The Spice Islands in twelve hours
Best routes via Dubai (Emirates, FlyDubai) and Doha (Qatar). Emirates flies DXB–ZNZ in 5 hours. Total from Moscow — 11–12 hours.
Not just Africa. An Arabian pearl.
Best fares
Hotels in Zanzibar, from bungalows to luxury villas
Turtle-side bungalows in Nungwi, boutique hotels in Stone Town and luxury resorts on the southern coast.
Parts of the island for different moods
When to visit Zanzibar
Two dry seasons: June–October and December–March. April–May — the long rains, fewer visitors.
Ready-made tours to Zanzibar
What you need to know before you go
Zanzibar visa
Visa on arrival at the airport $50 (USD cash). Issued in 15–20 minutes. Passport — minimum 6 months validity. Return ticket — show at the desk.
Money
Tanzanian shilling (TZS) and USD — accepted everywhere. Hotels take cards. Markets, street vendors and taxis — cash only. ATMs in Stone Town and Nungwi.
Transport
Dala-dala (minibus) — 50 cents. Taxi from the airport — $15–20. Motorbike rental — $10/day. Boat to Pemba or Mafia — book ahead via Sales.Travel.
Connectivity
SIM Vodacom Tanzania — 5 000 TZS (200 ₽) for SIM, packages from 10 000 TZS. Sales.Travel eSIM — from 4 € per week, QR activation. Current plans on the eSIM page. 4G coverage on the coast.
Must-try experiences
Stone Town, every evening at sunset. Grilled barracuda, lobster, fresh juice, Zanzibar pizza. Dinner for two — 20 USD.
Forodhani Gardens in Stone Town — Zanzibar's only night market. Every evening at sunset (around 18:30) the park transforms into an open-air restaurant: 50+ barbecue stands. Charcoal-grilled barracuda, lobster (10–20 USD/kg), kashata (coconut candy), Zanzibar 'pizza' — flatbread with egg, meat and cheese. Fresh-pressed sugar cane juice — 1 USD. Dinner for two — 20–30 USD.
Cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and curry right beneath your feet. Taste straight from the tree. 3-hour tour from Stone Town, including lunch.
Spice farms — legacy of the 19th-century Omani Sultanate, when Zanzibar was called the Spice Island. 3-hour tour from Stone Town (25 USD with lunch): guide shows you how cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg grow — tasting straight from the tree. Best farms — Tangawizi Spice Farm and Kizimbani Plantation. At the end — lunch in a traditional farmer's house: curry rice, chapati, tropical fruit.
Kizimkazi, 6:00–8:00 — feeding time. Jump in with a mask. Wild dolphins, not in captivity. 4-hour tour from any hotel.
Kizimkazi village on the southwest coast — where large pods of bottlenose and spinner dolphins regularly appear. Departure at 6:00 (calm water, dolphins active), snorkelling alongside them (but no touching). 4-hour tour from Stone Town — 30–50 USD. 90% of trips — successful encounters. Avoid boats that aggressively chase dolphins.
Sea turtles of various ages and sizes. Feed them by hand, swim with the large ones. Revenue supports conservation. Entry 3 000 TZS.
Mnarani Marine Turtle Conservation Pond in Nungwi — sanctuary for green and hawksbill sea turtles of various ages. Feed them seaweed by hand (included in 3 000 TZS ≈ 1.30 USD ticket). Large turtles (40+ years) live in a natural lagoon, you can swim beside them. All proceeds support conservation, rehabilitation of injured animals and release of hatchlings into the ocean. Open 8:00–18:00.
Island 30 minutes by boat from Stone Town. Giant Aldabra tortoises, British prison from 1893, snorkelling on the way back.
Changuu Island (Prison Island) — 30 minutes by boat from Stone Town. British prison from 1893 (never opened as a prison — became a yellow fever quarantine station). Main attraction — Aldabra giant tortoise sanctuary (some 150+ years old, gift from Seychelles in 1919). Snorkelling between Prison and Stone Town on the return trip. Tour — 40–60 USD for half a day.
Constant 15–25 knot wind, shallow bottom — ideal for beginners. IKO schools from €40/hour. Kite season — June–October.
Paje on the southeast coast — the kite safari capital of East Africa. Constant 15–25 knot wind from June to October (Kuzi season). Shallow 2 km-wide lagoon with sandy bottom — ideal for learning. IKO schools: Aquaholics, Paje Kite, Airborne Kite Centre — lesson 40–60 EUR/hour, 3-day course from 400 EUR. April–May and November–December seasons — lighter wind.
National marine park — the region's finest diving. Turtles, nurse sharks, barracudas. 25–30 m visibility. PADI Open Water required.
Menai Bay Conservation Area — marine national park in the southwest. 25–30 m visibility, warm water. Turtles, nurse sharks, barracudas, octopuses, rays. Dive centres One Ocean and Rising Sun Dive Centre — departures from Stone Town, PADI open water in 3 days (500 USD). Not for beginners without certification (minimum Open Water).
Traditional Arab boat with a lateen sail. Sunset, cocktail, bathed in Indian Ocean stars. Book through your hotel the day before.
Dhow — an Arab sailing boat with the characteristic triangular 'lateen' sail, used along the East African coast for 1 000+ years. 2-hour sunset cruise: cocktail, Zanzibar taarab music, sometimes dolphins. Price 30–50 USD per person. Best operators — Safari Blue (full day with lunch on an island, 100 USD) and Mtoni Marine (Stone Town).
Museum in a house with Stone Town's most elaborate carved doors. 200-year history of the spice and slave trade. Freddie Mercury's birthplace nearby.
Dr Livingstone Wonders Museum in Stone Town: 200-year-old carved doors (often considered the finest in East Africa), colonial furniture collections, slave trade documents. The house where Freddie Mercury was born (1946) — 50 m away, open since 2019 (ticket 5 USD). Combine with a walk through the old Darajani bazaar 10 minutes away.