Mjini Magharibi · Tanzania
Zanzibar
Spice island, Swahili trading port and the beach half of almost every Tanzanian safari.
Overview
Zanzibar - properly Unguja, the largest island of the archipelago - sits about 35 kilometres off the Tanzanian coast and functions as the country's beach counterweight to the northern safari circuit. Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the historic heart: a dense lattice of coral-rag alleys, carved doors, Omani merchant houses, the old slave market and a seafront that fills with grilled seafood at dusk. The island's history as a Sultanate, a clove producer and a hub of the Indian Ocean trade is legible in almost every street. Beyond the town the coast divides by character. The east - Paje, Jambiani, Bwejuu - is windswept and tidal, and the kitesurfing capital of East Africa. The north around Nungwi and Kendwa has the deepest water and the least tidal retreat, so swimming works at any hour. The south and the islands of Chumbe and Mnemba hold the better reefs, and Jozani Forest is the only place in the world to see the endemic Zanzibar red colobus.
Browse by category in Zanzibar
Photos of Zanzibar
Things to do in Zanzibar
Places and experiences rather than companies. Each one carries the thing you would otherwise find out by turning up.
Stone Town
HistoryThe old trading quarter, a UNESCO site of coral-rag houses and carved doors.
Getting lost is the intended experience — the lanes are too narrow for cars and every route eventually reaches the seafront. Go late afternoon, when the heat drops and the food market sets up at Forodhani.
4 hoursFree
Jozani Forest
WildlifeThe last stand of the Zanzibar red colobus, found nowhere else on earth.
The troops are habituated and close to the path, so this is the rare wildlife stop that works with small children and needs no luck.
2 hoursPaid
Spice farm tour
CultureClove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla, in the ground rather than in a jar.
The islands’ whole colonial history runs through these crops, and a good guide tells that rather than just naming plants. Ask before booking which farm you are actually visiting.
3 hoursPaid
Prison Island
HistoryA short boat from Stone Town, with giant Aldabra tortoises and a quarantine ruin.
The prison was never used as one. The oldest tortoises are on record as over a century old, and the snorkelling off the sandbank is better than the island itself.
3 hoursPaid
Where these are, around Zanzibar
60 listings with a mapped location.
Map of 60 listings
- Listed
What Zanzibar costs
All-in on the ground, per person per day, excluding international flights. Ranges rather than a single figure, because accommodation and group size move the total more than anything else.
| Style | Per person, per day |
|---|---|
| Camping or budget lodge, shared vehicle | $60 – $110 |
| Mid-range lodge | $110 – $280 |
| Luxury camp, private vehicle | $300 – $900 |
Add this to a whole-trip estimate
Indicative figures checked for 2026. Park fees are revised annually and some are quoted before VAT — confirm current rates with your operator or the park authority before you book.
When to visit Zanzibar
Month by month: wildlife, weather and how busy it gets.
October
Short rains — brief afternoon storms, green landscapes, fewer visitors.
- Wildlife
- Wildlife: 4 / 5
- Weather
- Weather: 4 / 5
- Crowds
- Crowds: 3 / 5
- Rainfall
- 90 mm
- Temperature
- 23–31 °C
Show all twelve monthsHide the full table
| Best time to visit | Wildlife | Weather | Crowds | Rainfall | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JanuaryPeak seasonShort rains — brief afternoon storms, green landscapes, fewer visitors. | Wildlife: 4 / 5 | Weather: 4 / 5 | Crowds: 5 / 5 | 70 mm | 24–32 °C |
| FebruaryPeak seasonShort rains — brief afternoon storms, green landscapes, fewer visitors. | Wildlife: 4 / 5 | Weather: 4 / 5 | Crowds: 4 / 5 | 60 mm | 24–33 °C |
| MarchWet month — expect rain most days, and lush, difficult country. | Wildlife: 3 / 5 | Weather: 3 / 5 | Crowds: 3 / 5 | 140 mm | 24–32 °C |
| AprilThe wettest month of the year — many hotels cut rates hard. | Wildlife: 2 / 5 | Weather: 1 / 5 | Crowds: 2 / 5 | 320 mm | 23–31 °C |
| MayLong rains — some tracks impassable and some camps closed. Lowest prices. | Wildlife: 2 / 5 | Weather: 2 / 5 | Crowds: 2 / 5 | 240 mm | 22–30 °C |
| JuneDry season — good roads, thinner bush, animals gathering at water. | Wildlife: 3 / 5 | Weather: 4 / 5 | Crowds: 3 / 5 | 50 mm | 21–29 °C |
| JulyPeak seasonPeak dry season — the best game viewing and the highest prices. | Wildlife: 4 / 5 | Weather: 5 / 5 | Crowds: 5 / 5 | 40 mm | 21–29 °C |
| AugustPeak seasonEuropean high season — book Stone Town and the north-east early. | Wildlife: 4 / 5 | Weather: 5 / 5 | Crowds: 5 / 5 | 45 mm | 21–29 °C |
| SeptemberPeak dry season — the best game viewing and the highest prices. | Wildlife: 4 / 5 | Weather: 5 / 5 | Crowds: 4 / 5 | 50 mm | 22–30 °C |
| OctoberShort rains — brief afternoon storms, green landscapes, fewer visitors. | Wildlife: 4 / 5 | Weather: 4 / 5 | Crowds: 3 / 5 | 90 mm | 23–31 °C |
| NovemberLong rains — some tracks impassable and some camps closed. Lowest prices. | Wildlife: 3 / 5 | Weather: 2 / 5 | Crowds: 3 / 5 | 200 mm | 24–32 °C |
| DecemberPeak seasonWet month — expect rain most days, and lush, difficult country. | Wildlife: 4 / 5 | Weather: 3 / 5 | Crowds: 5 / 5 | 140 mm | 24–32 °C |
Quieter alternatives to Zanzibar
Zanzibar is on nearly every itinerary, which is both why it is good and why it is busy. These are the places travellers choose when they want the same thing with fewer vehicles — each with what it costs you to go there instead.
Mafia Island
A marine park with whale sharks off the south from roughly October to March, and reefs that were never dived hard enough to be damaged. The island has no crowd because it has never had the flights to build one.
The trade-off: There is no Stone Town here, almost nowhere to eat outside the lodges, and nothing that resembles nightlife. Access is a small plane from Dar, and a handful of lodges means the high season sells out early.
Plan a trip to Mafia IslandPemba Island
Greener and steeper than Unguja, with wall diving on the Pemba Channel that experienced divers rate above anything further south, and clove plantations where the beach clubs would be.
The trade-off: Fewer flights, a short list of places to stay, and a more conservative island where beach dress belongs on the beach. If you want Stone Town’s history or a lively evening, you have picked the wrong island.
Plan a trip to Pemba Island