Flora Zanzíbar - Una experiencia cultural auténtica y culinaria.

From the moment we met her, Afida was gracious, cheerful and accommodating. She patiently dorned all of us in our group in the Kangas, took us on a tour of one of oldest villages and we finally settled in to the culinary session…The meals were sumptuous and the radiant energy of the hosts lasted all though the session. We left very satisfied.

The experience is extremely nice, especially if you interact with the local people and your guide. Ours was Afida, who guided us along a village and to buy vegetables to a local market. After that we went to a more touristic place, but suddenly the experience became again authentic. We started to cook our launch in the local way starting from the basic ingredients and producing the coconut milk. That time was very relaxing and gave us the opportunity to know more about local people. After that we had lunch together with Afida and Ali, a guy working at the place. I recommend the experience!

We almost accidentally found the place on Google Maps and thanks to its good reviews we visited Flora. Still we were positively surprised! One can visit Flora for a stay, for cooking classes, for local tours, and even to dress like locals and go shopping at a local market. All these with an honest intention to dive into Zanzibar's mix of African, Arabic and Indian cultures. And some people visit Flora for all of that together. Us, we wanted to have lunch, which accidentally turned into two hours of storytelling over a bao board game, walk through a fruits garden and - obviously - snacks and lunch. While we were talking we asked for a typical Zanzibari rice (we heard about it on another occasion and it is rarely served in restaurants) so they made for us two of these from outside their typical menu. Afida, who was our guide told us not only about the cuisine and local customs, but we also chatted about the culture and history of the Zanzibar islands (there are two, but until the visit we thought the Unguja was the Zanzibar, while it is one of a few).

Truly an amazing experience of life. Just living and cooking simple. Really makes you want to quit your job and just move to the village and just live!

It was amazing so in depth with cooking and sharing the Swahili culture. Food and experience was incredible!!! And super grateful for everyone we came across!

What a fabulous day! We were welcomed into a village house, given baskets to take to the market to buy our food and given a tour of the village, its plants and remedies. We chopped coconuts, made coconut milk, a delicious vegetable stew and mouthwatering breads! The Village mommas taught us how to weave baskets and make jewellery and the wonderful Afida taught us their local game (and I’m sure she let us win!) it was very strategic! We finished our day with a beautiful meal of freshly caught barracuda, calamari and our vegetable stew with breads, rice and chips alongside some fresh pineapple and avocado juice, which was delicious. A truly unforgettable day, thank you so much to Afida and her village for making it so enjoyable and making us feel so welcome.

The whole experience was amazing from start to finish. Our guide was delightful and gave us a full insight into village life. We had a full village experience - choosing ingredients, then being taught how to cook them. The Flora mamas then showed us how to make local crafts. We then finished with a delicious lunch of our curry with fresh fish caught again by the Flora mamas.

Very good food, homemade Swahili food and unbeatable service, thank you for the kindness of all the staff. While waiting for lunch, we took a dip in the pool and enjoyed the surroundings.

The experience was amazing, the food was incredible 😲, we had coconut while we was waiting in the swimming pool, and then we went for the amazing food. The fresh salad and the barracuda fish and the curry was amazing. A great experience and incredible food...

I would love to see more people try this experience. this cultural environment along with a lessons on its history. Not to mention the people in the community and staff is more than worth it. Im happy to have had a private session which made it more intimate with my loved one. We walked and bought fresh veggies from the market, walked through the fresh spices, fruits and vegetable gardens, danced with the band lol, cooked a WONDERFUL dish met the community mothers made bracelets, and to tip it off.. I had a huge meal. This was way more than what I expected and encourage you to experience what I experienced i promise you wont be disappointed. Asante Sana! Akunamatada