Zanzibar Marina, East Africa, Tanzania, a month at the new marina! It’s the only marina in East Africa, and is barely open. It is also known as Azam Watersports Marina, or Verde Hotel Marina, and is located a couple of miles north of Stonetown. It is a safe haven for sailboats. It’s brand new, and barely open, but when we heard the price, we almost decided NOT to come….$50 per night!!! But then we found out if you stay for a month or more, the prices come down to less than half. So we decided to time our arrival to Zanzibar for the Sauti Za Busara Music Festival in early February.
It was to be a safe place to leave our home at a dock, with guards, while we spent until the wee hours of the morning, in town, listening to the great lineup of African musicians, for 4+ days. It was a great 4 days, and we never feared for our boat, our dinghy, our outboard or our possessions the entire time we were away. Guards quizzed us each night upon return until they got to know exactly who we were and where we were going. I would wish them a “Lala salama”, and they would assure me that only I would have a good nights sleep…not them…they would be awake all night to guard the premises!
For a month, we did laundry on the dock, took endless showers, and walked on and off the boat any time we wanted to, together or by ourselves. I sat in a free massage chair for an hour a day getting a luxurious foot massage some days, and total body massage other days, after having a cappucino on fine china. Patrick went to the gym twice a day and got in a good routine, enjoying the air conditioning, nearly as much as the workout itself.
Every once in a while someone would turn off a motor that needs to run for the RO water to come from our hose on the dock, and we would have to wait until the next morning for dock water. But with a quick call to the manager, it would all come back on again. We were there for the hottest part of the year…February…and an AC unit would have made things better during the day, especially since electricity is included. Free WiFi is available in the restaurant and the lounge upstairs with the great coffee bar. The manager told me they are in the process now of trying to include more for visiting yachts including some Watersports…kayaks for example, and Showers, toilets, and laundry. Right now, if you want laundry done it it some outrageous amount per item, at the hotel. We never once used this expensive system. We hunted for showers to sneak in to, but alas, there were none. They did finally offer some outdoor, unisex showers that are used for the ocean part of the water park, but warned us to keep our clothes on 😉
With a nice restaurant at the head of the dock (which does not serve alcohol) , we splurged and ate dinner here every 4th or 5th night. Other times we ate on the boat running to town every few days for cheap fresh veggies and expensive boneless chicken breasts. Luckily we still had lots of food in the freezer not only from Dar, but from Mayotte and even ReUnion, so we never went hungry!
The dala dala or a taxi can be caught right outside the gate of the hotel, and though they always asked for more, you could generally get a taxi in for 5000 Tanzania Shillings, a little over $2 usd. If you came back late late at night, it could be as much as double that, and again, they start at 3x the price they are willing to go for. The Dala dala (a small bus or pickup truck with seats) costs about 12 cents, so when we could, we would catch the dala dala and be crammed in to a small pickup truck with seats in the back. There are also a few tuk tuks though most rare.
The biggest grocery store is pretty small, but it has enough to live on, though not that happily. It’s also twice the price of food in Dar. Stock up before you come! The vegetables and fish in the market though are wonderful, fresh, and very delicious! Once you run out of packaged food, you could end up a lot healthier here! There are endless restaurants with personality in Stonetown too..some very good, some just OK. The Ethiopian Restaurant was my favorite!
We did the usual tourist route with a funtrip to see the Red Colobus monkeys, as well as common black monkeys in Jozani Forest. We even saw for our first time, elephant shrews with their elephant like trunks…the smallest elephant in Africa 😉 Very cute!
We also did a couple of historic tours of this famous town with extremely narrow passageways, and wafting authenticity of old times and new interlapped.
On the Navionics charts, there is no marina, just a little pier. On Ovitalmap or any current google earth chart, the marina shows up no problem. I have included some photos below for anyone who may be headed this way.
As of March 2019, there is water and electricity at each slip and they both work well. There are technically no other supports for Sailors here. The manager that was here when we arrived left. They hired someone called Abdullah from the finance department who is very helpful, polite, and a nice guy. The assistant manager Victoria is a friendly young lady. They both wanted to do everything to make us feel welcome here, but I think they aren’t sure at all what we all need. They have good local knowlege of the area and can point you in the right direction for natural healers and diesel refilling services, but really, they don’t have a lot of info that cruisers need. You need to be fairly resourceful and independent here. We didn’t see another cruising boat here except for 3 nights towards the beginning of our one month. We actually enjoyed the peaceful nature of the area. We had sundowners on the sea wall each night, and slept late each morning with complete stillness and quietness. Marina guests are not yet allowed to use the beautiful pools or any of the facilities besides the restaurant. Patrick found a gym down the road to use, and because he cleans up after himself and takes good care of everything, the employees at that property turn the other eye.
When they complete the adjacent water park, it may turn in to a noisy kinds paradise …the water park is right nearby, and surround the marina. I just hope they don’t play that loud booming music that waterparks like to play!!
The biggest positive for the marina is the convenience and safety for our home. The marina is well protected from prevailing winds, there is no great swell or movement of the boat, it’s quiet and there is virtually nobody walking the dock that isn’t suppose to be. The staff is friendly. The price isn’t terrible if you stay a full month.
Also, if by chance you have a cat…there are a few cats around…but once Lily decided where it wasn’t safe to go, she was quite happy here, and enjoyed her freedom for a month…she is gonna be so sad when we leave tomorrow!
Buts it’s time to get a move on south before the wind becomes too southerly. So onwards we go, tomorrow!
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International Finances and Money on our American Cruising SailBoat
