Zanzibar

The Indian Ocean's spice island, with a World Heritage Stone Town and the birthplace of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, plus white-sand beaches and kitesurfing: the perfect island finale after a safari.

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous archipelago of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean, about 40 km north of Dar es Salaam. The main island, Unguja (what people usually mean by Zanzibar Island), is about 85 km long from north to south. It was once the capital of the Omani Sultanate and a center of the East African trade in slaves, ivory and cloves, where Swahili, Arab, Persian, Indian and European cultures met and mingled. The capital's Stone Town was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2000, and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury was born here. Island areas: Stone Town on the west coast (historic old town, food night market, museums; stay at least 1–2 nights); Nungwi and Kendwa in the north (small tidal range, swimmable all day, the best sunsets); Paje, Jambiani and Michamvi on the southeast coast (large tidal range, a kitesurfing hotspot, and Michamvi has the famous reef-top restaurant The Rock); and the Jozani Forest and spice farms in the center-south. Climate: tropical maritime. June–October is cool and dry (25–28°C), the best season and also the kitesurfing season; December–February is hot and dry with the calmest seas; March–May is the long rainy season and November the short rains, when some hotels close. Getting there: Zanzibar International Airport (ZNZ) has international flights from Doha, Dubai, Addis Ababa and Nairobi, and small planes fly direct from Arusha/Serengeti, often combined with a safari; the Azam fast ferry from Dar es Salaam takes about 2 hours. Getting around the island is mainly by chartered car or taxi, and Stone Town to Nungwi or Paje takes about 1–1.5 hours. Recommended stay: 4–6 days (2 days in Stone Town + 3–4 days at the beach). Notes: Chinese citizens can apply for a Tanzanian e-visa or visa on arrival; since October 2024 the Zanzibar government has required visitors to buy mandatory local travel insurance (about USD 44; check the latest official rules); most residents are Muslim, so in Stone Town and villages dress with knees and shoulders covered, and avoid eating or drinking in public during the day in Ramadan; ask permission before photographing people; "beach boys" selling activities are common on the beaches, so book trips through your hotel or a reputable agency; malaria risk is low but mosquito protection is still needed.

Top sights

• Stone Town – East Africa's best-preserved old Swahili town, where maze-like lanes, carved wooden doors, Arab palaces and Indian shops intermingle. It is…
• Prison Island (Changuu) – A small island off Stone Town inhabited by over a hundred Aldabra giant tortoises from the Seychelles. Snorkelling is available in the surr…
• Forodhani Gardens Night Market – A seaside garden in Stone Town that turns into an open-air food market every evening. Zanzibar pizza, seafood grills, and sugarcane juice a…
• Christ Church Cathedral & Old Slave Market – An Anglican cathedral built on the site of East Africa's last open-air slave market. Underground slave cells and memorial sculptures tell t…
• Spice Farms (Kizimbani) – The signature experience of the 'Spice Island': walk through plantations to smell, taste, and identify cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, a…
• House of Wonders – The tallest of the sultan's palaces on the Stone Town waterfront. When completed in 1883, it was the first building in East Africa with ele…
• Old Fort of Zanzibar – The oldest building in Stone Town, constructed in the late 17th century after the Omanis drove out the Portuguese. Inside the walls, you wi…
• Darajani Market – The main market on the eastern edge of Stone Town. Its 1904 arched market hall sells spices, fish, meat, and tropical fruit, making it the…
• Palace Museum (Beit al-Sahel) – A white sultan's palace on the waterfront, displaying furniture, portraits, and everyday objects of the Zanzibar sultans from the 19th and…
• Freddie Mercury Museum – A small museum in the birthplace of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen. Photos, family belongings, and records tell the story of his chi…
• St. Joseph's Cathedral – A Romanesque Catholic cathedral built by French missionaries in the late 19th century. Its twin spires rise above the roofs of Stone Town…
• Hamamni Persian Baths – A public bathhouse built by Sultan Barghash in 1888. Its vaulted ceilings, water tanks, and steam rooms are well preserved, showing how peo…
• Maruhubi Palace Ruins – The ruins of a sultan's harem palace on the coast north of Stone Town. After a fire in 1899, only tall stone pillars, a bathhouse, and wate…
• Mangapwani Slave Chambers & Coral Cave – Underground stone chambers on the northwest coast. Even after the slave trade was banned in 1873, they were still used to hide smuggled sla…
• Nakupenda Sandbank – A pure white sandbank that appears only at low tide, off the coast of Stone Town. Its name means 'I love you' in Swahili. Visitors can snor…
• Chumbe Island Coral Park – A private marine reserve south of Stone Town, with pristine shallow coral reefs, a lighthouse, and primeval forest. It is internationally k…

Where to eat

• Lukmaan Restaurant – An established cafeteria-style restaurant where Stone Town locals go for lunch. Point and choose from the pots for affo…
• Forodhani Gardens Night Market – An evening street food market on the Stone Town waterfront, where you can try Zanzibar pizza, urojo soup, and skewers.
• The Tea House Restaurant at Emerson Spice – A rooftop restaurant in Stone Town, serving a multi-course dinner featuring local seafood and spices set against the ol…
• The Rock – A seafood restaurant built on a coral outcrop off Pingwe Beach, accessible by foot at low tide and by boat at high tide.

Itineraries

• Northern Safari & Zanzibar Island – Complete the Northern Circuit in eight days, then fly to Zanzibar to explore Stone Town and relax on the beaches.
• Nyerere National Park Safari & Zanzibar – Fly from Dar es Salaam to Nyerere National Park for a river safari, then head to Zanzibar's Stone Town and East Coast.
• Zanzibar & Pemba Twin Island 10-Day Getaway – Explore Zanzibar's Stone Town, East Coast, and North Coast, then fly to Pemba Island for cloves, forests, and Misali Is…