Best Things To Do in Zanzibar – Our Expert’s Choice

11-20 of 20 Best Things To Do in Zanzibar

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    11. Take a Boat Trip to an Offshore Island

    Several islets and atolls can be visited as a day trip from Zanzibar

    The Zanzibar Archipelago consists of around 50 islands and islets. The most popular destinations for day trips are Changuu (Prison) Island, a short distance from Stone Town, and the snorkel- and dive-friendly Mnemba Atoll off the

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    northeast coast. Other less-visited islands close to Stone Town include Chapwani, which has a beautiful beach but is used exclusively by a private lodge, and Bawe, whose reefs are popular with divers.Recommended for nature enthusiasts, Chumbe Island is a private sanctuary that offers excellent offshore snorkeling and a good chance of spotting a 1m-/3.3ft-long tree-climbing coconut crab. And if you really want to get off the beaten track, little-visited Tumbatu – the archipelago’s third-largest island – offers a combination of pristine beaches, sensational offshore reefs and traditional Swahili culture.

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    Zanzibar Day Trips

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    12. Make a Day Trip to Photogenic Mtende Beach

    This wildly beautiful south-coast beach is one of Zanzibar’s best-kept secrets

    The memorable drive to Mtende bumps along a quiet country road flanked by some of the most impressive baobab trees you’ll see anywhere on Zanzibar. Once there, the beach itself comes across like a transplant from

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    the Seychelles, with black cliffs and giant boulders enclosing a short but very beautiful stretch of white sand and shallow turquoise water.Incredibly, Mtende was totally undeveloped for tourism prior to 2020. Even today, this magnificent beach retains something of a wilderness feel, with just a handful of rustic lodges and restaurants running along the cliffs above. Swimming is good at high tide and some interesting rock pools are exposed at low tide. For wildlife-lovers, dolphins are sometimes seen swimming offshore, and Zanzibar red colobus and blue monkey are resident in the area.

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    13. Kitesurf off Idyllic Lagoon-like Beaches

    Zanzibar’s beaches are perfect for kitesurfing when the trade winds blow

    Because the shallow waters off Zanzibar are protected by a series of barrier reefs, most beaches are calm, flat and well suited to kitesurfing. Conditions are best at high tide. The kitesurfing season here runs from

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    June to October (a period characterized by strong, steady trade winds) and to a lesser extent December to February. The island’s most established hot spot is Paje, on the southeast coast, where several beachfront kitesurfing schools can provide lessons and rent out equipment. Other popular kitesurfing beaches, all with schools of their own, include Jambiani, Kiwengwa and Kendwa.

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    Paje Beach Packages

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    14. Head Underground Into Limestone Caves

    The coral limestone underlying most of Zanzibar is pitted with caverns

    The most popular excursion of this sort is Kuza Cave, which lies conveniently close to the resort villages of Jambiani and Paje and encloses a wonderful natural swimming pool. Far more extensive, however, are the twin

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    Kiwengwa Caves, which lie in the Kiwengwa-Pongwe Forest Reserve and are walkable for about 300m/985ft by flashlight.Several lesser-known caves can be visited on Zanzibar. The Tazari Twin Caves near Nungwi, which were once used to conceal captives held by slave traders, incorporate some impressive dripstone formations. The little-visited Machaga Historical Cave, near Jozani Forest, has yielded some interesting fossils, as well as the oldest remains of domestic chickens in East Africa. And the west coast’s Mangapwani Cave, like Kuza, has a freshwater pool at its base.

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    15. Skydive for Thrilling Aerial Views of Zanzibar

    Do a tandem or solo skydive, or take a full accelerated free fall course

    Skydiving really gets the adrenaline pumping. And there are few more scenic spots for a skydive than Zanzibar. The activity starts with a short plane ride offering superb aerial views over the island. You’ll take the

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    leap at roughly 3,000m/10,000ft, then go into free fall for about 30 seconds before pulling the parachute and gliding down to land on the beach. An excellent option for novices who want to experience the excitement of free fall without having to control opening the chute is a tandem skydive harnessed to a qualified instructor.

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    16. Step Back in Time at Mysterious Swahili Ruins

    Zanzibar is studded with atmospheric archaeological sites

    A few crumbling walls at Unguja Ukuu are all that remain of Zanzibar’s oldest-known settlement, which was active from the 8th to 10th centuries. Kizimkazi Mosque, near the island’s southern tip, is Zanzibar’s oldest intact structure,

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    with an Arabic inscription that dates it back to 1107 CE. Farther north, the ruins at Fukuchani mark the site of a fortified 16th-century Swahili trading port.Most other old Zanzibari buildings and ruins date from the Omani occupation. Stone Town’s imposing Old Fort was constructed from 1698 to 1701 on the site of an older Portuguese church. The striking Mtoni Palace was built in 1828 as a harem for Sultan Said of Oman after he relocated to Zanzibar. The ruined Persian baths at Kizimbani and Kidichi date to around 1850, while Maruhubi Palace, Bi Khole Ruins and several waterfront buildings in Stone Town are from the late 19th century.

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    17. Hop Aboard a Whale- or Dolphin-watching Tour

    Dolphins are resident around Zanzibar while whales appear seasonally

    Good places to look for dolphins include Menai Bay and Mnemba Atoll. These sociable and charismatic marine mammals often move in large schools that jump and swim playfully in the wake of boats. Most likely you’ll

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    see the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, but spinner dolphins and common dolphins are possible too.Over June to September, migrant humpback whales are present around Zanzibar, and these massive creatures can sometimes be seen breaching, lobtailing or spouting water. More occasional visitors include sperm whale, the smaller Blainville’s beaked whale and short-finned pilot whale (the latter actually a large dolphin). Other wildlife you might see on a boat tour includes green turtles, whale sharks and a variety of marine birds.

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    18. Pop Into Zanzibar Butterfly Centre

    Learn about Zanzibar’s butterflies at this unique community project

    Easily visited in combination with nearby Jozani Forest, Zanzibar Butterfly Centre is a community-run enterprise that helps support some 40 local farmers from the nearby village of Pete. Guided tours take 30 to 45 minutes and

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    are both educational and enjoyable. They provide an introduction to the various life stages of butterflies and offer an opportunity to see up to 30 indigenous species fluttering around. Entrance fees from this conservation project go toward participating community members, who also act as guides and derive income from the sale of butterfly art and other souvenirs.

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    19. Hang With Turtles at Nungwi Mnarani Aquarium

    This natural pool in Nungwi is a turtle rehabilitation site and hatchery

    Also known as Mnarani Marine Turtles Conservation Pond, this respected conservation project stands at the northern tip of Zanzibar alongside the island’s oldest lighthouse. Community run, the project’s focal point is a deep natural pool where

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    turtles accidentally caught in fishing nets are rehabilitated before being released back into the open sea. The common species here is the green turtle, which is relatively numerous in the waters off Zanzibar, but other types of turtle are occasionally present too.Informative guided tours are available, and you can also swim in the turtle pond or feed seaweed to its inhabitants. The site also includes a project that hatches turtle eggs collected from vulnerable places before releasing the young into the wild at around six months of age.

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    Nungwi Mnarani Aquarium Tours

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    20. Explore Historic Mbweni Mission

    This Victorian mission is associated with the abolition of slavery

    Established in the 1870s as a village for freed slaves, the former Anglican mission at Mbweni is now a community-driven heritage site known as Mbweni Ruins & Gardens. This beautifully landscaped beachfront property incorporates a hotel,

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    a restaurant and a botanical garden, as well as the ruins of a mission school that once provided education to orphaned girls and the daughters of freed slaves. Other 19th-century buildings in Mbweni include the former home of Sir John Kirk (the British consul who pressured Sultan Barghash of Zanzibar into abolishing slavery in 1873) and the quaint St John’s Church.

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