Extreme Blue Water Diving

Exclusive Live Aboard Diving in East Africa

The Zanzibar Archipelago is located in The United Republic of Tanzania and consists of two major islands - Unguja and Pemba - and several smaller islands.  

The discovery of stone tools suggests that the archipelago was inhabited by humans some 20,000 years ago.  From the 7th to the 16th centuries, Zanzibar was home to Persian traders who used it as a trading post with coastal towns of the East African coast.  The perisians settled in what was Zanzibar and now known as Stone Town.

In 1498 Vasco da Gama was the first European to arrive in Zanzibar and from there the European influence on the isles began.  From the late 1600's to the late 1800's, the Omani Arabs controlled Zanzibar and a large part of the adjacent coastline, from Sofala in the south to Mombasa in the north.  The British eventually gained control of the isles in the late 19th century and that led the way to the abolition of the slave trade and independence in 1963.

Zanzibar is now a stable Republic with a democratically elected government and retains a considerable amount of autonomy from it's union with Tanganyika in 1964, which formed the United Republic of Tanzania. In the late 1990's, it's main source of revenue moved from spices - mainly cloves - to tourism.  Today's Zanzibar is a blossoming tourism destination, having an enviable selection of resorts and hotels to suit all budgets and is one of the most popular African destinations for tourists visiting from Europe.