There is a moment, just after sunrise in Paje, when the tide is still out and the lagoon is a single sheet of mirror — the colour of a pale shell, faintly pink at the horizon. Boats lie tilted on the wet sand. The seaweed farmers walk out to their plots in long lines, baskets balanced on their heads. A few early kites are already laid out on the beach in front of Kite Centre Zanzibar, drying from yesterday’s rinse. The wind has not yet arrived.
By half past ten the wind is there, and by midday Paje looks like a different village — kites in the sky, the lagoon full of bright water, the cafés on the beach full of riders mid-lunch. By sunset the kites are back on the sand, and the village folds back into the calmer rhythm it has always had.
This guide is everything we know about Paje, written by the people who live and work here. The team at Mr. Kahawa opened in 2014, just behind the beach. Some of us have been in this village for over two decades. Karibu — welcome.
Where Paje is, and how to get here
Paje Beach is on the southeast coast of Unguja — the main island of the Zanzibar archipelago, which is part of Tanzania. Drive south from Stone Town, across the centre of the island, and after 60–75 minutes (about 50 km on paved road) you emerge into a village of low buildings, a long beach, and a lagoon that stretches for several kilometres in each direction. This is Paje, Zanzibar — and on travel maps you will sometimes see it written as Paje Beach, Tanzania, which means the same place.
The geography matters. A coral reef sits roughly one kilometre offshore, protecting the lagoon from open-ocean swell. At low tide the water retreats almost to the reef itself, exposing a vast sandy playground. At high tide the water laps right up to the foot of the beach. The reef breaks softly on the horizon; the lagoon stays flat and warm.
The international airport (Abeid Amani Karume International, ZNZ) is in Stone Town. We arrange transfers from the airport to Paje for guests; private taxis cost roughly USD 50 each way. The daladala (shared minibus) runs the route for a fraction of that, but takes much longer and is not a good option with luggage.
A short history of the village
Paje has been a fishing village for centuries. Long before kitesurfers arrived, families here lived from the sea — fishing the lagoon at low tide, collecting Mwani (seaweed) from the reef, sailing dhows up and down the coast with the trade winds.
The seaweed industry transformed Paje in the 1990s. Women — and it is overwhelmingly women — began farming red and green seaweed on long lines staked into the sand of the lagoon. At low tide today, you can walk out and see them tending the crops, tying new shoots to the lines, harvesting bundles to carry back to the village for drying. The dried seaweed is exported, mostly to Asia, for use in cosmetics and food. It is a hard livelihood; the work is back-breaking and the prices fluctuate. But it remains a backbone of the village economy.
Kitesurfing arrived in 2006–2007. Two Dutch travellers — Dim and Melanie — had been moving down the African coast looking for the right place to launch a kite school. They arrived in Paje, saw the flat lagoon and steady trade winds, and stayed. In 2007 they opened Kite Centre Zanzibar — at the time a wooden shack on a near-empty beach. Eighteen years later, Paje is one of the most well-known kite spots in the world, with more than a dozen schools operating along the lagoon.
“We watched the village change around us. The seaweed farms are still there, the fishing is still there — and now there is a kite school, a café, a hotel, a community of people who came to ride and stayed to build something. That mix is what makes Paje, Paje.”
— Melanie, cofounder Kite Centre Zanzibar & Mr. Kahawa
In 2014, Melanie opened the original Mr. Kahawa café-restaurant — kahawa means coffee in Kiswahili, and the name was a quiet promise to bring proper coffee, baked goods, and slow breakfasts to a beach where they had not really existed before. The hotel above the café came in 2017, designed by Dim and built into the structure of the original shop. The Villa in nearby Dongwe followed. Today the team employs more than thirty people, most of them from Paje and surrounding villages.
The beach and the lagoon
Paje’s beach runs for about four kilometres of unbroken white sand. To the north it merges into Bwejuu, to the south into Jambiani. There are no high-rise hotels; the building line is low and set back. Local cooperatives manage stretches of the beach for cleaning and access.
The tide is the rhythm that organises the day. At high tide, the water is chest-to-shoulder deep along the beach. At low tide, the lagoon empties almost entirely — a stretch of warm, knee-deep water and exposed sand flats that extends to the reef. The tidal range here is large (up to four metres), and the timing of low and high tide shifts about 50 minutes each day. Locals carry a tide table in their head; visitors can pick one up at the front desk.
Walking the beach at low tide is one of the best free pleasures of Paje. Out toward the reef you see seaweed farms, the occasional starfish, hermit crabs, and small reef fish in the leftover pools. Children play football on the wet sand. Dhow boats are stranded mid-water, waiting for the tide to return. The colour of the water turns from pale jade in the lagoon to deep blue beyond the reef.
Things to do in Paje
Kitesurfing and wing foiling
The headline activity. The flat lagoon, side-onshore wind direction and warm water make Paje one of the world’s top three flat-water kite spots — comparable to the great Brazilian spots like Cumbuco and Cauipe, with a much calmer, less developed feel. Beginner-friendly, advanced-friendly, foiling, freestyle, strapless waves on the reef at high tide. See our full kitesurfing guide and the Kite & Stay package.
Standup paddleboarding (SUP)
Best at mid-tide when the water is calm and the lagoon is fillable but not too shallow. Kite Centre Zanzibar rents SUPs and runs guided tours toward the mangrove channels.
Snorkelling and diving
Paje itself has limited snorkelling — the lagoon is mostly sand, not coral. But day boats run from Paje to Mnemba Atoll (about an hour by boat), one of East Africa’s best-known dive sites. Closer reefs are accessible by dhow from the village.
Beach yoga
We host yoga at the Mr. Kahawa spa most days; several other studios in the village offer drop-in classes — Pilates, vinyasa, restorative.
Sunrise walks and sunset rides
The southeast-facing beach means Paje gets dramatic sunrises directly over the Indian Ocean. Sunsets here are gentler — the sun sets behind you, casting pink light across the lagoon. For something special, book a sunset dhow sail through one of the local cooperatives.
Visiting the seaweed farms
Walking out at low tide, you can see the seaweed lines and the women working them. It is a good idea to greet the Mama Mwani (seaweed mamas) with jambo and ask before photographing. Several cooperatives in Paje run short tours that explain the process and pay a fair fee directly to the farmers.
Where to eat in Paje
There are dozens of restaurants on Paje beach. A few patterns we have noticed across our years here:
On the beach (lunch and casual dinner). Beach bars and cafés serve fresh fish, octopus, chapati, salads, juices. Quality varies; expect to pay USD 10–20 for a beach lunch. Most are open from late morning to sunset. Mr. Kahawa’s beachside café-restaurant has been here longest and is the place we send people first; chef Ally has been with us since the café opened in 2014.
Sunday Sundowners. Several Paje hotels and beach bars run a Sunday afternoon ritual — live music, longer cocktail lists, communal tables. Pick one and walk; everything is within ten minutes of everything else.
In the village (evening). Walk inland from the beach a few hundred metres and you will find smaller, family-run kitchens serving biryani, fish curry, grilled pweza (octopus) and ugali. Often half the price of beach restaurants, and excellent food.
Friday evening. Several restaurants do a weekly Swahili buffet — a chance to try several dishes in one sitting. Ask any front desk for current week’s spots.
Where to stay in Paje — kite-friendly accommodation
Paje has accommodation across the spectrum — from beach hostels at USD 15 a night to boutique villas at several hundred. A few honest notes:
- Backpacker hostels are concentrated north of the village, near several kite schools. Sociable, lively, low budget.
- Mid-range guesthouses are dotted through the village. Most offer ensuite rooms, fans or AC, a small pool, breakfast. Budget USD 50–100.
- Boutique hotels like Mr. Kahawa sit closer to the beach with more design, service, and amenity. USD 150–400 depending on room and season.
- Private villas like our own The Villa in Dongwe offer fully private stays with full staff. Best for groups and families.
We may be biased, but we think Mr. Kahawa’s location is hard to beat for an active beach trip: 90 seconds from the kite school, 30 seconds from the beach, with a pool and a spa and a café that opens at breakfast and stays open all day. Our accommodation page has full details.
Stay where Paje happens
Mr. Kahawa sits in the heart of the village, on the beach, next door to Kite Centre Zanzibar. Twelve rooms, a pool, a spa, a café-restaurant. Book direct for our best rates and the Kite & Stay package.
Day trips from Paje
Paje makes a brilliant base for exploring the wider island. Most day trips return you to your bed by sunset.
- Stone Town — the UNESCO-listed old city, 60–75 minutes by road. Forodhani Gardens food market, the House of Wonders, the Old Slave Market, the spice bazaars. Full or half-day. (Many travellers also use Paje as a base over Stone Town hotels in Zanzibar — the trade-off is the 60-minute drive vs. spending sunset on the beach instead of in the city.)
- Spice tour — a half-day at the spice farms (also sold as a spice plantation tour or spice farm tour) outside Stone Town. We arrange this for guests; see our spice tour guide.
- Jozani Forest — Zanzibar’s protected forest, home to the endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkey. About 25 minutes by road from Paje.
- Mnemba Atoll snorkelling — day boat from the north or east coast to one of East Africa’s best reefs. Long day, worth it.
- Stone Town and rooftop sunset — combine a Stone Town day trip with sundowners at one of the rooftop bars.
- Safari Blue — boat trip from Fumba in the south, with snorkelling at the sandbank and a barbeque lunch. Touristy but enjoyable.
Practical info — Paje basics
Power. Tanzania uses British-style three-pin plugs (Type G). Power cuts are occasional; most hotels including ours have backup generators.
Internet. Reasonable WiFi at hotels in Paje; mobile data on Vodacom, Airtel, or Halotel is generally fast and cheap. Consider a local SIM if you’re staying more than a few days.
Atms and cash. A few ATMs in Paje village (Tanzanian shillings only, often with low limits). USD widely accepted. We accept cards at Mr. Kahawa.
Pharmacy and clinic. Small pharmacy in Paje village; the nearest clinic is in Bwejuu (about 10 minutes). Stone Town has full hospitals.
Dress. Beachwear on the beach; please cover up (shoulders and knees) when walking through the village, visiting shops, or going to Stone Town. It is a small courtesy that locals notice.
Mosques. Paje is a Muslim village; the call to prayer rings out five times a day. Friday lunchtime is the main weekly prayer. Be mindful, particularly during Ramadan, of eating and drinking in public during fasting hours.
Safety. Paje is a calm village. Standard precautions apply — don’t leave valuables on the beach unattended, use hotel safes, keep your phone close at busy markets in Stone Town. Walking the beach after dark is fine close to your hotel; long stretches between villages are best avoided at night.
Common questions
Is Paje better than Nungwi or Kendwa?
Different. Nungwi and Kendwa on the north coast have white-sand swimming beaches that are accessible at all tides — the tidal range is much smaller. They are more developed, more party-oriented, and the water is for swimming. Paje and Bwejuu on the southeast have the tidal lagoon — exposed at low tide, full at high tide — and are the kite/wind capital. Paje is calmer in atmosphere, more spread out, more focused on active travel.
When is the best time to visit Paje?
June–September for strong-wind season (kitesurfing, cooler nights, dry weather). December–March for warmer water and lighter wind. See our full Best Time to Visit Zanzibar guide for the month-by-month breakdown.
Is Paje safe to walk around at night?
The village itself is calm. Walking on the beach close to your hotel after dinner is fine. We recommend a taxi or boda-boda if you are going further than 10–15 minutes by foot after dark, just as a sensible precaution.
Can I drink the tap water in Paje?
We recommend you don’t. Bottled or filtered water is widely available; at Mr. Kahawa we serve filtered water free to guests to reduce single-use plastic.
How much does a trip to Paje cost?
Roughly: budget USD 50–80 per person per day (hostel, beach food, no big activities), mid-range USD 150–250 per person per day (guesthouse, restaurants, a kite lesson or two), boutique USD 300–500+ per person per day (hotel like Mr. Kahawa, spa, full activity programme). Flights are separate.
Is Paje good for non-kitesurfers?
Yes. The beach is beautiful, the pace is relaxed, there are spas and yoga studios, snorkelling trips, sunset dhow sails, and Stone Town within easy reach. We host plenty of non-kiting partners and family members alongside the kite guests.
Is there a beach in Paje at high tide?
Yes — at high tide the water laps right up to the foot of the soft white sand beach, with plenty of room above the waterline. The dramatic tidal change is part of Paje’s character; at low tide the water retreats far out, while at high tide it returns to make a classic Indian Ocean swimming beach.
Can I see whale sharks in Paje?
Whale shark sightings in Tanzania are best around Mafia Island (south of Zanzibar) between October and March. From Paje, the closest reliable sightings are usually at Mnemba Atoll, occasionally other day-boat sites.
Should I stay in Stone Town hotels or in Paje?
A common question for first-time Zanzibar travellers. Our honest take: 2–3 nights in Stone Town at the start, then move to Paje for the beach week. Stone Town hotels suit travellers who prioritise museums, markets, restaurants and culture. Paje suits travellers who prioritise beach, water sports, and a slower rhythm. Combining the two is the most common itinerary — and we will happily arrange your transfer between them.
There is a phrase we use at Mr. Kahawa: “When you like, you stay. When you love, you return.” Paje has a way of doing that to people. The first trip is the discovery; the second is the friends and routines you build. By the third you are walking into the café and chef Ally is already pouring your morning kahawa.
We hope to meet you on the beach.
Karibu sana — you are most welcome.
— The Mr. Kahawa team
Last updated 17 May 2026 — by the Mr. Kahawa team.