Zanzibar Travel Guide

There is a city
behind the beach.

Zanzibar sells itself as a beach. It is also Stone Town, a World Heritage site built on the Indian Ocean trade including the East African slave trade, and that history is the more interesting reason to come.

Resort marketing treats Zanzibar as a stretch of sand attached to a Tanzanian safari. Stone Town is a living urban World Heritage site with Swahili, Arab, Indian and European layers, and its listing exists partly because that fabric is fragile and under development pressure. Read the heritage and health sources first; the beach needs no introduction.

The reading list

Link-out only. Governments, institutions and primary data, not tour operators.

Stone Town

The reason the island is on the World Heritage list.

  1. Stone Town

    Wikipedia · Reference

    The old city, its trade history including the slave market, and the architectural fabric the listing protects. Properly sourced.

  2. UNESCO

    UN agency · Institution

    The heritage listing body. Stone Town's inscription sets out what is protected and why it is considered at risk.

  3. Zanzibar

    Wikivoyage · Guide

    Volunteer-written, ad-free, and practical about ferries, Ramadan and local norms in a way resort copy is not.

Practical

  1. Tanzania travel advice

    UK Foreign Office · Advisory

    Zanzibar is semi-autonomous but part of Tanzania. Entry rules, local law and current risks, including guidance on dress and conduct that visitors routinely get wrong.

  2. Tanzania health notices

    US CDC · Health

    Malaria is the material risk here. Public health guidance rather than a clinic with something to sell.

  3. Tanzania National Parks

    Government agency · Primary

    The state parks authority for the mainland parks most visitors pair with Zanzibar. Fees and rules direct from source.

  4. Tanzania

    CIA World Factbook · Reference

    Standard-format country data.