When most people think of Zanzibar they picture, perfect beaches & turquoise ocean – which is exactly what you’ll find! Although, I do think it’s worth telling you about how awesome Stone Town is; the old town in Zanzibar city is definitely worth exploring.

Before heading up north to Nungwi Village, we wanted to take a day to explore Stone Town, visit all the markets, and learn about the island’s dark history. 

My friend Bianca and I flew in from Nairobi landing at 9 pm. Stepping off the plane the humid 29 degrees hit us straight in the face. I loved it! Before all the passengers were allowed in the terminal we had to present our yellow fever vaccination certificates! This is common when traveling in Africa. Once inside we filled out our visa application and proceed to the payment counter. As an Australian passport holder, I was required to purchase a tourist visa on arrival for 50USD. I was advised by the Tanzanian embassy that this must be paid for in cash and with a new bill. I was very organized and proceeded to the counter with my new note! Only to hear “our cash isn’t working today, so you can only pay by card” huh? How does cash not work? 🤔

Getting through customs and baggage collection was fast and easy. Then before I exited the terminal I got some cash changed but only a small amount. I was expecting the rate in Stone Town to be better. The man behind the desk said the rates in town are bad & they’ll charge commission! I’m glad I didn’t listen to him because as expected the rates in town were much better. 

Upon exiting the airport you’ll be greeted by many taxi drivers wanting your business. Unfortunately, they’ll probably try to rip you off so make sure you barter. A taxi from the airport to Stone Town shouldn’t cost more than 10USD.

You’ll find most things are quoted in USD but the local currency is Tanzanian Shillings; 50,000TZS is roughly 22USD.

Arriving in Stone Town!

The drive to town is only about 15 minutes. I was getting so excited as we were driving in and seeing all the Arabian style architecture. With the beautiful doors and window frames, I so wished we booked longer here. Most places weren’t open but I was already picking out the shops I wanted to go to in the morning. 

We had booked one night’s accommodation at Hakuna Matata. We showed the reservation to our taxi driver and he didn’t seem to think the address was correct? So we called the number and the man on the phone said he’ll come to meet us at Forodhani Gardens. Easy done, the taxi took us straight there. Bianca & I had already planned to drop our bags in our room before going out for dinner. 

So we’re waiting at the gardens, waiting – waiting. We called the man again and he said “we’ll be there in 2 minutes”, still no one showed up. We called a couple more times and he either didn’t answer or said: “yes I’ll be there in 1 minute!” Basically he was full of shit! Our taxi driver was getting so angry at them and at this point, it was after 11 pm. I felt so bad because we didn’t know what was going on and we didn’t want the taxi to leave us.

In the end, our beautiful taxi driver took us to another hotel, The Garden Lodge.

Our room here was great & only cost 60USD. He was such a cute old man and when he was leaving I tried to give him more money for all the trouble but he wouldn’t take it. He said he felt sorry for us and felt responsible like a father to make sure we safely got a room. 

This certainly put a bad taste in my mouth towards Zanzibar and I felt this situation had wasted a whole night. But our taxi driver and nice new hotel restored my faith! We were now excited to wake to a new day.

In the morning we started with an awesome breakfast at the Garden Lodge and a rough idea of where we wanted to go! I had a map on my phone but it was fun just to roam and explore the winding streets. It’s not necessary to get a taxi anywhere, we spent the day on foot.

Here’s a list of things we came across in Stone Town;  

Darajani Markets:

This is the main bazaar in Zanzibar and it’s awesome. There are areas selling red meat and seafood, which are smelly and not for the squeamish! But the rest is fine, filled with so many different colors and (nice) smells. Zanzibar’s nicknamed ‘the spice island’ and you can see why! There are many stalls selling every spice you can think of; I brought so many to take home and they are all delicious. We also brought a lot of fresh fruit and woven items.

Shopping Streets:

If you head towards Gizenga & Shangani Street, you’ll find the best stores. Filled with paintings, shoes, clothes, souvenirs, and homewares. Some cheaper and some high-end, good quality products. I found the shopping really good but after a few hours, every store started to look the same.

Hamamni Persian Baths:

This is an historical building in the middle of Stone Town. To look around each room and see the rooftop only took about 15 minutes and I don’t think it’s worth the entrance fee. The baths are dirty and covered in dust. I found the visit to be very uneventful. 

Old Slave Market:

This is the site of East Africas most notorious slave trade market. Our visit was certainly a very sobering experience but taught us a lot about Zanzibar’s dark history. The entrance fee is 5USD + tip and includes a guide. The guide showed us around the premises including the Anglican Cathedral. And also took us into the rooms which once kept slaves while they awaited market day. These rooms were horrible and so small for the number of people that used to be kept down there. There was also very little natural light and airflow. 

As sad as it was I defiantly think it’s worth a visit to better understand Zanzibar. 

Stone Town Budget;

I didn’t find a day in Stone Town to be expensive. There are a lot of different options to fit within your budget, here are a few things to give you a rough idea,

Meals between $14,000-20,000TZS // Water 1,500TZS // Beer 6,000-8,000TZS

I wish I had a few more days at the end of my trip to explore more of Stone Town. But after a busy day of shopping and historical tours, I was ready to jump in a taxi and head north to Nungwi beach for some sunset drinks. 

As incredible as Stone Town was, the beaches are always going to be the main attraction on Zanzibar, click here to check out my time in Nungwi and Paje Villages. 

Thanks for reading, 

Happy Travels.