Would you like an internship combined with exotic experiences in a relaxing environment?
Zanzibar is a tropical island in Africa outside the coast of Tanzania. Zanzibar offers fun activities, white sand beaches and an average temperature of 30°. The hospital internship is the primary focus when choosing a stay on Zanzibar but we make sure you also get to experience the Island’s many possibilities in your spare time. Read below about the activities included in your stay and the optional activities you can add on during your placement. All activities can be experienced on a 4 week placement! if you choose a longer stay you can experience the activities several times.
Included activities on Zanzibar
Safari Blue
The ocean safari tour takes you to a sand bank in a traditional Dhow sailing boat. From the sand bank you can snorkel and experience the tropical sea life surrounding Zanzibar. Coral reefs around Zanzibar has created an unrivaled opportunity for snorkeling in a fantastic turkish blue water. Tour guides will have put a shade tent on the sand bank, where you then can get a snack.
After this we head out to a small Island where you can relax by the beach while the guides put together a seafood BBQ for you and your fellow Try Medics students. This tour is followed by a walk to one of the island’s ancient Baobab trees.
After the walk you will sail to a lagoon, where there will be opportunity for swimming among beautiful trees, before returning home on Zanzibar. If you are lucky you can spot and possibly swim with some dolphins during the sail!
Friday BBQ
Every Friday we start the weekend off with a BBQ by the pool at the Try Medics house you and your fellow students will be staying in! It is always filled with fun, laughs and good vibe.
Dolphin Tour
In the morning you will be driven to Kizimkazi on the southern tip of Zanzibar. Then you will get snorkel equipment and board a motorboat sailing to find dolphins. The trip is early morning as the dolphins usually swim at the sea surface during that time. There is a 90% chance the boatman will find them. The dolphins are playful so you can get close and swim with them. The trip may seem a bit touristy as there is often several boats in the water, but it is still a pleasure to experience the dolphins at close range!
The Rock
The Rock restaurant is famous for sitting on a rock just a distant from the shore of the beautiful Michanwi Pingwe beach south eastern of Zanzibar. After the dolphin tour we take you and your fellow Try Medics students here for lunch and recommend you eat at a restaurant called Upendo followed by a drink at the Rock.
Spice Tour
Have you ever wondered where cinnamon comes from? Whether it grows on a tree or comes from a plant?
Get answers to this and a lot more, by visiting one of Zanzibar’s many spice farms. The island is one of the world’s leading spice breeding producers. Vanilla, pineapple, pepper, cloves and much more are part of the tropical crops. A local guide with knowledge of every spice will show you around the plantation. They will welcome your senses into an utopia of exotic fruits!
Stone Town Tour
Your hospital internship is in Zanzibar’s capital city Stone Town which is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List of Conservative Cities. For you to become more independent we take you on a guided tour around the city. On the tour you will experience historic buildings, see The Last Sultan’s Palace, The House of Wonders, good places to go for lunch and much more. The narrow labyrinth-like streets are filled with shops where you can strike a good deal. After sunset the city lives up at the famous city park Forodhani Garden, which offers a food market filled with exotic specialties including: Kingfish, octopus, crab, calamari, barracuda and other tropical fish. See a video of Stone Town in this link
Visiting an orphanage
A short drive from the Try Medics House is a private orphanage. We arrange a visit to the orphanage an afternoon after your hospital internship day has ended. If you have toys or anything you would like to donate to the orphanage, it will be much appreciated. The kids are always nice to visit.
Swahili Lessons
The lesson aims to teach you basic words of the mother tongue in Zanzibar which you can use during your placement. On the Swahili lesson you will learn useful everyday words and words related to the hospital internship. Further you will get a cultural insight that will help you perform well at the hospital. The lesson last one hour and is held by our local staff at the Try Medics house. Depending on how much you want to learn we will conduct several lessons during your stay. The people of Zanzibar are really welcoming and with a few swahili greetings you will be met with a smile and a helping hand.
Optional activities on Zanzibar
Safari
Safari trip to Mikumi National Park
Do you want to experience the animals you saw in the lion king during your placement? Go on an extended weekend safari to Mikumi National Park and meet Timon and Pumba on the African savannah. In Mikumi National Park there are lions, giraffes, elephants, zebras, goats, monkeys, buffalo, antelopes, hippos and many other wild animals. You can experience this during your stay over an extended weekend from Thursday afternoon to Sunday evening.
You will be taken care of from start to finish and the price includes all transportation, guide, accommodation, stay in the national park and food for each day. Our guides are hand picked and are some of the best in Tanzania. Their commitment, smiling nature and good mood are incredibly contagious and help make the safari trip an extraordinary experience.
The safari trip will a Thursday afternoon take you with the ferry from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam. The ferry takes 1.5 hours. You and your fellow Try Medics students will be spending the night in Dar es Salaam so you are ready early Friday morning to drive to Mikumi National Park, which takes 5-7 hours. Upon arrival at the National Park, you will start your game drive, which is Friday afternoon and all of Saturday. You will together with your guide drive around the national park and experience the wonderful wildlife. You will stay at a lodge Friday and Saturday in the national park where there will be served three meal course in the evenings. On Sunday you will be driven back to Dar es Salaam and take the ferry to Zanzibar so that you will be ready for a your hospital internship the following morning.
The trip is for those who wants to experience the savannahs wild animals in real life. The trip affects one Friday at the hospital but is definitely worth it if you have never been on a safari.
The price is 690€ and is booked upon registration.
Diving
Diving around Zanzibar is world class with lots of tropical fish, turtles, dolphins and beautiful corals. We dive around the Island Mnemba Atoll on the east coast of Zanzibar. Come and experience the turquoise sea and the wonderful world underneath the surface.
Diving around Zanzibar is suitable for those who already have experience (certificate) and those who want to experience it for the first time.
Have you never tried to dive? Dont worry! Zanzibar offers perfect conditions for one’s first dive. Before going in the ocean, you will undergo basic theory and do exercises in a pool to ensure you are ready for the open sea. You will dive with an instructor who guides you through all the exercises and make sure everything is okay on your first dive. You can dive to a maximum of 12 meters with your instructor.
If you already have diving certificate you have the opportunity to dive along the beautiful coral walls or across the sandy bottom with rock formations with lots of different types of corals growing on. You can dive from 5 meters all the way down to 30 meters. You always dive with our instructors who know the best places and where all the fish are. We can arrange a good diving experience for you and your fellow Try Medics students during your stay on Zanzibar.
If you do not have certificate the price is 131€ and includes theory, exercises in pool and dive in the ocean with an instructor.
If you have a diving certificate the price is 99€ for two dives in the ocean with an instructor.
Diving is arranged in collaboration with Dive Point Zanzibar.
Jozani Forest
This trip takes you through Zanzibar’s only national park. The park offers a nice natural experience and is home to the rare Colobus monkeys. You will get close to the monkeys in their natural surroundings. Further you will walk through the park’s adventurous Mangrove forest with unique salt water trees.
The price is 14€ which includes a guided tour through the national park.
Prison Island
The name Prison Island originates from the 1860s where the Island was used as a prison for rebel slaves. However this should not scare you from going to Changuru Island as it now serves as a residence for huge tortoises which are up to 150 years old. The weight of the tortoises is an average of 200kg. The Island is a 20 minute sail off the harbor in Stone Town and serves as a half day trip. The island is surrounded by coral reef and has a beautiful white beach for sunbathing. You can take a trail through the forest of the Island where you will witness the giant tortoises.
The price for the trip is 14€ and includes the Islands fees and transport to and from the Island by boat.
Weekend Trip
Weekend trip to Nungwi
We organize a relaxing weekend on the northern tip of Zanzibar in Nungwi for you and your fellow Try Medics students from a Friday afternoon to Sunday. The area is known for its amazing beaches with turquoise blue water, good restaurants and fullmoon party at Kendwa Rocks which you will have the opportunity to go to.
The price for the trip is 77€ and covers accommodation from Friday to Sunday, breakfast and transport to and from the Try Medics House to Nungwi which takes around one hour. There is plenty of options to go for lunch and dinner with beautiful beach view.
Cycling Tour
The cycling tour is a fun way to experience Zanzibar. You will with a guide be taken through local villages and historical sites. There will be stops on the way and half way through your guides will prepare a delicious fruit platter.
The tour serves as a half day trip and the price is 20€ which covers donations to the local villages, tour guides, fruits and rent of bike.
Food Market
In the evenings the city gathers at Forodhani Garden located in the center of Stone Town overlooking the Indian Ocean. Here the local chefs cook freshly caught fish and shellfish with mobile kitchens. With little money you will experience exotic delicacies like calamari, octopus, kingfish, barracuda and much more. Homemade pizzas and different grilled fruits are also served. Forodhani Garden Food Market is a delight for the senses and an experience filled with culture and smiles.
The price is 12€ which covers transport to and from the Try Medics to the market for up to 7 students.
Example of an 4 weeks schedule over the activities around the hospital internship
Our house on Zanzibar
You will be living in our Try Medics house on Zanzibar with your fellow students. The house is located a 10 minutes walk from a nice beach, has its own outdoor pool and relaxed spaces where you can socialize with your fellow students. The house’s rooms are all self-contained and has mosquito nets on all bunk beds. You are typically 20 students living at the house together. We experience a great bond and new friendships for life being made between students as all have a common interest in healthcare. It’s therefore safe to go on the program alone! Furthermore there is wifi in the house so you can keep in touch with those at home. Whether you want to sunbathe in our tropical garden or cool down in the pool there will be ample opportunity for both after a day at the hospital.
Zanzibar’s history
Zanzibar’s history
Zanzibar has a fascinating history with a colorful culture where especially the Arabs have dominated. Zanzibar’s colorful population is composed of people from Asia, Europe, Africa and Arabia.
The Arab influence is biggest in the capital city Stone Town with its winding streets and the sultan’s palace. Zanzibar’s historical sights are on UNESCO’s World heritage list and there has been an international effort to preserve it. World-class sand beaches in combination with historic attractions makes Zanzibar a very attractive destination with plenty to explore around your hospital internship. Watch a video of Stone Town the city you will be undergo your hospital placement in here.
