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A few weeks ago, my wife and I sat down with local officials here in Jambiani, and showed them a clear picture, plastic in front of houses, trash in the bushes, rats feeding off it, burning plastic whose smell drifts through the whole village. They listened - and they joined in. On a Saturday, we organized a clean-up together with local residents and authorities around LITTLE POMPEJI Villa and in the surrounding bush. Bags, gloves, everyone pitched in. A strong effort, honest

No day at LITTLE POMPEJI Villa looks like the one before it. That is exactly what sets seven rooms apart from a large resort with fixed routines for every situation. The morning usually starts before the guests are up. A quick walk around the property, a look at the pool, a look at the generator, because with Zanzibar's power grid you can never quite be sure the night went smoothly. Breakfast follows, no fixed time, no buffet, à la carte instead, guest by guest, which means m

First-time visitors to Zanzibar quickly pick up two words they have never heard before. Kaskazi and Kusi. For us they are as familiar by now as the four seasons back home used to be. Kaskazi is the wind from the northeast, roughly December through March. It brings calmer seas, warmer air, and that almost glassy water surface that snorkellers and less confident swimmers love. This is also when the villa fills up fastest, the ocean looks more inviting, and the weather forgives

Some days start out like any other, and then there are these rare moments that make everything slow down for a while. The excursion starts south of Jambiani, just about half an hour from LITTLE POMPEJI. The boat glides quietly through the mangroves first, past this fascinating maze of roots and water, where the surface barely moves and you find yourself growing calmer without noticing. On the way to the sandbank there is a first stop for snorkelling. Anyone who wants to jumps

Living in Jambiani teaches you fast that nobody here checks the clock. The day follows the ebb and the flow, not a wristwatch, and that is something I have come to appreciate over the past years. When the water pulls back, the women of the village walk out to the seaweed beds close to the shore, a skill passed down through generations. Walk down to the beach yourself and you will see them there at work, no performance staged for tourists, just everyday life. On the road outsi

Those who come to Zanzibar expecting a seamless experience like a Swiss hotel will be surprised, because the infrastructure on the island follows its own rules, and those who accept that will experience Zanzibar as it really is. Power cuts are part of everyday life. Not every day, not always for long, but they happen, usually when you least expect it, in the middle of the night, during dinner, or exactly when you wanted to charge your phone. We have generators, we have soluti

It wasn't an easy decision, because Adults Only means doors closed to families with children, a conscious choice to forgo a large part of the market. When you open a hotel, you think first about occupancy, and then again about occupancy. We decided anyway and we would do it again, because the reason is simple. Rest is not a question of age but of atmosphere, and those who come to Jambiani are looking for quiet, real quiet, not the kind that stops when someone shouts by the po

Anyone who experiences Jambiani and the LITTLE POMPEII Villa for the first time usually comes with clear expectations. Chilling by the pool, sea, sun, Zanzibar - you know that from Instagram. What they don't expect, they only experience on site. Not the silence of an empty place, but the silence of a village that lives its own rhythm - calls to prayer, fishing boats at sunrise, children playing on the paths and forecourts of the houses or on the beach. If you come from a Euro

Those experiencing low tide in Jambiani for the first time are usually bewildered – the sea disappears. Not just a little, but hundreds of meters away. What was deep blue water in the morning becomes an endless expanse of sand in the afternoon, dotted with small puddles where locals search for seaweed, crabs, and shellfish. This isn't an anomaly. It's the natural rhythm of Zanzibar's east coast and one of the reasons we chose Jambiani over the north, where the tides are less

Most guests come for one week – some stay for a whole month, and some realise after just three days that they don’t want to go back at all! Jambiani is unusually well suited for digital nomads – and not just because of the beach. Reasonably stable internet (though expensive), a quiet working environment, significantly lower cost of living compared to Europe, and a time zone that hardly differs from Central Europe. Those who work in the morning and enjoy the beach in the after

When people think of Zanzibar, they usually think of Nungwi first. White sand, turquoise water, beach bars until midnight. For some, that's perfect. For us — and for our guests — it isn't. ​ Nungwi and Kendwa are loud, crowded and increasingly overrun by mass tourism. If you're looking for genuine rest, real connection with the island, quiet mornings and a sunset without a crowd, you're in the wrong place there. ​ Jambiani is different. This village on the east coast is calm,