near the Muyuni port - for the reasons mentioned above.
I was aware that I would be going during the low season - African short rains.
Most days looked like this:
I stayed at the Zanzibar Pearl Hotel. Nice hotel.
Another thought on Zanzibar is that power outages are still common. Power went out about twice a day. Usually back on in five to fifteen minutes but on one occasion it went for an hour before guests asked the hotel to switch to the generator. What this means is, get your power stuff done ASAP. Showering, charging, anything that needs power really. A few portable battery chargers always come in handy.
Most of the island had a 4G internet connection. I found that 4G was faster than hotel wifi, so I bought some more GB (total of 20GB for about $35).
(continuing below because for some reason, scubaboard only lets me upload five images per post)
I wanted to go somewhere that only needed a direct flight and little to no commute on arrival. Zanzibar fit this. A direct five hour flight from Dubai to Stone Town.
I'd wanted to go in the past but most dive centers, seemingly, cater to resort divers - what this entails, and there is reason behind this too, that they only do two dives a day. Maybe a night dive. This was my impression from contacting a few dive centers of the years. Apart from resort divers tending not to dive like theres no tomorrow, but the ebb and flow of tides is a massive factor. What this means is if you're able to start the day at the hotel or dive OP beach, the tide gets so low within a few hours that Depending on the dive OP, they may not have easy access to return and therefore must return to mainland by a nearby port. Again, the dive OP willingness to do this and proximity to a port affect this.
Here are two pictures taken a few hours apart from the hotel beach.
But thanks to @Jaan for passing on a dive guide contact a few years ago - Hasan.
Thank you, Jaan. Offering his contact a few years ago was very helpful. And I'm glad he didn't change numbers
.Considering this trip was a last minute affair I probably would not have had enough time to arrange a private guide/boat and would not have made this trip!
Turns out that Hasan worked at ScubaReef for 9 years.
We were in contact by whats app for a few days before arriving.
I explained that I would like to do three or four dives a day.
They have a special vibe and everything is okay or works out.
He was genuinely kind, clear, and helpful. And since I asked him to arrange everything, he was very cognizant in planning and working with me.
From collecting me at the airport, to passing by a local mobile shop to purchase a SIM card to even arranging for diving on arrival day.
Everything was seamless.
Tip: When going to remote places like Zanzibar, its nice to offer to bring things they may need. Not only do they not have access to these things, if and when they eventually are able to procure them, it takes time and costs a lot. He asked and offered to pay for some Go Pro accessories that he needed. He was so happy!
I arrived around seven in the morning, and was already in the car twenty minutes from landing.
Hassan and Juma, a manager at ScubaReef, picked me up in a relatively nice car (I was expecting Flintstones style cars
) - A comfortable and modern Toyota Harrier.Notes on currency: I purchased Tanzanian Shillings from Dubai. 550,000 TZ cost me $300. In Zanzibar, 550,000 TZ is $200. Ouch! I instantly lost a third of my money
.I understand that while Dubai has some of the best currency exchange rats in the world, the TZ is scarce these days and therefore this premium.
So, perhaps bringing in USD or Euros may be a better option. Caveat emptor!
Hassan suggested I base myself near the Muyuni port - for the reasons mentioned above.
I was aware that I would be going during the low season - African short rains.
Most days looked like this:
I stayed at the Zanzibar Pearl Hotel. Nice hotel.
Another thought on Zanzibar is that power outages are still common. Power went out about twice a day. Usually back on in five to fifteen minutes but on one occasion it went for an hour before guests asked the hotel to switch to the generator. What this means is, get your power stuff done ASAP. Showering, charging, anything that needs power really. A few portable battery chargers always come in handy.
Most of the island had a 4G internet connection. I found that 4G was faster than hotel wifi, so I bought some more GB (total of 20GB for about $35).
(continuing below because for some reason, scubaboard only lets me upload five images per post)
