Indian Ocean
Zanzibar
An island with a thousand years of trading history and a coastline that behaves very differently depending on which side of it you book.
What it is
Zanzibar in plain terms
Zanzibar is an archipelago off the Tanzanian coast, and the main island — properly Unguja — is what most people mean by the name. It is where a safari usually ends, and for good reason: after a week of early mornings and dust, the Indian Ocean is the correct answer.
It is also a real place with a long and complicated history rather than a beach annexe to a safari. Stone Town was one of the major ports of the western Indian Ocean, and the Omani, Indian, Persian, Portuguese and African threads that ran through that trade are still visible in the architecture, the food and the language.
The most useful thing to understand before booking is that the island is not uniform. Which coast you stay on changes the swimming, the tides, the atmosphere and the price, and it is the decision most people make last when it should be made first.
Why come here
What Zanzibar does that nowhere else does
- It is the natural second half of a safari
- Short internal flights, a complete change of pace, and a genuine reason to stop moving. Bush then beach is the classic Tanzanian trip because it works.
- Stone Town is worth more than an afternoon
- Carved doors, merchant houses, a market that has been a market for centuries, and food that tastes like the trade routes that made it. Most itineraries give it one rushed morning.
- The water genuinely is that colour
- Reef shallows and white sand produce the turquoise everyone has seen in photographs. Where the reef sits relative to your beach decides whether you can swim at low tide.
- Spice country inland
- Cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, pepper and vanilla grow here, and seeing them on the tree rather than in a jar reframes the island’s history quickly.
When to go
Tides matter more than most people expect
The east coast has a large tidal range: at low tide the water can retreat a long way across the reef flat, which makes swimming from the beach impossible for part of the day. Some people love the exposed flats and the seaweed farms; others feel misled. The north and north-west generally hold deeper water closer in.
On season: the long rains are the period to avoid if the beach is the point, and the hottest, most humid stretch runs before them. The dry months are the reliable ones and align well with a dry-season safari.
Ramadan changes the atmosphere in Stone Town and affects opening hours and dining. It is not a reason to stay away and it is a reason to know in advance.
See what each month gives you across Tanzania →How long
Four nights minimum, and more if it follows a long safari
Three nights after a fortnight of driving is not enough to stop. Four to five is the usual shape, and a week is not too long if the safari half has been demanding. If Stone Town matters to you, give it a night of its own rather than an afternoon on the way to the airport.
Getting here
- Short internal flights from the northern circuit airstrips, Arusha or Dar es Salaam
- International flights direct to Zanzibar, which suit a beach-first trip
- By ferry from Dar es Salaam, which is cheaper, longer and weather-dependent
Be honest with yourself
Who Zanzibar suits badly
- Travellers who want a guaranteed swim from the beach at any hour — that is a question about which coast, and it needs answering before booking
- Anyone expecting seclusion on the busiest stretches; for that the answer is Mafia, Pangani or the smaller islands
- Guests who want world-class diving as the priority, where Mafia is the better island
Journeys that go here
How we build Zanzibar into a trip
Common questions
Zanzibar, answered plainly
- Which part of Zanzibar should I stay in?
- It depends on what you want from the water. The east has long beaches and a large tidal range that can leave the reef flat exposed for part of the day; the north and north-west generally hold deeper water closer to shore. Tell your planner whether swimming at any hour matters and the answer follows from that.
- When is the best time to go to Zanzibar?
- The dry months, which also align with a dry-season safari. The long rains are the period to avoid if the beach is the reason you are coming.
- How many days do you need in Zanzibar?
- Four or five after a safari; a week if the safari has been long. Three is enough to unpack and not much more.
- Is Zanzibar safe?
- Yes, with the ordinary caution of any travel. Zanzibar is majority Muslim and dressing modestly away from the beach and in Stone Town is both expected and appreciated.
- Is there anywhere quieter than Zanzibar?
- Yes. Mafia Island has a protected marine park and a fraction of the visitors, and the Pangani coast on the mainland has stretches with essentially nobody on them. Both are less developed, which is the appeal and the caveat.