Before you fly
Plan Your Zanzibar Trip
Quick answer
Four things to sort. None of them is difficult.
The plan-your-trip guide by Boutique Hotel Matlai covers the paperwork, safety and timing a Zanzibar trip actually needs: a USD 50 tourist visa, one mandatory insurance for the place you land first (Zanzibar or the mainland), and the 1h15 to 1h30 drive from the airport to the south-east coast. It separates real risk — traffic and the tide — from the things visitors worry about instead.
| Tourist visa | USD 50 · up to 90 days |
| Mandatory insurance | One, for where you land first: ZIC on Zanzibar, NIC on the mainland |
| Passport | Valid 6+ months beyond arrival, ≥1 blank page |
| Airport → south-east coast | 1h15 to 1h30 by private car |
| Dress away from the beach | Shoulders and knees covered |
| Emergency number | 112 (police, fire, ambulance) |
| Last verified | 2 October 2026 |
The four parts
What do you need to sort before you fly to Zanzibar?
Entry: which visa do you need?
Most visitors come in on a standard Tanzania tourist visa, which covers Zanzibar as well as the mainland: USD 50 for a single entry, valid for stays up to 90 days, bought online in advance at the official government portal or on arrival. US passport holders are the exception and pay USD 100 for a multiple-entry visa. Apply online if you can — it is the same price and it skips the slower arrival queue, which is reliably the longest part of the day. Your passport has to be valid for at least 6 months beyond your arrival date, with a blank page for the stamp. The visa and entry requirements guide has the whole sequence, with a table by nationality.
Insurance: which one do you need?
This is the piece that changed on 1 October 2026, and the piece most guides still get wrong. You need one policy, for the place you land first: land on Zanzibar first and you buy the Zanzibar insurance (ZIC, USD 44 per adult, USD 22 per child aged 3–17); land on the mainland first and, since 1 October 2026, you buy the mainland’s NIC (USD 44), which also counts on Zanzibar. Either covers up to 92 days. Buy it on the official portal before you fly and keep the QR code where you can find it at the immigration desk. One warning comes with it: the mandatory policy is an entry requirement, not real travel insurance. It is not the cover you would rely on for medical evacuation, cancellation or your belongings, so keep your own policy as well. The entry page puts the Zanzibar and mainland insurance side by side, with the child rates.
The road: how long does it take to cross the island?
Zanzibar is small and slow. From the airport to the quiet south-east coast is 1h15 to 1h30 by private car, roughly 65 km south-east through the Jozani Forest corridor rather than through Stone Town. The airport sits about 5 km south of Zanzibar City, so Stone Town is close to it; from the south-east coast, Stone Town is about 1h15 by car, and the northern beaches around Nungwi and Kendwa about two hours. There are no trains, the dala-dala minibuses are cheap but slow, and Bolt lists Zanzibar among its cities; almost everyone travels by private car with a driver. The getting-around guide has the table of times, the ferry, and the reason we tell guests not to change hotels mid-trip.
Courtesy: what is expected of visitors?
The island is roughly 99% Muslim, and the habits that matter are small: cover shoulders and knees away from the beach, greet before you ask, give and receive with the right hand, ask before you photograph anyone, and eat and drink discreetly in public during Ramadan. Tipping is appreciated and never obligatory — $1–2 for bags or housekeeping, $5–10 for a driver on a full-day trip, around 10% in a restaurant if service is not included, in small US-dollar notes. The culture and etiquette guide covers the rest, down to why the ngalawa is not a dhow.
Sequence
In what order should you do it?
Do the entry paperwork first, because it is the only part with a hard deadline: the visa online rather than in the arrivals queue, and the insurance for the place you land first bought before you fly rather than at a desk in arrivals. Do both in the same week, then save the QR code where you can find it without scrolling through email at the immigration desk.
Second, read the safety page properly — not because Zanzibar is dangerous, but because knowing that the real risks are traffic, the tide and opportunistic theft is what stops you worrying about the wrong things. Third, settle the road: send your flight number, and the transfer stops being your problem. Fourth, the courtesies, which take ten minutes to read and change every interaction you have here.
Timing
What changes with the season?
The island's year runs on two named winds, and they decide more about your trip than any forecast will. The Kusi, the south-east trade, owns May through October: drier air, livelier seas with swells peaking June to August on the east coast, and the best underwater visibility of the year — June to October is the classic window. The Kaskazi from the north-east takes November through March: warmer, stiller, with the short rains passing as afternoon theatre rather than all-day grey. Between the two sit the long rains of April and May — the heaviest rainfall of the year, when some lodges close and we honestly recommend other dates.
Ramadan is the one cultural date to check, because it shifts earlier each year. During the month, local staff may be fasting through daylight hours and some village restaurants and shops rest by day or keep shifted hours; hotel kitchens run as normal, so your meals are unaffected. What is asked of you is discretion — eat, drink and smoke out of direct view during daylight, dress a touch more modestly than usual — and what you get in return is the best half of the day, because after sunset the mood lifts entirely and the evening markets fill up. Travelling then is entirely workable if you know about it in advance.
Two more seasonal notes worth planning around. The festive weeks from late December into early January are the busiest and priciest of the year here and want booking three to six months out, as do July through September. And the weather forecast is less useful on this island than almost anywhere else: tropical rain arrives in short heavy bursts and clears, so a week of thunderstorm icons routinely delivers six sunny afternoons. Book the month for its season, not its ten-day forecast — our best-time-to-visit guide works through it month by month.
Time
What time is it in Zanzibar, and will you have jet lag?
Zanzibar keeps East Africa Time, three hours ahead of UTC all year round: Tanzania does not change its clocks. The time-zone database that every phone and laptop relies on (IANA) lists Dar es Salaam, and with it Zanzibar, on UTC+3 with no summer time.
The difference to home therefore changes with your own clocks. From central Europe, Zanzibar is two hours ahead during the European winter and one hour ahead during the European summer; from the UK, three hours ahead in winter and two in summer; from New York, eight hours ahead in the North American winter and seven in summer.
Flights from Europe run mostly from north to south, so jet lag is small: most guests feel the long day of travel, not the time difference. And because the island lies close to the equator, the days stay close to twelve hours long in every month, so you are not trading light for warmth whenever you come.
The chapters
Plan it in four parts
Visa & Entry Requirements
The visa, the one insurance you need for where you land first, and what to have ready at the desk.
Facts checked 3 October 2026
Read the guide →Is Zanzibar Safe?
An honest local answer on today’s official advice: what to relax about and what to watch.
Facts checked 2 October 2026
Read the guide →Taxis & Getting Around
Transfers, taxis, Bolt, dala-dalas, the ferry and real travel times between coasts.
Facts checked 2 October 2026
Read the guide →Culture & Etiquette
What to wear, Ramadan, photos, tipping: how to be a good guest here.
Facts checked 2 October 2026
Read the guide →Tanzania Money Guide
Cash, cards and what a day actually costs.
Facts checked 2 October 2026
Read the guide →Safari Packing List
What to bring for the mainland half — and the beach half.
Facts checked 2 October 2026
Read the guide →Our end of it
What do we handle, and what stays yours?
Visa guidance goes out with your booking confirmation — USD 50 single entry, USD 100 for US citizens, apply online — so the paperwork is settled weeks before you pack. The road is the other half of arrival day: we help you arrange a driver who meets you outside the arrivals hall with a sign showing your name and the hotel's, working with the local travel agencies and taxi companies we have used for years, and your butler holds the flight number so the driver waits when the flight does not cooperate. The car costs USD 60 per car, paid to the driver's company, not to us: in cash to the driver or by card on the company's own machine at the hotel.
What stays yours is the insurance. Buy the one for the place you land first before you fly, and buy your own travel policy alongside it, with medical evacuation cover written into it, because that is the one line that matters on an island where serious cases are flown to Dar es Salaam or Nairobi. Everything else — excursions, the tide table, a driver for a day in Stone Town — is a WhatsApp message away once you are here.
Where these facts come from
Official sources
- Tanzania Immigration Services: visa application guidelines: The Tanzania visa that covers Zanzibar: fees, validity, on arrival or online, and the official eVisa portal.
- Zanzibar Insurance Corporation: mandatory inbound travel insurance: The Zanzibar insurance (ZIC) for visitors who land on Zanzibar first: plans, prices and where to buy it.
- National Insurance Corporation of Tanzania: mandatory inbound travel insurance: The mainland insurance (NIC), mandatory since 1 October 2026, for visitors who land on the mainland first.
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Tanzania entry requirements: The first-port rule (you buy only the insurance of the place you land first), the visa on arrival, yellow fever and customs.
- Zanzibar Airports Authority: Abeid Amani Karume International Airport: where it is (about 5 km south of Zanzibar City) and its arrival and departure boards.
Checked on 2 October 2026. We link to the bodies that set the rules, not to summaries of them. Rules change: check the page itself before you travel.
Good to know
The questions guests ask before they book
Collected from the pre-arrival conversations we have every week, answered the way we answer them on WhatsApp.
What do I actually need to enter Zanzibar?
Three things. A Tanzania tourist visa: USD 50 for up to 90 days, bought online at visa.immigration.go.tz or on arrival (US passport holders pay USD 100 for a multiple-entry visa). One mandatory insurance: You need one policy, for the place you land first: land on Zanzibar first and you buy the Zanzibar insurance (ZIC, USD 44 per adult, USD 22 per child aged 3–17); land on the mainland first and, since 1 October 2026, you buy the mainland’s NIC (USD 44), which also counts on Zanzibar. Either covers up to 92 days. And a passport valid at least 6 months beyond arrival, with one blank page. Checked on the official portals on 2 October 2026.
Which insurance do I need if I come from a safari on the mainland?
The one you bought where you first landed. If you entered the mainland on or after 1 October 2026, you hold the mainland's NIC insurance, and it also counts on Zanzibar. If you fly straight to Zanzibar, you buy the Zanzibar insurance (ZIC). Our entry page has both side by side.
How long is the drive from the airport to the south-east coast?
1h15 to 1h30 by private car to Michamvi Pingwe, about 65 km south-east through the Jozani Forest corridor, not through Stone Town. Treat any promise of 45 minutes with suspicion. The airport itself sits about 5 km south of Zanzibar City, which is why Stone Town pairs well with an arrival or departure day.
Is Zanzibar safe for tourists, including solo women?
Yes, for most visitors who take ordinary precautions: neither the UK nor Germany advises against travel to the island. The real risks are bag snatching and theft, road accidents, tidal currents and malaria. Women travelling alone report verbal harassment at times, so dress modestly in towns and villages and do not walk alone at night. Save 112, the number for police, fire and ambulance.
What should I wear away from the hotel?
Cover your shoulders and knees in villages, Stone Town, markets and on a dala-dala. Zanzibar is roughly 99% Muslim and swimwear is not worn away from the beach; the UK government notes that Zanzibar can fine visitors for clothing it considers inappropriate in public. A lightweight cover-up, linen trousers or a sarong handles almost every situation. At the pool and on the beach, resort wear is fine.
Can I travel during Ramadan?
Yes. Ramadan falls earlier each year, so check the dates for your trip. Local staff may fast through daylight and some village restaurants and shops shift or shorten their hours, while hotel kitchens run as normal. Eat, drink and smoke discreetly in public during the day, dress a touch more modestly, and expect the evenings after sunset to be the liveliest part of the month.
Do I need to hire a car in Zanzibar?
No. Most visitors use a private car with a driver, arranged with their hotel's help; Bolt lists Zanzibar among its cities, taxis are fine for short hops if you agree the fare first, and the dala-dala minibuses are cheap but slow and crowded. To drive yourself you need a local Zanzibar driving permit as well as your licence. For the mainland you fly: Zanzibar to Arusha takes around 1 hour, depending on the airline and the aircraft.
Paperwork done. Now the easy part.
Six rooms on the quiet south-east coast, an honest 1h15 from the airport. How the airport transfer works · the hotel fact sheet. Travelling within the next few weeks? See Last-Minute Zanzibar Deals.
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