Things to do in Zanzibar
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Zanzibar
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Long dry season, best overall: low humidity, calm seas and best visibility building from September.
Short rains shoulder season: brief afternoon showers, fewer crowds and lower prices, good value gamble.
Short dry season, hot second peak: second kite wind season and Christmas and New Year price spikes.
Long rains, worst for most trips: downpours, rough seas, cancelled excursions and seasonal closures.
What's on
- Zanzibar Seafood Festival June in some years
Seafood festival held in June in some years.
- Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) usually July
Film festival in Stone Town during the long dry season.
- Mwaka Kogwa late July/early August
Traditional New Year festival in Makunduchi.
- Sauti za Busara mid-February
East Africa premier music festival at the Old Fort, Stone Town at its liveliest and fullest.
Best things to do in Zanzibar
Stone Town
Guided half day walk that makes the carved doors, palaces and layered Swahili and Arab history legible.
Former Slave Market
Sobering preserved slave chambers and memorial below the Anglican Cathedral on the old market site.
Spice Farm Tour
Working farm where cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla are tasted straight from the plant.
Forodhani Gardens
Seafront night market for seafood skewers, grilled octopus, sugarcane juice and Zanzibar pizza.
Darajani Market
The main covered market for fish, produce, spices and fabrics, best in the morning crowds.
Jaws Corner
Open air coffee corner where locals gather for strong black coffee, board games and news.
Changuu Island
Boat trip island with Aldabra giant tortoises over 100 years old and former prison buildings.
Nakupenda Sandbank
Disappearing white sandbank for swimming, snorkelling and a seafood barbecue.
Where to stay in Zanzibar
Nungwi & Kendwa
best overall beach base
All day swimming, sunsets, widest choice of hotels and operators, and the island liveliest modest nightlife.
Paje & Jambiani
kitesurfing, value and village life
Long white beach, kite schools and guesthouses, but extreme low tides mean swimming only at high tide.
Stone Town
culture, food and first or last nights
Heritage boutique hotels and the best restaurant density, with ferry and airport close; not a beach base.
Matemwe / Pongwe
quiet, couples and Mnemba access
Powder beach and boutique small hotels, closest to Mnemba, very quiet at night with strong tides.
Bwejuu / Michamvi
luxury seclusion
Top end boutique strip on a quiet palm beach; beautiful and isolated, so you eat in resort most nights.
Think twice about
- Kiwengwa and the far northeast resort row
Isolating all inclusive frontage with little walkable village life and expensive taxis to everything.
- Deep inside Stone Town residential alleys
Disorienting and poorly lit at night, with pickpocketing in crowded market areas; stay on the Shangani side.
- Kizimkazi as a base
Small far south fishing village with few hotels and restaurants and the most criticised dolphin tour trade.
- East coast if all day swimming is non-negotiable
At Paje, Jambiani, Matemwe and Bwejuu the sea recedes for hours at low tide; base north and day trip east.
Best restaurants in Zanzibar
Emerson Spice Tea House
Five course Zanzibari set menu on a rooftop at sunset, one seating, the town most special dinner.
The Rock Restaurant
Restaurant on a rock in the sea, walked to at low tide and boated from at high tide.
Sexy Fish
Polished seafood and European dishes on Nungwi beach, the north coast splurge dinner.
Fisherman's Seafood & Grill
Fish curry, grilled catch and plantains, lively and beachfront, the north best all rounder.
Badolina Secret Garden
Mediterranean and Middle Eastern garden cooking, strong for vegetarians and a break from seafood curry.
The Silk Route
Rich Indian curries and tandoor in Shangani, Zanzibar Indian heritage on a plate.
Breadfruit Restaurant & Café
Swahili and seafood cooking in a relaxed garden courtyard, with crab soup the quoted signature.
Lukmaan Restaurant
Beloved cafeteria style Swahili institution for biryani, pilau, octopus curry and fresh juices.
Outdoor things to do in Zanzibar
Mnemba Atoll
Best mainstream reef snorkelling, with clear water, dense reef fish, turtles and often dolphins.
Safari Blue
Original full day dhow trip with snorkelling, a sandbank, a mangrove lagoon and a seafood feast.
Chumbe Island Coral Park
Strictly capped protected reef sanctuary, rated the best snorkelling in Zanzibar, plus forest trails.
Paje Beach
World class learn to kite lagoon, wide and shallow with reliable trade winds in two seasons.
Mnemba Atoll Diving
Two tank reef dives for turtles, reef sharks and macro life with PADI centres in the north.
Kendwa Beach
Free all day swimming beach barely affected by tides, with the island best west facing sunset.
Mikumi National Park
Fly in day safari for lions, elephants, giraffe and hippos, back on the beach by sunset.
Deep-Sea Fishing Zanzibar
Pemba Channel charter for tuna, wahoo and kingfish, with billfish in season on tag and release.
Best hotels in Zanzibar
Park Hyatt Zanzibar
Seventeenth century mansion plus new wing, the town luxury benchmark and only true beachfront five star.
Emerson Spice Hotel
Eleven wildly individual suites in a restored merchant house with a famous rooftop tea house.
Zanzibar Serena Hotel
Seafront Swahili style hotel with a pool, the solid mid range international option in town.
Stone Town Budget Guesthouses
Simple old town guesthouse and hostel rooms; check air conditioning and generator backup when booking.
Zuri Zanzibar
Design led luxury bungalows and villas in tropical gardens on Kendwa wide beach, with strong eco credentials.
&Beyond Mnemba Island
Private island lodge and the archipelago splurge ceiling, with butler service and top diving access.
Kilindi Zanzibar
Adults focused pavilion luxury near Kendwa, the mainland island equivalent of the top splurge lodges.
Essque Zalu Zanzibar
Large well reviewed beachfront hotel at mid range Nungwi prices, with pools and a dive desk.
Is Zanzibar expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | TZS 150,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | TZS 400,000 a person |
| Splurge | TZS 1,100,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Chumbe Island Coral Park: a few days ahead
- Emerson Spice Tea House: a few days ahead
- The Rock Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Emerson Tea House and The Rock need reserving days ahead.
- Chumbe Island day places are capped and only confirm about 3 days before.
- Book Safari Blue with the genuine operator, not imitators using the name.
- Book hotels ahead for June to October and mid December to February.
- For Sauti za Busara in February, book Stone Town rooms months ahead.
Is Zanzibar safe?
- Petty risks are pickpocketing in Darajani and festival crowds and valuables left on the beach.
- Avoid walking alone late at night in unlit Stone Town alleys or on empty beaches; take a taxi.
- Cover shoulders and knees in Stone Town and villages, ask before photographing people, be discreet in Ramadan.
- Drink bottled or filtered water; malaria risk is low but present, so use repellent in the evenings.
- Carry Tanzanian shillings and small dollar notes; cards attract about 5 percent surcharges outside big hotels.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Zanzibar travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Beach boys and papasi on Nungwi and Stone Town beaches charge inflated, unregulated prices.
- Dolphin tours at Kizimkazi and rushed Mnemba dolphin swims crowd and chase pods.
- Freddie Mercury Museum is a small photo display, fine for devotees and skippable for everyone else.
- The Rock for the food alone, harbour front tourist cafes and spice tour hard sell stops are overpitched.
- Unlicensed taxis and too cheap Safari Blue or Mnemba copies mean chaotic boats and poor snorkelling.
Getting around Zanzibar: public transport and more
- Dala-dala minibuses are cheap and crowded, an experience not a transfer.
- Taxis are unmetered: agree the price first, or keep one driver on WhatsApp for the whole stay.
- Cross island transfers run about $50 to 60; Stone Town to Nungwi is about 1 hour 15.
- Renting a car needs a Zanzibar driving permit and confidence with checkpoints and left hand driving.
- The Azam Marine ferry from Dar es Salaam takes about 2 hours; flights take about 20 minutes.
Who Zanzibar suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Zanzibar your trip
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