☀️ In the morning● Now
Spice tourCloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in the island's inland plantations.
✦ Your self-guided tour
Zanzibar (Stone Town)
Discover the city at your own pace, with your route and your trip essentials in one place.
5 stops · about 2 h 35 · audio guide12 languages
Highlights
5 stops · about 2 h 35 · audio guide
Photos
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (each author credited) and Google.
Zanzibar (Stone Town): your route
Pay once. Access is saved on this device and sent by email.
5 stops · about 2 h 35 · audio guideTransport on the route: about TZS 60,000
Included: the full route, audio guide in 12 languages and the travel tools. Not included: museum and monument tickets, transport tickets.
💡 Good to know in Zanzibar (Stone Town)
Practical tips before you step out.
Luggage
Leave luggage at the airport left-luggage desk or a partner storage point on the route (marked ★). Carry only essentials and your passport.
Internet
Outside EU roaming: buy an eSIM before you travel or a prepaid SIM at an official carrier shop (bring your passport).
Payments
Cards at hotels, malls and bigger restaurants; local cash for markets, taxis and stalls. Withdraw at ATMs inside banks or malls.
Tipping
Tip 10% in restaurants; tourist prices are often in dollars, but paying in shillings is cheaper.
Water
Drink bottled or filtered water and avoid ice of doubtful origin; check that bottles are sealed.
Safety
Use app or hotel taxis, keep your phone away in the street and avoid walking after dark in empty areas. Traffic drives on the left. Since 2024 Zanzibar requires its own travel insurance, bought online before arrival.
Sockets
Type G (and D) sockets, 230 V: bring an adapter.
Toilets
Toilets in malls, museums and cafés; some public ones charge a little and paper goes in the bin, not the bowl.
Mosques
A conservative Muslim island: in Stone Town cover shoulders and knees; swimwear only on the beach. During Ramadan don't eat or drink in the street by day.
ⓘ Practical information compiled from official and public sources in October 2026. Not yet checked on the ground in this city — if something has changed, use “Report a problem”.
Safety in Zanzibar (Stone Town)
Emergency numbers, common scams and how to get help. Free for everyone.
Emergency112
Hospital and pharmacy search around the city centre — share your location for results near you.
Look for: Duka la dawa · Pharmacy
Common scams and risks
Friendly "guides"
A helpful stranger offers to show you around and you end up in a carpet or souvenir shop. A polite no is enough.
Pickpockets
Crowded trams, metros and queues are their workplace. Bag in front and zipped; phone never in a back pocket.
Dress and respect
In mosques, souks and public buildings cover shoulders and knees; in mosques women cover their hair. Away from beaches, avoid very short or see-through clothes.
Street drug offers
Men whisper offers of drugs in the old town. It's illegal, usually fake and can lead to trouble. Just ignore them.
Traffic on the left
Look right first when crossing. "LOOK RIGHT" is painted at many crossings.
👜 Watch your wallet in
Forodhani at night · Darajani · Beaches ('beach boy' touts)
🌙 At night, take extra care in
Stone Town alleys after 10 pm
Keep a photo of your passport on your phone, carry just one card and some cash, and stick to busy, well-lit streets.
ⓘ Practical information compiled from official and public sources in October 2026. Not yet checked on the ground in this city — if something has changed, use “Report a problem”.
General guidance. If you're in danger, call 112 now. · Zanzibar (Stone Town)
Everything in Zanzibar (Stone Town)
All the useful things in one place.
🆕 Today in Zanzibar (Stone Town)
Friday 23 October · updated automatically every day
24° – 32°Little chance of rain
Experiences in Zanzibar (Stone Town)
Moments, fun and events, picked for you.
Your interests
🌅 At sunset
Sunset on a dhowA traditional sailing boat off Stone Town as the sun sinks into the sea.
🌙 At night
Forodhani night marketSeafood skewers, «Zanzibar pizza» and ginger sugar-cane juice.
🕐 Flexible — check opening times
Jozani ForestThe only place in the world with the Zanzibar red colobus monkey.
🌙 At night
Taarab musicSwahili music of strings and poetry, in concerts at the Old Fort and the Dhow Countries Music Academy.
🏛️ History & culture of Zanzibar (Stone Town)
How the city came to be, in a few minutes of reading.
The Stone Town of Zanzibar (Arabic: مدينة زنجبار الحجرية, romanized: madīnat Zanjibār al-ḥajariyya), also known as Mji Mkongwe (Swahili for 'old town'), is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. The newer portion of the city is known as Ng'ambo, Swahili for 'the other side'. Stone Town is located on the western coast of Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago. Former capital of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and flourishing centre of the spice trade as well as the Indian Ocean slave trade in the 19th century, it retained its importance as the main city of Zanzibar during the period of the British protectorate. When Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined each other to form the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar kept a semi-autonomous status, with Stone Town as its local government seat.
Read the full history
The Stone Town of Zanzibar (Arabic: مدينة زنجبار الحجرية, romanized: madīnat Zanjibār al-ḥajariyya), also known as Mji Mkongwe (Swahili for 'old town'), is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. The newer portion of the city is known as Ng'ambo, Swahili for 'the other side'. Stone Town is located on the western coast of Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago. Former capital of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and flourishing centre of the spice trade as well as the Indian Ocean slave trade in the 19th century, it retained its importance as the main city of Zanzibar during the period of the British protectorate. When Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined each other to form the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar kept a semi-autonomous status, with Stone Town as its local government seat.
Stone Town is a city of prominent historical and artistic importance in East Africa. Its architecture, mostly dating back to the 19th century, reflects the diverse influences underlying the Swahili culture, giving a unique mixture of Arab, Persian, Indian and European elements. For this reason, the town was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.
Due to its heritage, Stone Town is also a major tourist attraction in Tanzania, and a large part of its economy depends on tourism-related activities.
💬 What travellers say about Zanzibar (Stone Town)
Tips, experiences and questions from people who've been there.