Indians looking for new places to travel to and destination wedding venues have a fresh option -- Zanzibar.
The “spice island” off the coast of Tanzania will now be easier to access with Air Tanzania announcing direct flights to Dar es Salaam from Mumbai. Zanzibar is a 15-minute flight, or a ferry-ride, from the Tanzanian capital.
The airline will offer four flights a week to India, starting from late September, at an introductory price of approximately ₹32,500 for a return flight. It has already received DGCA approval, says Jilesh Babla of the Zanzibar Tourism Promotion Center.
The destination has a visa-on-arrival option. The tourism board also facilitates Indian weddings, adds Mr. Babla.
Besides beaches like the Bweju-Paje, which has been named among the world’s top 30, one of the must-dos on any Indian itinerary would be a visit to the house where Freddie Mercury was born as Farouk Balsara. The Queen frontman left for boarding school in India when he was eight, and went on to global stardom.
Tanzania is known for its wildlife. It has the Serengeti, home to one of the largest wildlife populations in the world. There's also the Ngorongoro crater and Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak. There are 16 other parks besides the Serengeti.
From big game spotting to matters of the stomach: the destination offers a mix of African, Indian, and Arabic food, says Babla.
