Nungwi sits at Zanzibar's northern tip, about 55-60 km and a 1-1.5 hour drive from Stone Town on the paved A-road (longer if you catch traffic leaving town). What sets it apart from almost everywhere else on the island is depth: the seabed drops off close to shore here, so unlike the east coast, the swimming line barely moves with the tide chart. You can jump in at 7am or 7pm and get roughly the same beach.

The strip along the west-facing cove is flat, packed sand that's stroller-manageable at low-to-mid tide, though the softer patches near the dune line will slow you down. After dark, Cholo's Bar — perched on the rocks at the point, with a happy hour that runs loosely from about 17:30 to 19:30 — is the ritual everyone ends up at. During the day, the Mnarani Marine Turtle Aquarium at the point keeps rehabilitated green and hawksbill turtles in a natural tidal lagoon; entry runs about $5-8 and 30-45 minutes is enough.

Standout stay: Langi Langi Beach Bungalows for value right on the sand, or Z Hotel Zanzibar if you want a pool deck and a proper cocktail menu to go with the beach.

Kendwa is a short hop from Nungwi — about 3-4 km, either a 10-15 minute walk along the sand at low-to-mid tide or a $3-5 tuk-tuk ride around the headland. Check the tide before you commit to walking, because the connecting shore path narrows and can flood right at high water.

Kendwa is one of the few genuinely west-facing beaches on the island, which makes it the sunset spot — the whole beach turns orange around 18:15-18:45 most of the year. Kendwa Rocks hosts the archipelago's best-known full-moon beach parties roughly once a month; some months it's free entry, others carry a modest cover, so ask your lodge or check ahead. The seabed here holds its depth well too, with a gentle slope that suits nervous swimmers and kids.

Standout stay: Kendwa Rocks itself if you're here for the party circuit, or Zuri Zanzibar just up the coast if you want the same sunset with a lot more quiet and a proper spa.

Matemwe faces Mnemba Atoll, the private island run as a marine conservation area with day trips from Matemwe or Nungwi running about $70-120 per person including snorkel gear — the reef here is a genuine step up from most of the mainland shoreline. Stone Town is roughly 40-45 km away, about an hour to 75 minutes by road.

This is the real east-coast tidal experience: at low tide the water can pull back 200-300 metres, exposing a wide sandbar and the wooden stakes of local seaweed farms, where women wade out most mornings to tend the rows. It's a striking thing to watch, but you won't be swimming during those hours. Plan your swim for roughly two hours either side of high tide, and just ask your lodge's front desk for that day's times — every property keeps a tide chart on hand.

Standout stay: Matemwe Beach Village for an easy mid-range base, or Asilia's Matemwe Lodge up on the bluff if you want reef views with your morning coffee.

Pongwe sits in a small horseshoe cove sheltered by headlands on both sides, about 37-40 km and under an hour's drive from Stone Town — one of the easiest east-coast stretches to reach, which makes it a viable day trip too. Because the bay is enclosed, it feels smaller and calmer than the open shoreline further south at Jambiani or Paje.

The same east-coast tidal rule applies: at low tide the cove empties out into a wide reef flat good for a barefoot walk, and at high tide the water sits right up against the palm line. Pongwe Beach Hotel, a small boutique property of roughly a dozen and a half rooms right on the sand, is essentially the entire lodge scene here — no resort strip, no beach touts, just fishing boats pulled up on the sand each evening.

Worth the detour: The Rock Restaurant, built on a coral outcrop near Pingwe village about 15-20 minutes' drive south, reachable on foot at low tide or by boat when the water's up — book dinner well ahead in high season.

Jambiani is roughly 55 km and 1.25-1.5 hours from Stone Town via the road through Paje. It's still a working village first — fishing boats line the sand, and seaweed farming continues much as it has for decades — which gives it a rougher, more lived-in feel than the resort-heavy stretches further north.

The tide swing here is among the most dramatic on the island; the water can recede 500 metres or more, turning the beach into a genuine walk-out-to-the-reef expedition. Set out with the tide in mind, because the flat can start filling back in within an hour of the turn, and you don't want to be stranded on a sandbar as the water rises around you.

Coral Rock Restaurant, built on its own coral outcrop right at the waterline, is the beach's best sunset dinner — mains run roughly $15-25 — and it's worth booking a table rather than walking in. Budget bungalows along this stretch start around $30-60 a night.

Paje is about 50 km and 1-1.25 hours from Stone Town, and its wide, flat beach with a steady onshore breeze has made it the island's kite hub. December through February — the kaskazi season this article is set in — brings a gentler, lighter northeasterly wind that most schools consider the friendlier learning window; June through September's kusi trades run stronger and suit riders who already know what they're doing.

Lessons through established schools such as Zanzibar Kite Paradise typically run about $50-70 an hour including gear, and the low-tide flat here doubles as a shallow, forgiving training ground for anyone getting up on a board for the first time. The same tidal rule as the rest of the east coast applies for straightforward swimming, though: proper swimming depth only returns for a couple of hours either side of high water, so check the day's tide before you plan a lazy float.

After dark, Paje by Night keeps the beach's bar scene going later than almost anywhere else on this list, and the cluster of yoga studios and long-stay guesthouses nearby has made this the closest thing Zanzibar has to a digital-nomad base.