Zanzibar is world-famous among tourists for its white sandy beaches and historic Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you’re looking for a taste of island life, historic Zanzibar is the destination for you.
Here is our guide to help you get the most out of your time on this idyllic island.
1. Walking tour of Stone Town
Zanzibar is an island steeped in history and culture, and there’s no better place to experience this than Stone Town.
Stone Town is best explored on foot, where you can wander its narrow streets, soaking up the incredible smells and sounds to enrich the senses. In Stone Town, you can see Freddie Mercury’s birthplace, the House of Wonders, an infamous old slave fort, and Stone Town’s famous fish market.
Zanzibar is known as ‘The Spice Island’ due to the wide variety of spices that are grown there. A must-do just north of Stone Town is a walk through a Spice farm where you can smell and taste these famous spices, learn how they are grown and purchase some great gifts for your friends and family.
2. Prison Island
Take a traditional dhow boat 30 minutes northwest of Stone Town and travel to Prison Island, home to 100 giant tortoises. Named after a prison for rebellious slaves that once stood on the island, you can see the old prison, which was built but never used, relax on the island’s sandy beach fringed by a beautiful coral reef and feed the giant tortoises that were imported from the Seychelles in the late 19th century.
3. Go snorkelling
Grab your flippers and get ready for some underwater exploration! You can’t go to Zanzibar without swimming through the clear blue waters in search of the island’s spectacular marine wildlife.
If you’re lucky, you may even spot playful dolphins whilst sailing in a traditional dhow boat!
4. Visit the Jozani Forest
Discover a fabulous hidden gem on the island’s southern tip: Jozani Forest. It’s home to red Colobus monkeys, a rare species found only in Zanzibar, as well as Sykes monkeys, small buck, chameleons, bush babies, over 50 species of butterflies and 40 species of birds. An expert guide will walk you through the impressive flora and fauna that plays a crucial role in protecting Zanzibar’s biodiversity.
5. Volunteering
Go beyond the usual tourist trail and truly gain an authentic experience of island life through impactful volunteering.
Behind the tourism and the picture-perfect scenery lies a different story for many Zanzibaris. We work with three large, overcrowded schools on the outskirts of Stone Town, which educate a combined total of 15,000 children. Each year hundreds of volunteers embark on a trip of a lifetime with us to Zanzibar and volunteer at one of our partner schools to improve their facilities and provide crucial support in the classroom to help the next generation of Zanzibaris to achieve their potential.
