Zanzibar was known as a spice Island, exporting cloves, vanilla, nutmeg, and cardamom across the world. The spices were brought from Asia and South America and flourished in the tropical climate. Nowadays the spice tour is one of the most popular excursions on the island. Walk through the spice plantation with your guide – touch, smell and taste different spices and try to guess which is which, from the crushed leaves, barks, roots and vines and creepers crawling up the trees. Learn about their properties, their origins and their use as medicines and in foods and drinks. Depending on the season you are visiting, you can find anything from vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, lemon grass, cloves, ginger, coriander, pepper, allspice, chili, curry lives and more! Seasonal tropical fruits include banana, pineapple, jackfruit, custard fruit, oranges, star fruit, tangerine, passion fruit, mango, avocado, rambutan, papaya, and many others.
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.
852zakr July 30, 2021
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.
Bassti1902 February 24, 2020
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!
katierA2557SH December 17, 2022
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.
AimeeBugC February 20, 2021
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.
Y4545ADfionam March 3, 2020
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.
F6290WRpamelad January 16, 2022
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!
spelcashantim March 2, 2022
Hamza is an incredible tour guide. We recommend him 10/10! In fact, we had plans to use a different tour company on Wednesday and Friday, with Hamza’s Stone Town and… read more Spice Plantation tour landing on the Thursday in between. We ended up canceling with the other company for Friday and using Hamza instead because he was just that awesome. The other company wasn’t bad per say (they facilitated the things we hired them to arrange), but Hamza was much friendlier and enthusiastic about the work he is doing here.
He is from the islands and loves being Pemban/Zanzibari. It shows through the thorough tours that he gives and the way he interacts with all of the people around. It seems like he knows everyone! He bought us some local snacks to try (make sure you eat the Zanzibari Mix in Stone Town!!), gave us an incredible tour of Stone Town and then the Spice Farms.
We didn’t want just a facilitator, but we wanted a guide…someone who could answer our questions and really help us get to know the Zanzibari culture. His English is excellent!
We also went to the Nakupenda Sand Bar and then to Prison Island with him, as well. He built sand castles with our kids, showed us around and made us feel like family.
Book with him – you won’t regret it!!
hannaliv1122 August 1, 2022
I did more than one activity. I went for Kilimanjaro climb, Safari,snorkeling ,Beach on Zanzibar and spices tour.they we’re all well organized
Riomkn1943 February 19, 2022
I wish I can check more than one activity because Hamza was our go-to for all things while we were in Zanzibar. From the great Stone Town tour walking, to… read more the Sandbank and Prison Island Tour, and much more. He was always timely, super knowledgeable, very professional and made our trip fun! We can’t wait to be back and explore mainland activities. Thank you so much, Hamza!!