At a Glance
- Bawe Private Island redefines seclusion with 70 villas and personalized butler service.
- Guests enjoy oceanfront dining, coral dives, and yoga facing the sunrise.
- Sustainability anchors the resort, with solar power and locally crafted architecture.
Bawe Private Island, an island of over 30 hectares boasting only 70 exclusive villas, isn’t the kind of place you stumble upon; it’s the kind you hear about in quiet circles, whispered between people who travel often enough to value silence.
A short boat ride from Stone Town, the island floats in the Indian Ocean like a secret you’re not supposed to tell. White sand wraps around it in thin ribbons, palms lean toward the water, and time doesn’t seem to matter much here.
For years, Bawe was just a name on old maps, an untouched speck in the Zanzibar archipelago. Then in 2024, The Cocoon Collection, known for its polished resorts across the Indian Ocean, reopened it with a simple but rare idea: one island, one resort. No crowds. No noise. Just privacy and the slow comfort of being completely out of reach.
An island life of luxury, unhurried
Bawe’s seventy villas are scattered across the island, each with its own pool and view that doesn’t need a filter. The roofs are thatched, the walls breathe in sea air, and the colors melt into the sand and sky. Inside, sunlight finds its way through wooden slats, and nothing feels out of place.
Every guest gets a personal butler, though they don’t hover, they just seem to know when to appear. Breakfast shows up on the terrace without a word. A massage is arranged before you even ask. At sunset, a dhow waits by the shore as if it’s part of the day’s plan.
Days stretch long here. Mornings begin with the sound of waves instead of alarms. You might slip into the water for a swim, drift over coral gardens, or take a paddleboard toward the reef. The marine life is alive and unbothered, schools of fish scatter at your shadow, and sea turtles move with a kind of lazy grace.
Some guests fly in by helicopter. From above, the water turns from deep blue to a green so clear it feels unreal. Landing is like stepping into another rhythm. By night, lanterns line the walkways and the open-air bar turns into a soft-lit gathering spot where nobody talks loudly.
Food, simply done
Meals on Bawe are never rushed. The main restaurant faces the ocean, no walls, no pretense. Menus change every day, built around whatever the fishermen bring in that morning. Think grilled lobster, coconut curry, fresh mango. The chefs weave Zanzibar’s spice trails with Mediterranean and Asian touches, but never too much of anything.
Private dinners can happen almost anywhere — by the pool, in a cove, under the stars. The spa is small, quiet, hidden among palm trees, using oils made from island plants. And at sunrise, yoga mats face the sea, where the only sound is the wind brushing through leaves.
What makes it different
Bawe’s luxury is space, space to breathe, to think, or not to think at all. With no outside visitors, only seventy villas, and no schedule to keep, it draws a particular crowd: executives, artists, royals, people who live public lives but come here to disappear for a while.
You can land in Zanzibar, board a speedboat, and in less than half an hour feel like you’ve dropped off the edge of the world.
A mindful paradise
The island’s exclusivity doesn’t cut it off from its surroundings. Many of the staff are local, and much of what you see, from furniture to fabrics, was crafted in Zanzibar.
Solar panels power parts of the resort, waste is composted on the island, and even the architecture was designed to leave the coral untouched. It’s quiet luxury with a conscience.
Bawe Private Island isn’t about doing much. It’s about being somewhere that reminds you what silence feels like. The sea meets the sky, days blend into each other, and the modern world fades to the background.
For some, it’s an escape. For others, it’s a way back — to themselves, to stillness, to that easy rhythm that the world keeps trying to take away.
