Weddingbee boards

@redband:  I've been to Zanzibar!  It was amazing!!  I've never been to Syechelles so I can't comment.  Let me know if you have specific questions and I'd be happy to answer. :)

@redband:  The beach was very beautiful.  The sand was white, the water was a greenish blueish color and relatively clear.  I think the water is bluer in the caribbean, but the water in Zanzibar was still definitely beatiful and not murky.  

When I went to Tanzania, I went to Dar es Saalam, Zanzibar, and Arusha.  The locals in all 3 cities were incredibly aggressive and pushy, yes.  You are definitely going to find that in Zanzibar.  They don't hate if you take pictures - I didn't get that - but they are going to try to sell you stuff.  Our hotel was awesome - below is a link to the tripadvisor reviews of the hotel:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g488129-d531212-Reviews-Dhow_Palace_Hotel-Stone_Town_Zanzibar_Zanzibar_Archipelago.html

I also stayed at the following hotel which was a luxury type resort:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g616019-d497502-Reviews-Breezes_Beach_Club_Spa_Zanzibar-Bwejuu_Zanzibar_Zanzibar_Archipelago.html

We didn't do any activities through the hotels/resort.  We did everything on our own and I think a travel agent.  I actually went with a group of people from law school, and I wasn't one of the travel leaders so I don't have the exact information on who we used to arrange tours.  But we went on a spice tour which I highly recommend.  We also did an excursion where some locals took us out in these cute little boats to another small island and we had lunch there, it was some of the most beautiful scenes I've ever experienced.  And they had huge turtles on the small island!  The food in Zanzibar was amazing.  They have this incredible area where food vendors set up on the beach and you can walk down and pick out delicious food - they make amazing pizza!!!  They also sell sugar cane and you can just suck the sugar cane directly.  Man, now I feel like I want to go back!  Definitely check out those 2 hotels I posted.  I would recommend both of them and I would definitely go back to either of them.  Good luck with your trip and let me know if you have any other questions.