The small resort we have chosen to stay at in Zanzibar is requesting that we wire money for the reservation. Is this typical? If so, what is best way to wire money to Zanzibar?

KitKat2

It might be best to post this in the Africa section if you haven't done so already.

You can have your bank wire funds to the resort's bank in Zanzibar. Just tell the bank you want to do an international wire transfer. You'll need the resort's wiring instructions (bank name, ABA or SWIFT number, account name & number, etc. which they should be able to give you by fax or e-mail (make sure you get it in writting as the information is critical to send the wire. Take that information to your bank and they will do everything for you. FYI - some foreign entities that do a lot of business in the US have US based bank accounts. If your resort is among them it makes the wire transfer even easier.

One more point, does your resort accept credit cards? If so they might be willing to charge the reservation deposit to your credit card. If that's the case, they would normally fax you a Credit Card Authorization form for you to sign and fax back. That procedure is very simple.

Thank you for responding and, yes, Africa category is more logical. I guess I'm a newbee! I will use a wire from my bank since the resort doesn't take a credit card.
Karen