At the southern end of the island, 53 kilometres from Stone Town, is the pretty fishing village of Kizimkazi, famous among tourists for its dolphin watching trips.

The village actually comprises two sites: Kizimkazi Dimbani, where you'll find the oldest standing mosque in East Africa and where most people go dolphin snorkelling, and Kizimkazi Mkunguni, where you can see several baobab trees, the oldest and largest of which are said to have been growing here for 600 years and were used as transmitters during World War II.

View the best beach hotels in Zanzibar

Snorkelling with dolphins

We recommend going snorkelling with dolphins as early in the morning as possible, as the dolphins move further out to sea as the sun rises.

The easiest way to arrange this trip is an organized tour from hotels or beach vendors.

Prices almost always need to be negotiated, and specifically with the beach vendors, we recommend clarifying in advance whether you are talking about a US dollar amount or local shillings.

The price negotiated directly on the beach should not exceed 50 usd.

If you want to be sure and pre-pay for your trip, use the comparison engine GetYourGuide, which virtually all local agencies in Zanzibar work with.

Prices for trips through GetYourGuide are around 70 usd.

Salaam Cave Aquarium

In the Kizimakzi Dimbani section of the village, you can swim with the turtles at the Salaam Cave natural cave open daily from 6:30am-7:30pm.

For swimming with the turtles you pay 25 usd, while feeding the turtles and visiting the caves without swimming costs 12 usd.

Beaches and swimming

The beaches in Kizimakzi are spacious and sandy, but not very popular for swimming. There are many tourist agency boats moored at the beaches and it is very busy all day long.

However, the beaches at some of the hotel resorts, which are away from the main traffic, are good.

The best hotels by the beach

Kizimkazi is mainly a resort for individual travellers, as travel agencies do not offer many holiday packages and tours here.

The town is ideal for those looking for activities like snorkeling or swimming with dolphins. If you choose a hotel away from the main beach, you can also enjoy a quiet swim.

We would recommend these accommodations:

Aya Beach Resort - a highly rated local resort with its own beautiful beach.
Salida Beach Zanzibar - a very cheap hotel with a good rating and a nice beach