Zanzibar covers two distinct travel zones: Stone Town, the UNESCO-listed historic city on the western coast, and the beaches and reefs of the north, northeast, and south coasts. A thorough visit combines at minimum one cultural tour in Stone Town and one water activity. The eight tours below cover the full range — from $30 group walking tours to private dhow dinner cruises — all verified on GetYourGuide.
1. Stone Town: 3-Hour Walking Tour
Zanzibar: Stone Town 3-Hour Walking Tour (from $30 per person)
Stone Town’s labyrinthine streets are disorienting without a guide, and the architectural layers — Omani Arab, Indian merchant, Portuguese, British colonial — are largely illegible without knowing the history. The 3-hour tour covers the Old Fort (built by Omani Arabs in 1699 on the site of a Portuguese chapel), the House of Wonders (the first building in East Africa to have electricity and an elevator, now a Swahili history museum), the Palace Museum, the Anglican Cathedral built over the former slave market site, and Freddie Mercury’s birthplace near the Forodhani waterfront.
The slave market is handled seriously: at its 19th-century peak, Zanzibar was the largest slave trading hub in East Africa, with an estimated 50,000 people passing through annually. The memorial and the holding chambers beneath the cathedral are the most substantive slave trade site in the region.
Duration: 3 hours | Difficulty: Easy
Includes: Licensed local guide, entry fees for key sites
2. Stone Town: Private Walking Tour with Slave Market Ticket
Zanzibar: Stone Town Tour with Slave Market Ticket (from $45 per person)
The private format of this tour means you control the pace and can linger at sites of interest. The Slave Market Memorial and the cathedral’s holding chambers are given more time than in group tours. The guide covers the full arc of Zanzibar’s history: the Shirazi Sultanate, the Omani takeover in the early 18th century, the abolition of the slave trade under British pressure in 1873, and the 1964 revolution that ended the Sultanate entirely.
Duration: 3 hours | Difficulty: Easy
Includes: Private guide, slave market entry ticket
3. Stone Town and Prison Island Day Trip
Stone Town and Prison Island Full-Day Tour (from $55 per person)
Prison Island (Changuu Island) sits 5 km northwest of Stone Town. It was used briefly as a quarantine station in the late 19th century and is now home to a colony of giant Aldabra tortoises, some over 100 years old. The day combines a morning Stone Town walking tour with a boat transfer to Prison Island for the tortoises and snorkeling over the fringing reef.
Duration: Full day | Difficulty: Easy
Includes: Stone Town guide, boat transfer to Prison Island, snorkeling equipment
4. Safari Blue: Snorkeling, Sandbank, and Menai Bay
Zanzibar: Safari Blue Snorkeling and Sandbank Tour with Lunch (from $65 per person)
Safari Blue is Zanzibar’s best-known full-day boat excursion. The itinerary covers the Menai Bay Conservation Area in the south of Zanzibar Island — one of the largest marine protected areas in Tanzania — combining snorkeling over coral reef, a stop at a shifting sandbank (depending on tides), and a traditional lunch served on a sandbank or dhow.
The marine life in Menai Bay includes hawksbill and green turtles, bottlenose dolphins (frequently spotted en route), and a diverse reef with good coral coverage. The traditional wooden dhow used for the excursion is a working vessel, which adds to the authenticity.
Duration: Full day (approximately 8 hours) | Difficulty: Easy
Includes: Dhow transport, snorkeling equipment, guide, seafood lunch on sandbank
Book early during July–October peak season. This is a consistently high-demand tour that sells out several days ahead.
5. Blue Lagoon: Half-Day Snorkeling Tour
Zanzibar: Half-Day Blue Lagoon Snorkeling Tour (from $45 per person)
The Blue Lagoon sits in a sheltered bay off the south coast with calm, shallow water and good visibility — well-suited to beginners or those who want snorkeling without committing to a full day. The reef has decent coral cover with parrotfish, triggerfish, lionfish, and occasional sea turtles.
Duration: Half day | Difficulty: Easy
Includes: Boat transport, snorkeling equipment, guide
6. Swimming with Dolphins: Private Snorkeling Tour
Zanzibar: Swimming with Dolphins and Snorkeling Private Tour (from $75 per person)
Bottlenose and humpback dolphins are resident in the waters off the Kizimkazi coast on Zanzibar’s southwestern tip. The tour departs early morning, when dolphins are most active near the surface, and combines in-water dolphin encounters (when conditions allow proximity) with snorkeling over the Mnemba Atoll reef. The dolphins are wild and encounters are not guaranteed, but sighting rates are high given the resident population.
Duration: Half day | Difficulty: Easy
Includes: Private boat, guide, snorkeling gear, dolphin encounter opportunity
The private format means you are not competing with other tour boats for position near the dolphins, which generally improves the quality of any in-water encounter.
7. Stone Town: Traditional Dhow Sunset Cruise
Stone Town: Traditional Dhow Sunset Cruise (from $35 per person)
The 2-hour dhow cruise departs from Stone Town’s waterfront at Forodhani and sails along the coast during the golden hour. Traditional Zanzibari dhows are lateen-rigged wooden vessels; this is the same type of boat that has traded along the East African coast for over 1,000 years. Drinks are typically included.
Duration: 2 hours | Difficulty: Easy
Includes: Dhow transport, guide, drinks
The sunset from the water looking back at Stone Town — with the House of Wonders and the Old Fort silhouetted against the orange sky — is one of Zanzibar’s better photographic moments.
8. Zanzibar: Full-Day Cooking Class and Market Tour
Zanzibar: Full-Day Traditional Cooking Class and Market Tour (from $65 per person)
Zanzibar’s cuisine — built on Indian Ocean spices, Arab and Indian merchant influence, and local coastal produce — is one of the most distinctive in East Africa. The cooking class visits the local market to source ingredients, then prepares a traditional Zanzibari meal: pilau rice, coconut curries, grilled seafood, and cassava dishes. The spice context is genuinely useful: Zanzibar exported cloves, cinnamon, and pepper that supplied kitchens across the Middle East and Europe, and the guide explains which spices came from where and why.
Duration: Full day | Difficulty: Easy
Includes: Market visit, cooking class, lunch
How to Choose
| Tour | Duration | Best for | From Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Town Walking Tour | 3 hrs | History, architecture, slave trade site | $30 |
| Dhow Sunset Cruise | 2 hrs | Atmospheric evening, Indian Ocean | $35 |
| Blue Lagoon Snorkeling | Half day | Beginner-friendly reef snorkeling | $45 |
| Stone Town Private Tour | 3 hrs | Flexible pace, slave market in depth | $45 |
| Stone Town + Prison Island | Full day | Giant tortoises, snorkeling, culture | $55 |
| Cooking Class + Market | Full day | Zanzibari cuisine, spice heritage | $65 |
| Safari Blue | Full day | Best marine excursion, sandbank lunch | $65 |
| Swim with Dolphins | Half day | Private dolphin encounter, reef snorkel | $75 |
Prices are per person in USD, as of 2026. Browse all Zanzibar tours on GetYourGuide.