Some practical tips for your journey and your stay here on Zanzibar.
Arrival
Several international airlines – e.g. British Airways, Emirates, KLM, Qatar Airways, South African Airways und SWISS – have flights to Dar es Salaam. From there it is only a short flight (20 minutes) to the island. Condor flies from Zürich and Frankfurt direct to Zanzibar. The Zanzibar International Airport (ZNZ) is about 6 km south of Stone Town. With a speedboat the sea crossing between Dar es Salaam and the island takes about 90 mins. Warning: by bad weather the sea crossing is a challenge.
We will gladly come and collect you from the harbour or the airport! Then the transfer into the hotel is quite relaxed. By your reservation you can reserve the Transfer-Service at the same time.
Climate and travel time
Zanzibar is a good destination the whole year round. The climate is tropical and on average the temperature is between 25° to 28°C warm. Even during the two rain periods in November/December and between the end of March and the end of May, many bad weather days in sequence are seldom. It is driest between June and October as well as in January/February.
Communication
Zanzibar is Africa. Whoever devours Gigabytes should prepare themselves for different surfing habits. But there are Internet cafés and prepaid data volumes from local providers.
Culture
The Art Hotel is in Mfumbwi. Mfumbwi is a small fishing village. Most of the people living here are Muslims. As a sign of respect, we ask our guests to keep their thighs and shoulders covered when on a walk. In addition, during the Ramada festival you will hear drumming and singing during the night. What in Zanzibar is living belief and culture, can be a disturbance for guests.
Currency
The currency on Zanzibar is called Tanzanian Shilling, the same as on the main land. In Stone Town it is possible to withdraw cash with all the usual credit, Postomat and Maestro cards at Bankomats. Your hotel bill you can pay over Pay-Pal with your credit card.
Electricity
The current voltage is between 220 und 230 volt. Adapters are available. When there are power cuts we do without the use of an emergency generator. Nevertheless you will not be left in the dark if there is a power cut. Sun-powered night-lights and romantic candles then illuminate the hotel area. However this lighting will not suffice to read a book.
Health
You obtain information about vaccinations from the Institute for Travel Medicine. In general it is recommended to have standard vaccination against tetanus, diphtheria, poliomyelitis, measles and hepatitis A. Vaccination against yellow fever will sometime be required, if the arrival is from a country in which there is a risk of yellow fever. Tourists coming directly from Europe or the USA officially do not require yellow fever vaccination; this is neither required by the direct arrival nor by an arrival via Tanzania. The risk of malaria is classified as ‘medium’. Whoever underestimates the sun risks sunstroke, sunburn and de-hydration. It is therefore essential not to forget to drink enough, take head covering and sunglasses and to use a sun-cream with a sufficiently high light protection factor.
Language
As in many areas in East Africa the language spoken in Zanzibar is Swahili and in many regions also Arabian. Otherwise the official language is English.
Security
The political situation is relatively stable. Unfortunately, and especially in the tourist centres the number of robberies is increasing. It is therefore sensible to follow internationally valid safety precautions, and not wear ostentatious luxury articles and to avoid going through unknown areas after dark.
Visas
To enter the country you need a passport, which must be valid for at least six months after your departure and a tourist visa. The normal tourist visa can be bought for $50 at the airport in Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar.
Water
Fresh water is very scarce on Zanzibar. Hence we ask you to shower briefly. The water in the taps is not drinking water. So that you can clean your teeth, bottles of water are provided in your room.