Multi Day Trips Including Kendwa

October 31, 2026

Advisory, October 2026: The US State Department lists all of Tanzania at Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and tells travellers to check travel.state.gov . The UK warns that protests after the October 2025 election caused deaths and injuries on the mainland and that more demonstrations are possible. It does not advise against travel to Zanzibar. Multi-stop trips mean more border, flight and ferry exposure, so keep bookings flexible. See the UK travel advice .

Multi Day Trips Including Kendwa

Kendwa works best as the beach chapter of a longer Tanzania trip. These three routes combine it with other stops, and each one ends with a few days on the sand.

Safari first, then the beach

The northern Tanzania safari circuit covers the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire. Many travellers finish a safari here and fly from Arusha to Zanzibar, then spend the last days at Kendwa. The long road and flight days make this a trip of a week or more. Leave a spare day between the last game drive and the flight so that a delay does not cost you the beach days.

Stone Town and Kendwa

A simple pairing is two nights in Stone Town followed by beach nights at Kendwa or Nungwi. In Stone Town you can see the UNESCO-listed old town, the Old Fort and the Forodhani waterfront. Then you drive about 60 km north-west to the coast, which takes roughly 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. A private taxi costs at least TSh 70,000, or about US$40 and up. Search beach stays near Kendwa

North coast and east coast

Zanzibar’s two coasts do different jobs. Kendwa has the sheltered west-facing bay where swimming works at every tide, and its wind is weak and unreliable. The kitesurfing schools are on the east coast at Paje and Jambiani, and one school operates at Nungwi Kite Beach. A split stay gives you swimming days at Kendwa and wind days on the east side.

Seasons for planning

December to March: hot and calm, the north-east monsoon.
April and May: the long rains, when some resorts and dive centres close for maintenance, so check ahead.
June to October: the drier, cooler south-east monsoon.
November: short rains.

The insurance step

Add this to every itinerary. Foreign visitors to Zanzibar must buy the government policy from Zanzibar Insurance Corporation before they arrive. The price is US$44 per adult for up to 92 days, and private travel insurance does not replace it. The Tanzanian embassy page explains the rule, and the portal is visitzanzibar.go.tz . Mainland Tanzania introduced its own NIC policy from 1 October 2026, so check ZIC and NIC before you fly to see what a trip across both needs.

Money and clothing

The currency is the Tanzanian shilling, and US dollars are widely used. Bring recent, undamaged notes. Cover shoulders and knees in towns and villages, and know that same-sex activity is illegal in Zanzibar.