Zanzibar beats Ibiza, Mallorca as best island destination in 2024
Zanzibar as a beach holiday destination is on the top of many holiday traveller’s preferred lists of places to visit and compared to other destinations, hotel prices in Zanzibar remain low at an average of $160 per night, yet islands such as Bali, Indonesia, command an average price of $1,870 per night.
Unguja.
Zanzibar is often in research and magazines mentioned among the top 2 or 3 best island getaway destinations in 2024, beating other high-profile destinations such as Mallorca, Ibiza, and Sardinia.
This surprisingly cheap tropical destination is revered for its coastline and often serves as a post-safari oasis. Sitting 22 miles off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean, Zanzibar’s fine sand beaches paint an idyllic picture, and its clear waters make for great snorkelling excursions. But visitors would be remiss to skip out on exploring the island’s heritage. UNESCO-honored Stone Town showcases Zanzibar’s collision of African, Indian, Arabic and European cultures through its architecture, cuisine and markets.
The study shows that Zanzibar is only beaten to the top spot by Phuket, Thailand, for a small variety of reasons for the ranking, from beer prices to the number of beaches. In Africa, apart from Zanzibar, the only other island featured in the Top 10 is another Indian Ocean getaway – Mauritius.
Some factors that make Zanzibar stand out are its average temperature of 28°C in February, rainfall of up to 401 mm in April, warmest average sea temperature of 30°C in March, and the number of beaches one can visit.
Zanzibar’s average rainfall of 401mm is the highest recorded among any of the island destinations in the study.
“Often thought of as just one big tropical island, Zanzibar is a large cluster of over 40 islands where the biggest called Unguja is the most known, and most tourists and travel companies simply call it “Zanzibar”. The second largest island is Pemba, and is a bit different from the main island, but fully worth the visit, and it has even more beautiful beaches and is less crowded by tourists. You can explore every island, many of which are virtually untouched by tourists, each full of culture, history, and shining white-sand beaches,” reads the study.
Compared to other destinations, hotel prices in Zanzibar remain low at an average of $160 per night, yet islands such as Bali, Indonesia, has an average price of $1,870 per night.
Even with the recent upheaval in the liquor business that sent prices to through the roof, the price of local beer in Zanzibar remains relatively low at $1.93 (Sh5,000) compared to other destinations such as Sardinia, where the average price of beer is $4.28 (Sh10,000), making it the most expensive.
Top 11 Island Destinations
1. Phuket, Thailand, 2. Zanzibar, Tanzania. 3. Crete, Greece, 4. Puerto Rico, Caribbean, 5. Mallorca, Spain, 6. Cozumel, Mexico, 7. Mauritius, Africa, 8. Aruba, South America, 9. Bali, Indonesia, 10. Ibiza, Spain, 11. Sardinia, Italy
