Where
The south east, between Paje and Michamvi
Getting there
1 h by taxi, $40 to $50
Tidal range
3 to 4 m
Swimming
Around high water
Feel
Empty
Suits
Couples, readers, people who want out
Where to stay at Bwejuu
Photo: Hotels.comThe Palms
Bwejuu, south east
Seven villas, all inclusive only. The one people mean when they say honeymoon all inclusive. The tide goes out a long way on this coast.
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Photo: Hotels.comBaraza Resort & Spa
Bwejuu, south east
Thirty villas on the same beach as The Palms, all inclusive only, and unlike its neighbour it takes children.
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Photo: Hotels.comIndigo Beach Zanzibar
Bwejuu, south east
A simpler hotel on the same long stretch of palms, at a fraction of the price of its all inclusive neighbours.
See prices for my datesPartner links to Hotels.com: prices and availability depend on your dates, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Tours and day trips from Bwejuu
All three pick up on this coast, and cost less than a driver for the day if there are only two of you.
The Rock restaurant with hotel transfer. The Rock is a few beaches down the same coast from Bwejuu, so a table there is the obvious meal out. The hotel transfer is in the price, which saves arranging a boat or a long walk across the flats.
Jozani and Salaam Cave, fees included. Bwejuu is a quiet stretch, and this half day takes you inland to Jozani Forest and Salaam Cave with pickup and entry fees in the price. A useful break from the beach without organising your own transport.
Salaam Cave, The Rock, Kuza Cave and Paje. A full day across the south east that passes through Bwejuu's neighbourhood: Salaam Cave, The Rock, Kuza Cave and Paje Beach. It is long, so wear shoes you can take off easily.
The Rock Restaurant Reservation & Hotel Transfer
- 2.5 to 4 hours
- Hotel pickup included
- Free cancellation
4.6(70 reviews)
from$21per person
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Jozani Forest & Salaam Cave + Pickup & Entry fees
- 4.5 to 6.5 hours
- Hotel pickup included
- Free cancellation
4.8(543 reviews)
from$80per person
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Salaam Cave Tour, The Rock, Kuza Cave & Paje Beach
- 8 hours
- Hotel pickup included
- Free cancellation
4.5(147 reviews)
from$180per person
Check prices & availabilityBwejuu in four lines
- Tide, 3 to 4 metres. The lagoon empties for four hours twice a day, and the flats here are among the widest on the coast.
- Swimming, around high water only. Roughly two hours either side, and the window moves fifty minutes later each day.
- Nothing within walking distance. A handful of hotels spaced far apart, no shops, no strip. Your hotel kitchen is your dinner for a week.
- Fifteen minutes from Paje. Which is where everything Bwejuu does not have actually is.
What there is
Twenty minutes south sits the restaurant on the rock. Otherwise: coconut palms, which line this stretch more densely than anywhere else on the coast, a handful of small hotels spaced well apart, and a beach that you will often have to yourself.
The tide does here what it does everywhere on this coast: the lagoon empties, the flats appear, the water comes back. Nobody is selling boat trips on the sand because there is barely anyone to sell them to.
Where you go from here
Paje is fifteen minutes north for the bars and the kite schools. Michamvi and The Rock Restaurant are twenty minutes south. Jozani forest is half an hour inland.
That is the sensible way to use Bwejuu: sleep somewhere quiet, drive ten minutes for whatever you want. A hire car or a driver makes it work far better than it does on its own.
What eating here looks like
Your hotel, mostly. There are a handful of beach restaurants along this stretch and they are spaced far enough apart that walking between them is a decision rather than a stroll.
This makes the choice of hotel unusually important. On a coast with options, a mediocre kitchen is a minor irritation. Here it is your dinner for seven nights.
Ask about the kitchen before booking, and ask whether they take outside guests, because the answer tells you whether your neighbours will feed you if you get bored.
Filling the day
Bwejuu is a base rather than a destination, and it works when you treat it as one. Paje is fifteen minutes north with the kite schools and the bars, Michamvi and The Rock twenty minutes south, Jozani half an hour inland.
A driver for the day costs fifty to ninety dollars and turns the isolation from a constraint into an advantage: you sleep somewhere silent and go wherever you like.
Without that, expect long empty afternoons. Some people came for exactly those and some people discover they did not.
The tide, and the walk
The lagoon empties like the rest of this coast, and the flats in front of Bwejuu are among the widest. At low water you can walk out several hundred metres on firm sand.
It is the best low tide walk on the island, precisely because there is nobody on it. Take reef shoes and watch the water coming back.
Swimming is around high water, a window of roughly four hours that shifts fifty minutes later each day. Your hotel has the table.
What is within reach of Bwejuu
Bwejuu is a base rather than a destination, and it works when you treat it as one. Everything below is reachable in under half an hour with a driver.
| Where | Drive | What is there |
|---|---|---|
| Paje | 15 min | Kite schools, bars, coworking and the only real choice of restaurants on this coast |
| Michamvi and The Rock | 20 min | The Rock restaurant, and the only west facing sunset on the east coast |
| Jambiani | 25 min | Village life and the seaweed farms. See the Jambiani guide |
| Jozani forest | 30 min | Red colobus and the mangrove boardwalk. See Jozani |
| Stone Town | 1 h 15 | A day out, or two nights. See Stone Town |
| The airport | 50 min | $35 to $45 by taxi, and the shortest transfer of any east coast beach |
A driver for the day runs $50 to $90 and turns the isolation from a constraint into the point. Without one, expect long empty afternoons, which is either exactly what you booked or a mistake.
Should you stay at Bwejuu
Stay here if
- Doing nothing at all is the explicit plan
- You want the east coast at its quietest
- A hotel with a good kitchen matters more than a choice of restaurants
- You have been to Zanzibar before and know what the tide does
Stay elsewhere if
- You need something to do when the sea goes out
- You want restaurants, bars or other people
- It is a first trip and you have not seen the island yet
- Children who need entertaining are coming with you
Questions people ask about Bwejuu beach
Is Bwejuu worth staying at?
If you want quiet, yes, and it is the quietest good beach on the island. If you want anything else, it is fifteen minutes from Paje, which has everything Bwejuu does not, and staying in Paje with a taxi is the easier version of the same trip.
Can you swim at Bwejuu?
Around high water only. This is the east coast, with a three to four metre range and a wide reef flat. The window is roughly four hours and shifts through the day over a week.
Is Bwejuu good for couples?
It is one of the best on the island for it, provided you both actually want to do nothing. There is no evening to speak of, no shops and no walking to dinner, so the hotel you choose matters more here than anywhere else.
