Karamba

“Days in paradise”

A tropical garden by the coast. Very very nice rooms and a friendly and helpful staff. Food is fresh and delicious. Sunrises and sunsets from the continous clifts are musts. Tides are large and allow infinite walks on spot. I heavily recomend this site.

“Blissful peaceful escape surrounded by nature”

We stayed here for 3 nights in the middle of our two week holiday to Zanzibar, so as to see a different part of the island. We were blown away by the views from Karamba when we arrived at reception – it really is a heavenly spot, sitting to the side of Dimbani Kizimkazi beach and with views ahead o… more

We stayed here for 3 nights in the middle of our two week holiday to Zanzibar, so as to see a different part of the island. We were blown away by the views from Karamba when we arrived at reception – it really is a heavenly spot, sitting to the side of Dimbani Kizimkazi beach and with views ahead over the cliffs out to the reef. The accommodation is mainly spread along the cliff edge. We booked a Superior Sea View Bungalow, and were allocated “Jahazi” which was on the ocean front, about half way along between reception/bar/restaurant, and the swimming pool at the far end. Just past our room were a set of steps down the cliff so you could access the sea directly at high tide for a swim, or just paddle - wonderful. It was on the ground floor of a small thatched building, and consisted of a spacious room with double 4 poster bed plus single bed, both with mosquito nets, and then an ensuite toilet, off of which was a very private outside shower surrounded in greenery. Using the shower was definitely a back to nature experience - some days some of the giant land snails would be enjoying it too They also liked the shaded front terrace seating area!! We would have been very happy with our room, if it had not been for the lack of air conditioning unit. We were aware of this in advance, and had been told there was a good breeze in this area, but the air was very still when we stayed and the ceiling fan and freestanding fan were not sufficient for us personally. We really struggled to sleep with temperatures at 28C day and night and high humidity at this time of year. On the plus side, the food at the hotel was great. There was a good choice of freshly prepared dishes for breakfast – excellent scrambled eggs on toast, proper pancakes and a wonderful “Karamba Fruit Boat” (tropical fruits with dates, yoghurt and honey, served in a water melon slice) For lunch on a few days we opted for soups and these were so tasty (both vegetable and seafood) and served with some fantastic homemade ciabatta – wow! For dinner we enjoyed fresh fish and seafood. There isn’t anywhere else to eat within easy walking distance in Dimbani Kizimkazi, so we were relieved the food was so nice. This hotel is perfect for sunsets and to accompany them, the barman is adept at making good cocktails! For added entertainment, we also had some amazing wildlife experiences. On the drive down to the hotel, we had stopped off for a tour of the Jozani forest to see the red colobus monkeys but we need not have done so, as it turned out that they frequented this hotel's terrace!! They appeared each evening we stayed there – fantastic to watch, and they also played on the roof of our room one day. The hotel also arranged for us to take a boat trip to swim with dolphins which was brilliant. In the evenings the locals come out to search for shellfish in the shallows and play football on the beach – we enjoyed watching the action from the terrace. It was all very low key and relaxed. In the day, we also swam out from the beach at the hotel end, away from the boats, as the water was beautifully clear. We had no issues with local people doing their thing (noting a previous comment). The flowering gardens around the accommodation are gorgeous too. Staff were very helpful and one of the waiters was particularly lovely. He tried to find us bush babies, and one evening took us for a walk around the site with a torch and although we didn’t see any, we heard them and found various other creatures! The owner was also friendly. When we stayed, there were only a few other guests, we believe due to cancellations following the unrest in Tanzania after the elections – although we saw no issues on Zanzibar at all. Overall, we would highly recommend Karamba for a blissful peaceful escape in a stunning location, if you can cope with the lack of aircon which we really struggled with, coming from the UK.

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“Great resort but away from everything”

A terrific boutique place to stay, good food and s very comfortable environment. The views were beautiful and the staff were lovely.

“Perfect place to relax and recover”

This hotel is set at one end of a white-sand beach in a cove near the Southern tip of Unguja, enclosed in a bay and by a tidal reef and is part of the small fishing village of Dimbani, which is much quieter and less touristy than the neighbouring Kizimkazi Mkunguni. It is a staggeringly beautiful p… more

This hotel is set at one end of a white-sand beach in a cove near the Southern tip of Unguja, enclosed in a bay and by a tidal reef and is part of the small fishing village of Dimbani, which is much quieter and less touristy than the neighbouring Kizimkazi Mkunguni. It is a staggeringly beautiful place with crystal clear waters which can be reached either by the beach of steps leading down from the hotel grounds, at least at high water. There is also a pool which has fantastic views out to sea but which offers little shade during the hottest times of the day. It is the perfect place to recover after a long flight or to escape the hassles and hustles of Stonetown. It is self-contained and the food is amazing, especially the seafood. It is easy and reasonably cheap to get a taxi to Mkunguni, which has many more hotels, bars and restaurants and has expanded rapidly through tourists staying there to go swimming with dolphins. At least one operator also runs from Dimbani itself. The resort ticks pretty much every box in terms of the beauty of its location and its peacefulness and even has a semi- resident colobus monkey who appears from time to time in the trees which shade the terrace. My only reservations are that it felt a bit too self-contained after a couple of days and there is very little within easy walking distance apart from two other lodges or hotels and a very small bar and shop in the village. The only real issue I had was with bees which are very keen on joining the guests at breakfast, especially if they were eating the delicious local honey with the equally delicious pancakes.

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