Swahili cooking experience: – Hamza and Mariam took us to the market to collect the ingredients.
We choose and collect fresh vegetables this was a great experience. At Marium house in the middle of… read more Stone town, we cooked varieties of dishes including pilau, fish curry, chapati, and coconut ripe plantain with different spices. The food was very delicious and healthy and it was a great experience.

  I went to Zanzibar December 2021 and had the time of my life. One of the greatest highlights being the week-long tour group provided by Halisi Africa Tours. Not only… read more are Hamza and his crew locals who know their island like the back of their hands, but they loved imparting their love for their home to us. We went on a boat trip to Prison Island, took a spice tour (excellent experience!), swam with dolphins, walked Stone Town and stayed in the most beautiful lodges/hotels all the while. Hamza was extremely helpful and communicative and helped get us rides whenever we were not together. He also helped us maneuver the Covid screening test which was a bit of a hassle and would have been a disaster without him. Halisi Africa Tours was well worth the money, and was an experience unto itself as a result of the incredible staff!

  Zanzibar is quite the honeymoon destination, and Halisi Africa tours mostly deal with private tours, so it is sometimes lonely. Having said that, Hamza my tour guide was fantastic throughout… read more the trip, offering competitive prices and accommodating my schedule. I would suggest contacting him through whatsapp and arranging your whole stay (other tours) with him too, he won’t disappoint.

  Jozani is a must visit when traveling to Zanzibar, particularly with Halisi Tours (and Hamza is their top guide!). The monkeys were fascinating to watch and learn about, as was… read more the mango grove. An extraordinary nature experience close to Stone Town.

  We wanted an authentic African experience in Zqnzibar and we decided to visit Tumbatu island. This was the best decision! We came accross Hamza and he organized everything really well.… read more He was flexible with our changing plans and has welcomed us warmly. Then we visited a local market and although we are experienced travelers we would never find small local spots Hamza and his guide have shown us. The journey to the island was pleasant and then visiting the village – OMG, we really recommend it. We ate local fruit and food, which is an important part for us. Drink home made mango juice rather then coke or fanta! I will keep some secrets so you can have an adventure as we had but you can trust Hamza as he will be right there with you, taking care and having fun at the same time. Enjoy!

  This tour with Halisi Africa Tours is a must! It provides an in depth look at the variety of fruits and spices found in Zanzibar and our guide Hamza… read more was amazing in his knowledge and expertise on the vast array of flora grown. The knowledge we gained was unmatched as we dove deep into the numerous ways that these spices are utilized in herbal medicines and immunity enhancement. Additionally you also get to taste, smell, and experience a variety of fruits and spices, making it an integral part of the Zanzibar experience!

  Exceeded high expectation! – We were met at our hotel by Hamza & Miram who the took us round the market to choose ingredients for our chosen recipes. Great going round market not being… read more hassled and able to look at everything.
We then walked to Miram’s house where we started to prepare vegetables. Grinding coconuts, chopping veg, once all prepared cooking started.

Such a wonderful experience, her family, friends popped in and out it felt so authentic.

Miram has her own restaurant too nearby Bobo Beach cafe which she showed us afterwards.
Our other 2 friends joined us for lunch which we ate with Miram, Hamza and a couple of her friends/ help.
Food was delicious,

We cooked – Pan fried king fish, vegetable curry, pilau rice, banana stew, sweet pumpkin, mango/passion fruit/avacado &lime smoothie and spiced tea!!

Their english was excellent and fun to be with. Would totally recommend and hope you enjoy as much as we did.

  We spent the day taking a boat out to Tumbatu Island and then took a tour of the old ruins, the school, beautiful trees, and were able to meet and… read more one of the several natural healers on the island. The healer shared how he is able to understand how chronic or acute your condition is through gathering some data about you. It was so interesting to learn about these wise healers on the island. First though, the boat ride out to the island was awesome. The water was a gorgeous turquoise and we were able to see fishermen catch octopus and many varieties of fish, from their hand-made nets, which we ended up buying for lunch right from the water after the fishermen just caught them. It was so amazing to see. Next, we were dropped off on a sandbank and were able to see so many beautiful marine life followed by beautiful snorkeling off of the sandbank. Then we walked around the island some seeing children at school studying or hearing them chant their Islamic prayers. We were then treated to our amazing vegetarian and non-vegetarian lunch after visiting some of the ruins from prior royalty. The trip was so special and Halisi tours was such a great operator. Halisi Tours attend to all the small details and are simply the best tours I have taken during my travels to Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia. I highly recommend them above all others!

  Hamza couldn’t have picked a better tour for us. He is incredibly knowledgeable about all the different spices, how to cook with them, & the traditional use- something you never… read more hear about. Hamza should really write a book about Zanzibar spices. The lunch was a great expérience, all the food was cooked with the spices from the farm. We got to taste most of the spices picked directly from the trees or bushes. And when I cook with the many spices I brought home, my food tasted really great.

  This class was such a delight in so many ways. Hamza met us at the hotel and took us to the local market with Miriam to buy all the… read more ingredients for the meals. We were given a myriad of choices on what we wanted to cook that day. Miriam is such a is such a joy to spend time with and she hand Hamza not only explained the recipes and how to cook, but also gave us historical and cultural perspective on food, Stonetown, and anything else we wanted to ask about regarding their experiences in Zanzibar. We chose pumpkin soup, rice pilau, chicken curry, and coconut/cinnamon/cardamom/banana dessert. It was one of the best meals we ate in Zanzibar. Looking forward to receiving the recipes to try to recreate the island at home. It was all so much fun and so delicious all rolled up into one authentic and perfect experience. We also went to Miriam’s Baboo Beach Cafe for dinner that night. We would highly recommend you put this on your Zanzibar list of things to do!