Tanzania Honeymoon Guide

How to Spend Your Honeymoon in Tanzania, Africa

For the majority of people reading this guide, congratulations are in order as you might be looking for the perfect honeymoon. What an exciting time in your life! Adventurous couples will usually look for a less traditional trip that combines the tranquil intimacy one usually looks for in a honeymoon with a healthy dose of adventure. That’s where Sababu Safaris comes in! Our bespoke Honeymoons in Tanzania can contain as much or as little adventure as you desire, combining thrilling wildlife safaris with relaxing days in beach resorts in Zanzibar. Tanzania welcomes visitors with its jaw-dropping landscapes, magnificent snow-capped mountains, abundant wildlife viewing, rich cultural history, and some of the best beaches on the planet. You and your spouse can be sure of a lifetime experience!

Photo by our lovely guests UNESCOtravelers Photography

A Honeymoon Safari in Tanzania

For couples with plenty of adventure in their souls, a safari is the dream vacation, making it the perfect honeymoon option. This is the start of your journey together as a married couple and it needs to make both of you happy.

There is no specific national park or game reserve that is suited more than others for honeymooners, as it all comes down to your interests. One of the reasons Tanzania is perhaps the best place in Africa for safaris in general is because of the diverse range of biomes and density of wildlife found here. In Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, you can witness the Great Migration of 1.8 million wildebeest and many hundreds of thousands of zebra and gazelle. This migration attracts many large predators, making it also very likely that you’ll see lions. In fact, Tanzania has the largest lion population in Africa, with approximately 3,000 lions in the Serengeti alone!

If you’re interested in a completely different kind of safari, then a chimpanzee trek in Mahale Mountains National Park might be more your style. Approximately 1000 chimpanzees call Mahale Mountains National Park their home, and Sababu Safari’s offers exciting trekking safaris into the jungle to observe mankind’s closest living relative.

And those couples who are looking for the ultimate challenge can kick off married life by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro! This adventure of a lifetime will definitely be one of the highlights of your honeymoon.

Zanzibar Honeymoon

For many of us, it simply isn’t the honeymoon of our dreams without at least some portion of it spent on a beautiful beach, sipping cocktails and catching some much-needed rest and recuperation. This is why Zanzibar — a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania — is one of the most popular spots in Africa for honeymooners. While people think of Zanzibar as an island, it is actually an archipelago of four main islands (three of which are inhabited by people). Zanzibar’s location just south of the equator, on the Indian Ocean, means that it offers particularly beautiful weather, making it the perfect beach holiday location. And the beaches in Zanzibar are especially impressive! There are too many to list here, but we’d like to give a brief description of a few of our favorites:

Jambiani Beach

Jambiani Village is a sleepy fishing village on the southeast coast of Zanzibar. As you walk the beach, you may be greeted by a friendly ‘Jambo!’. Jambiani Beach is untouristy, relaxed, and feels more authentic than other beach towns in Zanzibar. It is also cheaper than big beach towns like Nungwi or Kendwa, so is one of the best places to have a low cost Zanzibar vacation. Have a local guide take you through their village (donations will be made to visited places) and discover how locals live their everyday lives and how they make their livelihoods. The tour finishes with a great Swahili local style lunch!

Paje Beach

Paje Beach is one of the most popular Southeastern beach towns in Zanzibar. A great place to visit if you enjoy interacting with others while you enjoy swimming, and it boasts a great selection of bungalows, small restaurants, and beach bars. Paje Beach is one of the most ideal places to visit if you are interested in learning how to scuba dive or practice other water sports like kitesurfing or windsurfing.

Nungwi Beach

Is one of the most popular beaches in Zanzibar, and for good reason. This area is filled with tourists and nightlife, making it the perfect spot for couples who like to meet other people and don’t mind eschewing privacy in favor of being in a busy, exciting place. All of the resorts and restaurants nearby ensure that you never have to visit the same place twice at Nungwi Beach. And it’s not all parties and socializing, as there are some beautiful coral reefs nearby that are ideal for snorkelling and diving. Keep your eyes peeled for green turtles and dolphins! However, if you are looking for a more relaxing and serene environment, Nungwi is not the ideal place to go.

MATEMWE BEACH

White sandy beaches, palm trees and the Indian Ocean as far as you can see, that’s Matemwe in north-eastern Zanzibar. The small village is loved by locals and travellers for its seemingly never-ending wide and romantic beach. If you are looking to reconnect with nature and relax far away from it all, Matemwe is your spot to be. Here you will find pristine fishing communities, hosting few tourists and more fish markets. At the stalls, you can try local dishes. Go to Matemwe if you want to relax, but pick a different location if you want to go out and enjoy entertainment. If you long to hold a book in one hand and a drink in the other, you have found your dream destination. And Matemwe’s proximity to Mnemba Island allows for a great snorkelling day trip!

Zanzibar’s Rich and Diverse Culture

For many people, the main reason to travel is that it allows you to meet new people and experience different cultures. Zanzibar offers a vibrant combination of many nearby cultures, producing something entirely unique. The prevailing winds of the region placed it directly on the Indian Ocean routes, making it accessible to both traders and colonists from South Asia, Arabia, and the African Mainland. A historic hub for commerce and culture within Zanzibar, Stone Town has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a lovely place to get lost in its numerous ancient buildings and labyrinths of streets.

One way that the unique Zanzibari culture really shines through is in its cuisine. Influenced by its multi-cultural and multi-ethnic Zanzibari and Swahili heritage, much of the food involves a rich array of spices and a cornucopia of seafood. The connection with India also means that you can look forward to excellent curries and stews. If you’re interested, read our Zanzibar holiday guide to find out more.

Combine a Tanzania Safari with a Zanzibar Beach Honeymoon!

If you are eager to go on a safari but you also long for a bit of R&R with your new spouse on a beautiful beach or two, then you can easily combine both into the ultimate honeymoon. Why not go on a few game drives on safari before taking a short flight from mainland Tanzania to Zanzibar? This way, you can meet the ‘Big Five’ on an adventure in the African savannah before relaxing on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We think it’s best in this order, but feel free to have us organize your honeymoon safari however you like.

Designing Your Own Tanzania Honeymoon

No two people are the same, and this goes double for couples. This guide has given you an introduction to some of the things you can look forward to on a Tanzania honeymoon, but there are may more places to visit that are not mentioned here. We create truly tailor-made Tanzania honeymoons to meet all our lucky guests’ needs, so please do not hesitate to get in touch and tell us exactly what kind of Tanzania honeymoon you’d like and we’ll create your trip of a lifetime!