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Jambiani
This long, narrow coastal village hugs one of the island’s loveliest beaches, dotted with at least 20 small to medium-sized hotels and guesthouses. Three and a half miles long, with a population of over 6000 people, Jambiani has a relatively prosperous and ‘together’ feel, with an array of innovative projects such as recycling schemes in exchange for microfinance loans; a tourism training institute that allows local young people to train for high quality two-year tourism diplomas for free; and a community Internet cafe/library, as well as an abundance of goats, ducks and other creatures that signify some level of wealth.
For holiday visitors, the allure of the place is its chilled out feel. A slow pace of life and the ebb and flow of the tides help you to lose all track of time, and stress disappears as if it was a mirage. But Jambiani is also a real place, not just a picture postcard. Kids will come to sell you 'visheti' (local doughnuts) or just to practice their English, and local women bustle to and fro every day harvesting and drying seaweed, and also making rope from coconut shells to make up the many beach beds you'll see along the shore.
