What to do in Zanzibar
Zanzibar is one of the world's top destinations for beach holidays.
Boat cruises or organised guided tours to natural attractions or safaris on the Tanzanian mainland, organised by many local tour operators, are great options.
The vast majority of local travel agencies do not have the option of booking online through their websites, but all operate on the well-known comparison site getyourguide.com.
Compare prices and book an activity on getyourguide.com
Beaches
The main attraction of the island is clearly the beaches. Zanzibar has unique white beaches with very fine sand. Great for lying, walking and running.
I can only think of similarly comfortable and visually stunning beaches in Mauritius or the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Public beaches and enclosed beaches of hotel resorts
By law, all beaches in Tanzania are public.
Hotel resorts always have a strip of beach set aside for their guests, but a wide strip by the shore always remains free for all.
It can therefore be said that all beaches in Zanzibar are open to the public for free.
Beach facilities
Zanzibar's beaches are generally not well equipped.
Hotel beaches always have sunbeds with umbrellas and all the amenities included for their guests, but if you are on the beach outside your hotel, you will almost never find any sunbed rentals.
There are usually no public toilets or other services available either.
There are plenty of vendors selling souvenirs, coconuts, oranges and other small snacks on the beaches. Vendors also walk the beaches offering excursions and activities, but their services are usually expensive and of lower quality than those of the official agencies.
Book trips through getyourguide.com, where all local agencies operate.
The most beautiful beaches in Zanzibar
Zanzibar has famous beaches only in the east and north.
The northern coast
The best beaches can definitely be found on the northern tip of Zanzibar.
The sea here is not as shallow and therefore not as influenced by the tides as in other parts of the island.
Even at low tide, you can swim at the local beaches. In addition, there is much less algae on the northern coast.
The resorts in the north are also some of the best, with plenty of luxury hotels, but also very cheap apartments.
- Nungwi - Zanzibar's largest resort, is at the northernmost point, so you can watch sunrises and sunsets from here
- Kendwa - the town with the highest concentration of luxury hotels
East Coast
Virtually the entire east coast is a continuous coral reef. Twice a day, the sea recedes kilometres away at low tide, making it completely unsuitable for swimming. Some visitors are thrilled, however, because the remnants of the sea create small pools in which you can observe the colourful marine world - tiny fish, corals, sea plants and sea urchins.
A minor inconvenience is the fact that at low tide a large amount of seaweed remains on the beaches. The luxury hotels remove it immediately, but on the public beaches no one takes care of it as it is a never-ending task.
That's why you'll find most resorts in the east.
However, the local beaches have a major disadvantage - the east coast is surrounded by shallow sea, which recedes up to 1 km from the shore during low tide. During this time you cannot swim in the sea.
- Jambiani and Paje - two large local resorts popular with the solo traveller for the large number of cheap hotels
- Kiwengwa - a major resort with several luxury hotels popular with European tour operators
- Pongwe - a quiet small resort with a horseshoe shaped beach with luxury hotels and budget apartments
South Coast
There is only one resort in the south and it is a secret beach, which I rate as the most beautiful ever in Zanzibar!
- Kizimakzi - the only resort on South Zanzibar popular especially for dolphin watching trips
- Check out my honest review of the dolphin swimming trip (spoiler alert: it was awful!)
- Mtende Beach - a tiny beach in a narrow very photogenic bay under beautiful cliffs
West coast
If you're staying in Stone Town, the largest historic town, for a dip in the sea, head to Nakupenda Sandbank, a unique sand dune in the middle of the sea where a large number of day trips with local tour companies head.
- Compare trip prices at getyourguide.com
Boat trips
A great activity to add to the beach chill are boat trips to nearby small islands or to see dolphins or snorkel (more on that below).
There are dozens of local travel agencies operating in Zanzibar, but almost none of them have their own websites.
All bookings are made through the GetYourGuide comparison engine.
Compare prices and book your cruise at getyourguide.com
Excursions from Stone Town
Most boat trips depart from Stone Town.
By far the most popular destinations for trips, with dozens of boats a day, are:
- Prison Island with its giant tortoise sanctuary and former prison building, which was never a real prison.
- Nakupenda Sandbank - a sand dune in the middle of the sea with swimming opportunities
The trips are usually full day trips (about 6 hours) and combine both places. Prices are around 65 usd to 70 usd and usually do not include admission to Prison Island, which is another 22 usd.
Significantly more expensive and trips go to Chumbe Island, where capacity is limited to a maximum of 14 people per day.
Tours from the north (Nungwi, Matemwe)
Another frequent point of excursions are the resorts of Nungwi or Matemwe, where these cruises in particular depart from:
- Dolphin watching + Mnemba Atoll
- Snorkeling around Tumbatu Island
Diving and snorkelling
The east coast of Zanzibar is ideal for diving and snorkelling.
This part of the coast is lined by a long barrier reef. The shallow and protected coral gardens in the lagoon offer ideal conditions for novices, while the deeper and exposed reefs beyond the barrier attract more experienced divers.
Conditions are at their best from November to January, when visibility can reach up to 40 metres.
Almost all dive schools offer one-day "fun dives" for beginners.
The price for a day of diving is around 150 usd. The north of the island around Nungwi beach is washed by strong currents and the coral is quite damaged, so this is not an ideal place for snorkelling or diving.
Boat trips with snorkelling (1 or 2 stops of about 20 minutes) usually cost around 70 usd.
- Find the cheapest snorkelling trips at getyourguide.com
Spice Tour
Zanzibar owes much of its wealth to cloves, nutmeg, pepper, vanilla and other exotic spices, which were exported from here all over the world. The best way to discover the secrets of Zanzibar's "Clove Island" is to take a "Spice Tour", where you can learn about the different plants and buy the spices.
Zanzibar is home to a large number of spice farms that give guided tours to the public.
Most tourists head to the spice farms on organised tours directly from their hotel.
These trips often have stops at several farms, plus a stop at Jozani Forest or Stone Town. They are organised from all major resorts in Zanzibar.
- Compare "Spice Tour" prices at getyourguide.com
Prices for day trips range between 60 usd and 80 usd.
However, you can also visit the spice farms on your own, especially if you are travelling around Zanzibar in a rental car.
A typical individual tour costs around 10 usd / 25 000 tzs and usually takes around 60 minutes. Most farms will also give you a taste of the different spices.
The largest concentration of farms is near the town of Bububu in the central part of Zanzibar.
Where are the best spice farms? Take a look at the map I created based on what I travelled through.
Safari - a trip to the Tanzanian mainland
There may not be any big animals living right on Zanzibar, but the Tanzanian mainland is one of the world's best safari destinations!
And because many safaris have their own airstrip and Zanzibar is only about an hour's small plane flight from most safaris, air trips to see the animals on the mainland are one of the most popular activities.
What are the safari prices from Zanzibar?
Prices vary greatly depending on which safari you travel to. Generally the cheapest trips tend to be to Mikumi or Selous safaris, where you can go for just 2 days / 1 night.
It also depends on whether you fly directly from Zanzibar to the safari or whether the agency will pay for a boat to Dar es Salaam with a jeep transfer afterwards.
- 1 night by boat + jeep - prices from 400 usd per person
- 1 night by plane - prices from 560 usd per person
The more famous safaris in northern Tanzania such as Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara or the Serengeti are 3-4 night trips and always by plane only.
- 3-4 nights on famous safaris - prices from 1 000 usd per person
Where to book a safari?
There are a huge number of agencies organising safari trips in the resorts and in Stone Town.
If you're travelling on your own, from our own experience we recommend using the comparison site GetYourGuide, which has reviews for each agency, which is pretty important. Not all local travel agencies are trustworthy.
Book your safari trip at getyourguide.com
If you are travelling to Zanzibar as part of a holiday package from a travel agent already in Europe, you can arrange an optional excursion at your hotel with the delegate.
The price of the safari always includes full transport, i.e. travel from the hotel to the airport or port, return flight or ferry ride and transport from the airport directly to the safari.
When is the safari season?
Safaris in mainland Tanzania are year-round - divided into two main seasons:
- Dry Season (June-October)
- The main animal migration season, you have the best chance of seeing large animals in huge herds
- higher prices and large crowds, especially in the famous national parks of northern Tanzania
- Green season (November-May)
- beautifully green landscape
- many animals give birth to their young between January and March
- fewer large animals but lower prices and smaller crowds
Get lost in the streets of Stone Town
Zanzibar hasn't inherited many relics from its colonial past. The one exception is the centre of the largest town - Stone Town.
Discover the bustling markets and dark corners of this magical UNESCO-listed historic district, which I loved so much I wrote a separate guidebook about it:
Discover the caves and swim in them
Zanzibar doesn't have many natural attractions apart from the beaches, but the limestone caves are an interesting exception.
Hidden in dense vegetation, they are usually not visible from main roads or towns, but their size is all the more surprising!
At the bottom of the caves, you will often find pools or underground mineral rivers in whose crystal clear water you can swim.
We visited Kuza Cave near Jambiani, but there are several similar caves in Zanzibar that you can swim in.
Prices for entry are around 10 usd / 25 000 tzs.
You can even swim with giant tortoises at Salaam Cave in the south in Kizimakzi resort or at Mnarani Natural Aquarium in Nungwi!
We have prepared a map of the most interesting caves:
Any questions left?
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