Spice Tour Zanzibar

The day started poorly, with nonexistent communication. I wasn't told what time I would be picked up and no one responded to my message on TripAdvisor or WhatsApp. Luckily the guide showed up (and he was very nice). We didn't go to the Zanzibar Spices and Heritage center, we went to a spice farm nearby instead. I'm not sure why. The guide gave a good tour, but there needs to be better communication and a more accurate description of the activity that's being offered.

This was a great afternoon Salum was knowledgeable And caring The spice farm was interesting and engaging with info on types of spice and h How they grow and are harvested A coconut harvesting demo and wonderful local fruit grown in the farm plus a handwoven crown and basket made of leaves to take home

It wasn't what I expected. I thought I was going to a spice plantation where I would see stretches of cinamon/cloves etc.... what I visited was more of a herbarium with sooo many different trees ( the cinnamon tree with it's nasal decongestor or roots, the iodine plant, vanilla, ylang ylang used in Chanel Number 5 perfume, ginger, curry, cloves, red bananas, the lipstick tree (real color stay lipstick), nutmeg which I learnt can be hallucinatory. It was amazing. I would still like to see a huge plantation though.

Hamza is an incredible tour guide. We recommend him 10/10! In fact, we had plans to use a different tour company on Wednesday and Friday, with Hamza's Stone Town and Spice Plantation tour landing on the Thursday in between. We ended up canceling with the other company for Friday and using Hamza instead because he was just that awesome. The other company wasn't bad per say (they facilitated the things we hired them to arrange), but Hamza was much friendlier and enthusiastic about the work he is doing here. He is from the islands and loves being Pemban/Zanzibari. It shows through the thorough tours that he gives and the way he interacts with all of the people around. It seems like he knows everyone! He bought us some local snacks to try (make sure you eat the Zanzibari Mix in Stone Town!!), gave us an incredible tour of Stone Town and then the Spice Farms. We didn't want just a facilitator, but we wanted a guide...someone who could answer our questions and really help us get to know the Zanzibari culture. His English is excellent! We also went to the Nakupenda Sand Bar and then to Prison Island with him, as well. He built sand castles with our kids, showed us around and made us feel like family. Book with him - you won't regret it!!

Hamza couldn’t have picked a better tour for us. He is incredibly knowledgeable about all the different spices, how to cook with them, & the traditional use- something you never hear about. Hamza should really write a book about Zanzibar spices. The lunch was a great expérience, all the food was cooked with the spices from the farm. We got to taste most of the spices picked directly from the trees or bushes. And when I cook with the many spices I brought home, my food tasted really great.

Hamza was our go-to guy on Zanzibar. He was super professional and helped us organize all our activities including transfers, fishing trip and spice tour. The spice tour was especially memorable and Hamza is a very knowledgeable and good guide! We learned a lot about the various spices on Zanzibar. He went out of his way to make sure our trip was fantastic and he succeeded so many many thanks to Hamza. Highly recommend!

Loved learning about all the spices grown on the island, tour had fun interactive tasting of spices, tour guides made beautiful jewelry and baskets to carry samples out of banana leaves and hibiscus flowers. Very authentic tour of history of spice use and practical cooking and medicinal application of the spices, including how the spices spice up your relationship haha!

What an enjoyable and informative experience! It far surpassed my expectations, providing a fun interactive guide and loads of Zanzibarian spices to learn about. Not only was I able to see the numberous spices, but I was able to taste them as well! Not to mention the bountiful fruit that was served at the end. This is definatly a must go to tour, if you're in the area or not. Make your way over to this little slice of Zanzibar culture.

This tour with Halisi Africa Tours is a must! It provides an in depth look at the variety of fruits and spices found in Zanzibar and our guide Hamza was amazing in his knowledge and expertise on the vast array of flora grown. The knowledge we gained was unmatched as we dove deep into the numerous ways that these spices are utilized in herbal medicines and immunity enhancement. Additionally you also get to taste, smell, and experience a variety of fruits and spices, making it an integral part of the Zanzibar experience!

Hamza and his team are awesome, me and my friend had a wonderful holiday in Zanzibar and Hamza he arrange everything. Transport was always on time, guides are knowledgeable and very friendly. We learned some Swahili words, Jambo, Asante Sana, Karibu and Hakuna Matata. It was absolutely fun.

Our guide was fantastic, very informative and friendly. Very interesting learning about all the different ways to use the spices as well as tasting and smelling.

My adult daughter and I had a wonderful adventure on the island of Zanzibar. Hamza was our guide and was fun, friendly, knowledgeable and professional. He made us feel right at home by making a special stop to get a great cup of coffee before our day began. As we travelled to an organic spice farm, Hamza spoke of the history of the island and we were impressed by the extent of his knowledge as we discussed the Persian influence found in the architecture. This made for very interesting conversation as my daughter and I are both history teachers in the US. Upon arriving at the Spice Farm we had a great time tasting, smelling, and guessing all the names of the different spices. Hamza made it fun by making a contest to see who could get the most correct. We ended our beautiful day by taking in a freshly prepared lunch made by the staff at the organic farm. This delicious meal was made with the fresh organic ingredients grown in the farm. A perfect day, Asante Sana Hamza!

We got picked up at our hotel and Hamza showed us around the spice farm together with a nice young man and explained many interesting facts about spices. He started every new plant with a guessing and gave us some hints if we couldn't find out the right plant. At the end we had an amazing lunch and received some gifts made out of leaves which we happily took back home. Very high recommendation for this tour!

Very nice tour with Guide Salum. He picked us up at the agreed time at the hotel in the old town. We drove a short distance to the spice farm where we were received very nicely. Not greenhouses as in Europe, but quasi “wild” plantings of a wide variety of spices and fruits. Salum explained us a lot of details and we were able to “try”. Overall very nice and recommended.

A really nice tour. It is available in several languages. It's nice to see which plants are native here. Finally, you can taste different fruits and enjoy a coconut.