Zanzibar
Stone Town's carved doors, spice farms inland and dhows on a turquoise sea.
Zanzibar is the island off Tanzania where the Swahili coast, Arabia and India met over centuries of trade. Stone Town, its old capital, is a warren of coral-stone houses, carved doors and rooftop terraces; beyond it are spice farms, mangrove creeks and a coast of white beaches where the tide goes out for a kilometre and the dhows sail at sunset.
Why go
For a beach stay with a real place attached: a day or two among the alleys, markets and history of Stone Town, then the north coast at Nungwi and Kendwa, where the water stays deep at low tide, or the east at Paje and Matemwe for the reef and the kitesurfers.
And as the end of a safari: an hour's flight from the mainland parks to sand, seafood and the smell of cloves.
Highlights
What people go for, in no particular order.
01Stone Town
The old city's lanes, the carved doors, the House of Wonders (under restoration since a partial collapse in 2020) and the old fort on the seafront, the former slave market and the cathedral built over it, and Forodhani gardens' food stalls at dusk.
02The beaches of the north
Nungwi and Kendwa at the island's tip, with swimming at any tide, dhow-building on the sand and the west-facing sunsets.
03The east coast and the reef
Paje, Jambiani and Matemwe, where a lagoon runs out to a barrier reef, seaweed farmers work the shallows at low tide and the wind brings kitesurfers in season.
04A spice farm
Cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, pepper and cinnamon growing in the plantations inland, tasted from the tree on a walk with a guide.
05The dhows and the islands
A sail at sunset from Stone Town or the north, a boat to Prison Island's tortoises, and snorkelling off Mnemba atoll at the island's north-east.
06Jozani forest and the markets
The red colobus monkeys in the island's forest reserve, and the Darajani market in Stone Town for fish, fruit and spices in full voice.
Areas
Where to base yourself, and what each area is like.
Stone Town
Boutique hotels in old merchants' houses with rooftop terraces. History on the doorstep, beaches an hour away.
Nungwi and Kendwa
The north coast: swimming at all tides, resorts of every size and the liveliest evenings.
The east coast
Paje, Jambiani, Bwejuu and Matemwe: long white beaches, the reef, kitesurfing and a quieter pace.
When to go: Zanzibar
- Dry seasonJune – October
- Cool, dry and breezy: the main season for the beaches, with clear water and the kitesurfing wind on the east coast.
- Shoulder monthsDecember – February
- Hot and mostly dry, with calm seas and clear water for diving off the north-east.
- Wet seasonMarch – May and November
- The long rains in spring and shorter rains in November: humid, green and quiet, with many hotels resting in April and May.
Getting there
Airports
One airport in our search serves Zanzibar. Distances are measured in a straight line.
- ZNZAbeid Amani Karume International
Distance from
- JNBJohannesburg2,510 km
- DXBDubai3,910 km
- BOMMumbai4,630 km
- CDGParis7,090 km
- SINSingapore7,240 km
- LHRLondon7,440 km
- SYDSydney11,610 km
- JFKNew York12,380 km
Getting around: Zanzibar
The airport is a short drive from Stone Town; transfers to the north and east coasts take an hour or so on the island's roads. Taxis and hotel drivers are the usual way between them.
Stone Town is walked, and easier with a guide the first time. Ferries and short flights connect Dar es Salaam and the mainland; boats reach the islands and the reef from the beaches.
Practical facts
The country, its currency and languages, the time zone and the time there now.
- Country
- Tanzania
- Currency
- TZS · Tanzanian Shilling
- Languages
- Swahili and English
- Time zone
- East Africa Time
- Local time now
- Calling code
- +255
The atlas
Zanzibar in figures
The figures under this guide: the climate on modelled 2001–2020 averages, how far it is from the UAE, and the places around it.
Climate
The weather in Zanzibar, month by month
- Jan29°
- Feb30°
- Mar30°
- Apr29°
- May28°
- Jun27°
- Jul27°
- Aug27°
- Sept28°
- Oct29°
- Nov29°
- Dec30°
- Mild to warm and dry
- Mild to warm, humid or showery
- Hot
- Cool
- Wet
- Cold
Good for going, on these averages: June to March.
Mean highs run from 27°C in July to 30°C in March, with about 1,009 mm of rain in a year.
These are modelled averages for 2001–2020; the seasons described above are our own reading of a typical year.
Month-by-month climate for ZanzibarModelled averages for an area about 50 km across, not a weather station's record: NASA POWER climatology, 2001–2020.
Airports
How far it is from the UAE
From DXBZanzibar
3,910 km
5 hrs 20 mins · Estimate
From AUHZanzibar
3,790 km
5 hrs 15 mins · Estimate
The great-circle distance, and a rough flying time: the distance at an average 850 km/h plus 45 minutes for take-off and landing. Real flights follow airways, meet headwinds and wait for traffic, so schedules differ.
On the map
Places near Zanzibar
Plan this trip: Zanzibar
Open the trip builder with Zanzibar already filled in. Flights, stays and everything else are priced together in one quote, prepared by a person on our team.
