Zanzibar Vacation

By air, and it is easy. Direct flights run several times daily from Arusha and from the Serengeti airstrips to Zanzibar, taking roughly ninety minutes from Arusha or a little over two hours from the Serengeti with a stop. Flying straight from a bush airstrip to the beach without going back through Arusha is the smoothest way to do it, and we build that connection into combined itineraries as a matter of course.

No. Zanzibar is part of Tanzania and your Tanzanian visa covers it. You will pass through a domestic immigration desk on arrival where your passport is checked and stamped, and there is a mandatory local travel insurance fee payable on entry. Bring your passport even on an internal flight.

Beachwear is fine on the beach and at your hotel. Zanzibar is a predominantly Muslim island, and away from the resorts — in Stone Town, in the villages, at the markets — covering shoulders and knees is expected and appreciated. Men should wear a shirt away from the sand. During Ramadan, be particularly discreet about eating and drinking in public during daylight hours.

Yes, for the overwhelming majority of visitors. Petty theft is the main concern — keep valuables in the hotel safe, do not walk on unlit beaches at night, and be alert in the narrow alleys of Stone Town after dark. Beach vendors can be persistent but are not dangerous; a firm, friendly refusal is all that is needed. The usual advice about drinking bottled water and being careful with street food applies.

Technically yes, and we would talk you out of it. Flights from Arusha take about ninety minutes each way and the ferry from Dar es Salaam takes two hours, so a day trip means four hours of travel for a few hours on the island, and you would see none of what makes it worth coming for. Two nights is the practical minimum, three is better.

Some of the best in East Africa, and heavily shaped by the spice trade. Expect Swahili seafood - grilled kingfish, octopus curry, prawns in coconut and tamarind - alongside Indian and Omani influences in the biryanis and pilau. The Forodhani Gardens night market in Stone Town is the classic experience: grilled seafood skewers, Zanzibar pizza and fresh sugarcane juice by the waterfront. Beach hotels cater well to Western tastes if you prefer something familiar.

Three to four nights after a safari is the standard, and it works well: one night in Stone Town for the history and the food, then two or three on a beach. Five to seven nights suits honeymooners and anyone who genuinely wants to do nothing. Fewer than three and you spend a disproportionate share of it in transit.

Zanzibar has substantially reduced malaria transmission over the past two decades, but the risk is not zero and prophylaxis is generally still recommended — particularly as you will have been on the mainland. Use repellent in the evenings, sleep under the mosquito net your hotel provides, and follow whatever your doctor advises for the whole trip rather than treating the island separately.