Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, and it works as both a beach destination and a genuinely interesting historical one. It is also a place where a badly chosen beach can leave you with a kilometre of exposed seagrass instead of swimmable water, and where every visitor now has to buy a government insurance policy before immigration will let them through. This guide covers the decisions that actually shape the trip: which coast, which month, what it costs and what you have to arrange before you fly.
Zanzibar in brief: the quick answer
- Pick your coast before your hotel. The east and southeast have dramatic tides, the north has swimmable water all day, and they suit completely different trips.
- Best months are June to October. A shorter dry window runs January to February. April is the wettest month and the one to avoid.
- Every visitor must buy Zanzibar’s mandatory insurance. USD 44 per adult and USD 22 per child aged 3 to 17, valid up to 92 days, in force since 1 October 2024.
- Budget a nightly infrastructure tax of USD 2 to 5, collected by your hotel on top of the room rate.
- Stone Town deserves two days, not the half day most itineraries give it.
- The House of Wonders is closed. It partially collapsed in December 2020 and remains under reconstruction with no confirmed reopening date.
- Zanzibar is Muslim and conservative outside the resorts. Beachwear on the beach, covered shoulders and knees in town and villages.
- Combine it with a safari if you can. Most people fly in from Arusha or Dar es Salaam after the northern circuit, and the two halves complement each other well.
Where Zanzibar fits in a Tanzania trip
Zanzibar sits roughly 35 km off the Tanzanian mainland in the Indian Ocean. Unguja, the main island, is what almost everyone means by Zanzibar, and it is about 85 km long. Pemba, to the north, is quieter, greener and far less developed.
As a standalone beach trip, seven to ten nights is comfortable, split between one beach and Stone Town. As a safari add-on, four to six nights is the usual pattern, flying in from Arusha or Dar es Salaam in about an hour. Either way, bear in mind that Zanzibar runs its own immigration, so you clear passport control again on arrival even when flying from mainland Tanzania.
If the safari half is still open, our Tanzania safari guide covers park fees, the migration calendar and the northern circuit in detail.
Choosing your coast
This is the single decision that determines what your holiday feels like, and most guides skip it.
Southeast: Paje and Jambiani
- Character: long white beaches, a young kitesurfing crowd in Paje, quieter village life in Jambiani.
- The tide: extreme. At low tide the water can retreat close to a kilometre, leaving a shallow lagoon and exposed seagrass.
- Best for: kitesurfers, budget travellers and anyone who finds a tidal flat interesting rather than annoying.
- Worth knowing: the seaweed farms you will see at low tide are a serious local industry, mostly run by women. Do not walk through the plots.
North: Nungwi and Kendwa
- Character: the most developed part of the island, with the widest choice of hotels, bars and dive centres.
- The tide: minimal. You can swim at any hour, which is the main reason to base here.
- Best for: first-timers, families and anyone who wants to walk into the sea without checking a tide table.
- Worth knowing: Kendwa is calmer than Nungwi, which has the busier nightlife and more persistent beach sellers.
Northeast: Matemwe and Kiwengwa
- Character: quieter, more resort-led, with a reef offshore.
- The tide: moderate, less extreme than the southeast.
- Best for: divers and snorkellers, since Matemwe is the launching point for Mnemba Atoll.
- Worth knowing: fewer independent restaurants, so you will eat at your hotel more than elsewhere.
Stone Town
- Character: the historic port, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, dense with alleys, carved doors and rooftop restaurants.
- Best for: the first or last two nights of a trip, close to the airport and the ferry.
- Worth knowing: the town beach is not a swimming beach. Come here for history and food, not sand.
The tide question nobody warns you about
On the east and southeast coasts the tidal range is dramatic enough to reshape the day. At low tide the sea can withdraw hundreds of metres to a kilometre, exposing seagrass, urchins and seaweed lines. It is genuinely photogenic and completely useless for swimming.
Check a tide table for your dates before booking a southeast hotel, and expect roughly two usable swimming windows a day. Bring reef shoes if you are staying on the east coast, because sea urchins are common on the flats, and pick a hotel with a pool. On that coast a pool is not a luxury, it is what you use at low tide. Choose the north instead if swimming whenever you feel like it matters more than the scenery of a tidal flat.
Stone Town, and what is actually open
The alleys and the doors
The best of Stone Town is unstructured. The lanes are too narrow for cars, the carved wooden doors are the town’s signature craft, and getting lost for an hour is the intended experience. Two nights lets you see it at different times of day, which matters because the town changes completely between afternoon heat and evening.
The House of Wonders
Worth being clear about, because most older guides still list it as a headline sight. The Beit al-Ajaib, built in 1883 and the first building in East Africa with electricity and a lift, partially collapsed on 25 December 2020 during restoration works. Reconstruction is funded by Oman and ongoing, and as of 2026 the building remains closed to the public with no confirmed reopening date. You can see the exterior from the seafront, and that is all.
The slave trade memorial and Anglican cathedral
Zanzibar was one of the major slave markets of the Indian Ocean world, and the cathedral was deliberately built on the site of the old market. The underground holding chambers are preserved and the memorial sculpture in the courtyard is unflinching. It is the most important hour you will spend on the island and it is not a comfortable one.
Forodhani Gardens night market
The night market sets up along the seafront every evening, with grilled seafood, Zanzibar pizza and sugar cane juice. Agree the price before you order, since quoted prices for tourists can be several times the local rate, and eat what is cooked in front of you rather than what has been sitting out.
Other Stone Town stops
- The Old Fort, the oldest building in town, now housing craft stalls and an open-air theatre.
- Darajani Market, chaotic, pungent and the real thing rather than a tourist market.
- Freddie Mercury’s birthplace, a small museum that is more of a photo stop than an attraction.
- A rooftop bar at sunset, which is the traditional way to end a Stone Town day.
Beyond the beach
Spice tours
Zanzibar built its wealth on cloves, and spice farms in the island’s interior run half-day tours where you taste and smell your way through cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla and lemongrass. It is touristy and also genuinely informative, and the good tours end with a meal cooked with what you have just seen growing.
Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park
Jozani is the last significant stand of indigenous forest on the island, and the only place to see the Zanzibar red colobus, a monkey found nowhere else on earth. It is small, easily done in a couple of hours, and usually combined with a spice farm on the same trip. Keep your distance from the monkeys, because habituated primates and close contact is a bad combination for both sides.
Mnemba Atoll and diving
This is the best snorkelling and diving on the island, off the northeast coast near Matemwe. The atoll itself is private, so boats work the surrounding reef rather than landing. Dolphins are common in the area, so choose an operator that watches rather than chases, and skip the swim-with-dolphins trips at Kizimkazi, which have a poor reputation for how the animals are treated.
Prison Island
A short boat ride from Stone Town, with giant Aldabra tortoises, some over a century old. Despite the name it was built as a quarantine station rather than used as a prison. It makes an easy half day, and a good option when the tide is out on your own beach.
Entry requirements, and the insurance you cannot skip
- Mandatory travel insurance. Since 1 October 2024 every foreign visitor must hold a policy issued by the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation, costing USD 44 per adult and USD 22 per child aged 3 to 17, valid for up to 92 days. Buy it online before you fly through the official Zanzibar visitor portal rather than a reseller. It is checked at immigration alongside your visa.
- This does not replace your own travel insurance. The government policy is limited emergency cover, not comprehensive protection for cancellation, baggage or repatriation.
- Visa. Most nationalities need a Tanzanian visa, available in advance through the official Tanzanian immigration e-visa portal. The standard tourist visa is USD 50 for most passports. US citizens are issued a multiple-entry visa at USD 100.
- Passport validity. Six months beyond your date of entry, with blank pages.
- Yellow fever. A certificate is required if you are arriving from or transiting a country with risk of transmission. It is not required for arrivals direct from Europe or North America.
- Infrastructure tax. USD 2 to 5 per person per night depending on hotel category, collected at checkout and rarely included in online quotes.
- Apply through official channels only. Third-party visa sites charge large markups for the same document.
What Zanzibar costs
- Guesthouse or budget room: roughly USD 30 to 60 per night.
- Mid-range beach hotel: roughly USD 80 to 180 per night.
- Upper-end resort: USD 250 upwards, considerably more on the northeast coast.
- Daily spending excluding accommodation: around USD 45 covers food, local transport and a modest activity budget.
- Meal at a local restaurant: USD 5 to 10. At a resort, three to four times that.
- Spice tour: roughly USD 25 to 40 per person including transport.
- Two-tank dive at Mnemba: roughly USD 120 to 160.
- Airport transfer to the east coast: roughly USD 40 to 60 per car.
Add the fixed costs before you compare hotels: USD 44 insurance per adult, the visa, and USD 2 to 5 per night in infrastructure tax. For a couple on a ten-night trip that is well over USD 200 before a single room night.
When to go
June to October, the long dry season
- The most reliable window, with clear skies, low humidity and the calmest sea.
- Also the busiest and most expensive, since it overlaps with the safari high season on the mainland.
- September is the sweet spot: dry, slightly quieter than July and August, and often cheaper.
January to February, the short dry season
- Hot, sunny and popular with European winter travellers.
- The Kaskazi winds push seaweed onto the east coast beaches in these months, which is worth knowing if you are booking Paje or Jambiani.
- December sits at the tail of the short rains and is busy and expensive over the holidays, with conditions usually improving as the month goes on.
March to May, and November
- April is the wettest month and the one to avoid outright. Many smaller hotels close.
- March and May sit either side of it with real rain risk but noticeably lower prices.
- November brings shorter rains, usually in afternoon bursts rather than all-day downpours, and is decent value.
One calendar note that catches people out: during Ramadan many local restaurants close during daylight and the atmosphere in Stone Town changes considerably. Resorts operate normally, but plan around it if you want to eat in town.
Safety, health and etiquette
- Zanzibar is one of the calmer destinations in East Africa, and violent crime against visitors is uncommon. Petty theft on beaches and in Stone Town alleys is the realistic risk.
- Dress modestly away from the beach. Shoulders and knees covered in Stone Town and villages. Beachwear is for the beach and the hotel, not the street.
- Malaria prophylaxis is generally recommended. Check with a travel clinic well before you go, and use repellent at dusk regardless.
- Drink bottled or filtered water and be cautious with ice outside established places.
- Public displays of affection draw attention. Same-sex relationships are criminalised in Tanzania, which LGBTQ travellers should factor into planning.
- Alcohol is served at hotels and tourist restaurants but not widely elsewhere.
- Walking alone at night on unlit beaches is the main thing to avoid.
Where to stay in Zanzibar
Four options across different budgets. The first two are on the southeast coast, so the tide rules apply to both. Rates move with season and the dry-season peak is significantly higher than the shoulders, so check current pricing.
The African Paradise Beach Hotel, Bwejuu
A small, owner-run beachfront guesthouse on the southeast coast, with a sea-view restaurant and a consistently warm reputation for its hosts. Bwejuu is quieter than neighbouring Paje without being isolated.
- Best for: travellers who want a family-run place rather than a resort.
- Worth knowing: southeast coast, so the tide rules apply.
- Check current rates on Agoda
Villa Kiota, Paje
A bed and breakfast a short walk from Paje beach, known for its tropical garden, art collection and breakfast. Well placed for the kitesurfing scene without sitting in the middle of it.
- Best for: couples and kitesurfers who want a quiet base near Paje.
- Check current rates on Agoda
Passion Boutique Hotel Zanzibar
A smaller, design-led property at a higher price point, suited to a short stay where the room itself is part of the point.
- Best for: a boutique stay rather than a full-facility resort.
- Check current rates on Agoda
Kizikula
An upper-mid property that consistently rates well on setting and service, and a reasonable choice if you want more facilities than a guesthouse offers.
- Best for: travellers wanting resort comforts without top-tier pricing.
- Check current rates on Agoda
For a longer list, including the top-end resorts, see our guide to the best luxury hotels in Zanzibar. If you are planning a longer stay, our ten-day Zanzibar itinerary sets out a day-by-day route across both coasts, and couples should read our notes on Zanzibar as a honeymoon destination.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to visit Zanzibar?
June to October is the long dry season and the most reliable window, with September offering the best balance of weather, crowds and price. January and February give a shorter dry spell. April is the wettest month and the one to avoid.
Do I need travel insurance to enter Zanzibar?
Yes. Since 1 October 2024 every foreign visitor must buy a policy from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation, at USD 44 per adult and USD 22 per child aged 3 to 17, valid up to 92 days. It is checked at immigration and does not replace comprehensive travel insurance of your own.
Which part of Zanzibar has the best beaches?
Nungwi and Kendwa in the north have the most swimmable water, because the tidal range there is small. Paje and Jambiani in the southeast have longer, emptier sand but the sea retreats dramatically at low tide. Matemwe on the northeast coast is the pick for diving and snorkelling.
Why does the sea disappear on Zanzibar’s east coast?
The tidal range on the east and southeast coasts is extreme, and at low tide the water can withdraw close to a kilometre, exposing seagrass and seaweed farms. Check a tide table before booking there, and choose a hotel with a pool.
Is Zanzibar safe for tourists?
Broadly yes. It is one of the calmer destinations in East Africa and violent crime against visitors is uncommon. Petty theft on beaches and in Stone Town alleys is the realistic risk, and walking alone on unlit beaches at night is the main thing to avoid.
Can you see the House of Wonders in Stone Town?
Only from the outside. The building partially collapsed in December 2020 during restoration work and remains closed, with reconstruction funded by Oman still under way and no confirmed reopening date as of 2026.
How much does a week in Zanzibar cost?
A mid-range week runs roughly USD 900 to 1,600 per person excluding international flights, based on a hotel at USD 80 to 180 a night split between two people, plus around USD 45 a day each for food, transport and activities. Add the visa, USD 44 insurance and USD 2 to 5 a night in infrastructure tax.
What should I wear in Zanzibar?
Beachwear is fine on the beach and at your hotel. In Stone Town and the villages, cover shoulders and knees. Zanzibar is a Muslim society and dressing modestly away from the beach is both expected and appreciated.
Is Zanzibar worth visiting for more than the beaches?
Yes. Stone Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a complex trading and slave-trade history, the spice farms are a genuine local industry rather than a set piece, and Jozani forest holds the Zanzibar red colobus, found nowhere else in the world.
