Beaches in Tanzania

A mainland Indian Ocean coast and the Zanzibar archipelago, which function as separate destinations. Zanzibar's tidal range is the fact that organises everything: on the east coast the sea withdraws several hundred metres twice a day, leaving seagrass flats where women farm seaweed, while at the northern tip the tide runs past rather than out and the water stays swimmable — which is precisely where the hotels were built. The mainland coast is quieter, and the sandbanks off Stone Town appear and disappear with the same tide. Dress is the point most visitors get wrong. Zanzibar is a conservative Muslim society and swimwear belongs on the beach and nowhere else; covering shoulders and knees away from the sand is expected and noticed. Beyond that, the seasons are monsoon-driven, with long rains from March to May and a second shorter wet period in November, and the reef and seagrass flats mean tide tables matter for swimming on most of the archipelago's coast.

Each is a different kind: three shores across three beach worlds. The sand is coral sand throughout. Together they account for 3.4 km of shore. · computed from the 3 records below