The Zanzibar City Guides answer what every visitor asks: where to eat Swahili curries and Zanzibar pizza without paying seafront prices, how to read the tides before choosing a beach, which Stone Town sights are worth the entry fee and where the music plays after sunset. Each guide is a short, opinionated list with the reason to go, what to order or look out for and one practical tip for every place, and it opens in your browser the moment you pay.
About the Zanzibar City Guides
- 142 places
- 6 guides
- 13 languages
- Works offline
- Print or PDF
- Instant access
- Free updates
The six Zanzibar guides
Food guide
24 places
The Forodhani night market done properly, Swahili canteens and Gujarati thalis, spiced coffee and gelato, and beach tables around the island.
Things to do guide
23 places
Stone Town’s Persian baths and museums, the seafront and the bazaar, the red colobus monkeys of Jozani and the beaches worth the drive.
Family guide
24 places
Beaches picked around the tides, giant tortoises and butterflies, an Omani fort to run around and a rainy-day plan for Stone Town.
Nightlife guide
24 places
Sunset terraces over the harbour, live taarab and afro-jazz, late food in Stone Town and the beach bars of Nungwi, Kendwa and Paje.
Day trips guide
22 places
East-coast beaches by dala-dala, sandbanks and coral reefs by boat, spice farms, forest walks and history outside Stone Town.
Budget guide
25 places
Stone Town for free, full meals for under €5, cheap tickets for short trips and the beaches by shared minibus instead of taxi.
Why an interactive guide beats a list
Tick places off
Mark each place as done and watch your progress, so you always know what is left.
Your own notes
Write notes on any place and add your own finds. They stay on your phone.
One tap to Maps
Every place opens in Google Maps, and the day route puts your picks in a sensible order.
Open now, near me
Filter by what is open right now or what is closest to you.
Works offline
Open the guide once with a connection and it keeps working without data.
Print it or save as PDF
On a computer, print any guide or save it as a PDF to take with you.
Three places from the guides
Freddie Mercury Museum
Kenyatta Road, Shangani
The house where Farrokh Bulsara was born, long before the world knew him as Freddie: family photos, lyrics in his own hand, a piano and the yellow jacket, with Queen’s 1986 concert on screen. Give it 30 to 60 minutes. From the things to do guide.
Dhow Countries Music Academy
Old Customs House area, Shangani
A non-profit music school whose courtyard and top floor host evening concerts of taarab, afro-jazz and fusion by island musicians. Your ticket helps pay for music lessons for young people. From the nightlife guide.
Chumbe Island Coral Park
20 minutes by boat from Fumba or Stone Town
A private reserve with a protected reef, a lighthouse and a patch of forest where coconut crabs live. Visitor numbers are capped and the snorkelling is good, though parts of the coral are bleached. From the day trips guide.
Plan your days on Zanzibar
Day one: Stone Town on foot in the cool of the morning, from the Hamam Persian Baths to Jaws Corner and Darajani Bazaar, a Swahili lunch, then sunset on the seafront and dinner at the Forodhani night market. Day two: leave early for Jozani Forest and a spice farm, then spend the afternoon on an east-coast beach timed for high tide. For a slow or rainy day, take the Peace Memorial Museum, a long coffee on a Stone Town rooftop and a taarab concert in the evening.
Questions about the Zanzibar guides
What is in the Zanzibar City Guides?
Six guides covering food, things to do, family, nightlife, day trips and budget, with 142 places in total. Each place has the reason to go, the area, opening notes and a practical tip.
Do the guides cover the beaches as well as Stone Town?
Yes. Stone Town gets plenty of space, and the guides also take you to the beaches of the north and east coasts, Jozani Forest, the spice farms and the small islands off the coast, with notes on tides and on getting there by dala-dala or taxi.
Can I use the guides without mobile data on Zanzibar?
Yes. Open each guide once with a connection and it keeps working offline, ticks and notes included. Only the map links need data.
Which languages are the guides in?
The guides open in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Greek, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic. You can switch the language inside the guide at any time.
How much do the Zanzibar guides cost?
€4.99 for one guide, €8.99 for two, €15.99 for four and €19.99 for all six.
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