Excursão às especiarias de Zanzibar

This spice tour was good, learned culture and uses of about 10 spices or fruits. Saw many spice plants, tried many fresh spices like turmeric/ginger/cinnamon/jalapeno. Some spices were just plucked so didn't see them. The hakuna matata spice farm was not pristine. The guide's English wasn't the best. Also, trying various spices from their hands of the guide or the farm staff was off putting and overall smells were bad. Every helper expects tip, as the guide informed us. The travel to and from was slow due to traffic but the van was comfortable. Meeting up for start was confusing and hectic, and guide didn't introduce his name or give us an indication of the day's plan/where to go/ETA, etc. Value is too expensive for what you get especially considering all the tips and lack of sanitation.

The tour itself is very interesting, but understand you are relying on a local’s ability to communicate what they know and not an expert. Our guide did a very poor job of communicating how we would initially meet up, but he did eventually connect with us. Keep in mind that you will be asked to buy products, tip for the tour, and tip other helpers/performers.

We had a great time! Our guide, Seif Rashid Ali, was so knowledgeable and engaged and fun! Upon arriving at the spice farm, he took us all round, explaining everything we came across, letting us smell or taste, and answering all of our questions. The farm was just a short ride from Stone Town so we left at 9 and were back by 12, so it doesn’t monopolize your whole day. But, if you’re into cooking or herbal medicine, this tour is a must. Ask for Seif!

Really enjoyed this tour. The guide was friendly, knowledgeable and made the experience interesting without feeling scripted. It was great to see, smell and taste the different spices while learning more about local life in Zanzibar. A trip worth doing beyond the beaches. Would definitely recommend.

Rating this a 2/5 is generous. To note, the positive of this review is the guide letting us move the time and the spice farm was very cool. The ticket stated it includes transportation to and from the spice farm into stone town. We had arranged for our hotel to drop us off at the farm since we were out of stone town. We contacted the guide and explained that we would only need transportation from the farm to stone town as explained the ticket included. We had already paid the ticket and he told me that he I would have to pay for the transportation and was demanding money. Since we had already paid for this, it started to feel very scammy. The tour was also listed to last for 3 hours, but it was only one hour. Additionally, he asked us if he could give us a tour of stone town before we left. We politely turned him down. He then tries to ask us where we were going next, what time we had to be at the airport, etc; we felt very creeped out. We called our hotel taxi to pick is up which he did, and the guide called our driver, yelling at him, saying he needs to be where we were. Felt very creepy and we couldn’t shake this guide. Thankfully, our driver didn’t turn around to pick him up.

Nice nice farm to do

Nassor was great. So knowledgeable and great English. Learned a lot about the history of the island and answered all our cultural questions too. Really enjoyed!

Very interesting and educational. The experience starts from the moment you look for us at the hotel. The place is very nice and the staff is extremely attentive.

I went to visit this spice farm and it was a really amazing experience. The guide showed us all the spices, explaining which trees and plants they come from, cutting the roots, making us smell, touch and observe each ingredient closely. It was very interesting and instructive, because we often use spices every day without really knowing where they come from and where they are made from. A very nice moment was when they made us attend a kind of show: a boy climbed high on a palm tree to get the coconuts, all singing a song, making the scene even more authentic and engaging. After the visit we stayed to eat there and were also offered lunch, all surrounded by nature. Overall it was a beautiful experience, genuine and well organized, which I absolutely recommend to those who want to discover something new and live a moment in contact with nature.

Definitely the worst tour I’ve ever been on. Guide was 20 minutes late, no apology or explanation. Bought juice for himself but not water for me which was supposed to be included. English was very poor, very very little talk he spent all his time on his phone. Learned nothing. Very depressing tour