WOW WOW WOW .. What a brilliant day !! - This was a FANTASTIC day ! We were picked up from our hotel on time at 8:30am by our guide Yaya and our lovely driver Yumah (?). Yaya was simply a brilliant tour guide. He ‘self taught’ several languages from YouTube (eg. English, French and Hungarian) and he spoke better English than we did .. with the occasional ‘cockney’ accent … we had such a laugh all day long. First stop after a 30 minute drive was Maganga Spice Farm. Our host took us around the farm sampling various spices and Yaya told us all about them. And to make it more fun, he tested us to see if we could guess what they were. Obviously I got more right than my wife 😉, but Yaya said it was a draw ! 🙄. On our way around we saw some beautiful young children playing on the farm .. they were so inquisitive of us and seemed so happy 😍 .. We were very sad that we had nothing to give them as we’re weren’t expecting to see them, so if anyone takes this tour, please take some sweets/candy with you, the children will very much appreciate it. All in all we sampled Lipstick plant, Turmeric, Lychee, Cardamon, Vanilla (creeper plant), Cotton Tree, Cinnamon .. bark, root, leaves (Queen of the Spice), Black pepper (creeper plant), Coffee, Langilangi flower (for perfume), Clove tree (King of the Spice), Nutmeg & Ginger - Yaya educating us on the plant, harvest and uses of the spices. It was fascinating. At the end of this leg of the tour, one of the farmers climbed up a tree (singing on the way !) and picked a coconut for us the drink the milk from. Whilst our other farmer guide, made headware and ‘jewellery’ for us from leaves. We visited the spice shop on the way out. A great start to the day ! Next stop the port of Stone Town to get a boat to Prison Island. This was great fun too, even though my wife wasn’t keen on the 15-20 minute speed boat crossing. Whilst there, Yaya sorted out all the entrance tickets/fees and then told us all the amazing history of Prison Island .. I would never have thought that despite the name, no convicted criminals were ever ‘housed’ on Prison Island .. it was solely slaves and used as a place of quarantine when Yellow fever and Cholera broke out. After the ‘prison’ walk we had around 30 minutes to enjoy the amazing tortoises on the island .. they were enormous.. and the oldest one is around 200 years old. After the short trip back to the main island, we enjoyed the 3rd and final leg of the tour around Stone Town. Yaya kindly helped us negotiate a price on 2 football shirts. A lesson for us Brits here, as we are not used to bargaining on a price .. but in Zanzibar it’s a way of life ! We stopped at a very old building that Yaya called the ‘wonder’ building .. the building is under significant renovation at the moment .. and if I remember correctly, it was the place of a very very short war ! (Sorry if I got that wrong Yaya, as you shared sooo many amazing facts, that it’s sometimes difficult for old people like us, to remember everything 🙏). From there we visited an area that was previously a ladies tennis court (of all things !), and then through the narrow streets of Stone Town, passing Freddie Mercurys birthday place/museum, onto the market area (vegetable, meat and fish) before finishing at the humbling Slave Trade Market .. where an amazing Christian Church sits alongside a mosque and both religions respect each other and happily co-exist. A lesson for the rest of the world ! Our drive back to Kiwenga took around 1-1.5 hours, getting out of the hustle and chaos of Stone Town.. through quieter/remote farm towns and villages. We saw so many things that humbled us and made us value and appreciate the simple things in life, a lot more than we did previously. Yaya didn’t stop talking or sharing information the whole day long, as well as making us laugh with his ‘international’ impressions. He even helped us out to pay for a couple of small items when we only had $20 bills (we obviously paid him back !). He was ‘Simply The Best’ and we are so grateful to Yaya for making it a special day. Thank You.. Asante ! 🙏

Yalida Zanzibar tour guide - 10/10!! - The tour was awesome. Our tour guide was so friendly and well-informed. My friends and I felt safe and taken care of for the entire tour. Our time at the spice farm was so interesting and we got the opportunity to participate in cultural activities and learn about how they cultivate and grow spices. Prison island and Stonetown are sooo beautiful and worth the trip. I highly recommend this tour guide as well -- he made this tour such a wonderful time!

Great company to deal with - The guide was awesome and adjusted the tour to what we wanted. The pick up/drop off was super smooth and the entire experience with the company was great

Awesome awesome awesome - Yaya was absolutely the most amazing tour guide ever !! He was so detail oriented and really made us feel at home. I would definetig come back and do more tours with him as a guide !!

We loved the trips - We were really statisfied with everything. Ismail is punctual, reliable and a great tour guide. We would choose him again.

We had unforgettable memories here, because of Ismail - We had 4 trips and 2 transfer between the airport and our hotel. Everything was really well arranged. Ismail and his crew was punctual, we never had to wait for anything. Everything went smoothly and we saw everything, that we wanted. We wouldn't notice so much monkey, corals etc if he wasn't with us. The car was always clean and the air conditioner was set in a great temperature. All of the drivers was also really nice and polite. Ismail speaks English and other languages in a very great level and he can also know some Hungarian words, which was really surprising. His pronunciation of words was like he is native,even if it is a hard language for foreigners. He really put effort in his work, so I would recommend to book tours and transfers with him.

Very nice and attentive guide! - We had an amazing time with Ismail! He was very attentive, and always made sure we had a great and comfortable time. Besides, he gave us great and useful tips for our trip, and was ready to assist us with anything at any point. Totally recommend! 🙌🏽

Amazing Zanzibar tour experience - We booked this tour as a family and travelled with our 2 years old little girl. Our guide Hassim was amazing from the very start. Him and the driver were punctual and helpful. Hassim was very knowledgeable and made our experience great. He took care of us and was also very patient since we had the baby with us. The trip to the spice farm was the best activity for me, they showed us the spice plantation and at the end of the tour we got to taste teas (made fresh from these spices) and fresh fruit too! The turtle island also did not disappoint, turtles are actually roaming free and can be seen really up close. We couldn’t recommend this tour more!

Worth every penny. Our... - Worth every penny. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and spoke very good English. Driver was very experienced.

Farm spices and Prison island - This tour was memorable . Hassan is a great guide, patient, full of knowledge and polyglott. I highly recommend! Full eyes and especially we learn a lot from the plantation. Spices.