Every day after our activities in Zanzibar, we headed down to Kendwa beach to swim in the Indian Ocean. Our guesthouse was close enough to get there on foot, straight through the small local village I’ve written about before.
What Makes Kendwa Beach So Hard to Look Away From
Kendwa beach doesn’t ease you into it either. The sand was blinding white, the kind you almost need to squint against. But it was the water that actually stopped me in my tracks. The blue wasn’t just one color. Instead, it shifted through so many shades the longer I looked at it that I genuinely couldn’t get enough of it. We were there in February, and the water temperature was close to perfect. So it was warm enough to stay in for hours without ever wanting to get out.
Why I Chose Kendwa Beach Over the East Coast
I picked Kendwa beach on purpose, and it came down to one very practical detail: the tide. Kendwa sits on the western side of the island, where the tide barely changes the shoreline at all. As a result, I never had to walk out for what feels like a kilometer. Instead, I could just reach water deep enough to swim in right away. On Zanzibar’s east coast, however, the tide swing is dramatic. So getting to real swimming water at low tide can mean a long walk across exposed sand.
One upside of that low tide on the west coast is real, and it’s a good one. You can actually walk along Kendwa beach all the way to Nungwi. So my son and I decided to do exactly that.
The Walk to Nungwi That Turned Into an Unexpected Swim
By the time we set out from Kendwa beach, the tide had already started turning from low to high. Near the end of the route, there was a sharp rocky outcrop we had to get around. By then, the waves already had some real force behind them. So we held our backpacks over our heads to keep them dry and pushed forward.
My son, who’s in great shape, went ahead of me and got around the rocks without much trouble. I tried to do the same, planting my feet and bracing every time a wave rolled in. Still, each one had enough power to try to shove me straight into the rocks. I was laughing the whole time, the waves shoving me back and forth like a rag doll. Then I’d try to make progress the second the water pulled back.
Eventually, one wave finally got the better of me. It knocked me clean off my feet and rolled me under, and I couldn’t get myself upright again. Instead, the water just kept tumbling me around. Luckily, my son turned back, grabbed hold of me, and pulled me up onto my feet. Honestly, I wasn’t scared for a single second. In fact, I was enjoying the whole ridiculous moment.
Meanwhile, further along Kendwa beach, local vendors were busy moving their stalls out of the way of the incoming tide. They hung their goods on ropes they’d strung between the rocks to keep everything dry. Later that evening, over a beer, we laughed about it. After all, the waves had tossed me around in the water like a little mermaid who hadn’t quite figured out how to swim.
The Case I’d Make to Any Future Zanzibar Traveler
If the idea of trekking out across exposed sand every time the tide goes out doesn’t appeal to you, that’s worth knowing before you pick a coast. So Kendwa beach and Zanzibar’s west coast in general are worth choosing over the east. There, you’ll get a beach where the ocean stays close no matter the time of day. And if you time it right, you might even get a wave-tumbled story of your own to laugh about later.
