Award-winning eco-design hotel, Chumbe Island Resort about as much impact on its environment as a drop of rainwater. You stay in a traditional thatched cottage built to catch the sea breeze and keep you cool as you swing on your day-bed without the need for fans and air conditioning.

They have compost toilets - I’ve used such toilets myself and I can tell you that they are actually cleaner and more pleasant than their plumbed counterparts. Water filtration occurs naturally through beds of reeds and the electricity is supplied by the sun via solar panels. The resort is run on a not-for-profit basis with all profits going to conservation programs such as educating local fishermen about the local eco-system and sustainable practice.

The coral reef is next to the island and you can experience a cornucopia of wildlife and their beauty is enough to catapult you into a higher state of consciousness. The interior of the island holds one of the last remaining coral rag forests in Zanzibar: an ancient coral reef that was raised from the sea by tectonic movement. Exploring the island is a blissful and peaceful experience and overhead fly a multicolored sky of birds.