This private guided half day tour can begin any time from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM. Meet your well-trained guide and boatman as your board your steam-engine wooden boat. Head to the prestigious island and enjoy the 30-minute journey.  Listen to the history of the island and discover the past centuries through the historical buildings, which have served many purposes over the years including a prison, chapel, and hiding place for slaves after the abolition.  Enjoy a swim or snorkel around the colorful coral rocks and turquoise waters. Play with giant tortoises and you may take photographs with these old precious creatures. If you do not have much experience or confidence in the water, you will be provided with a life jacket. 

Visit Prison Island on a private 3-hour tour, and discover the rich history and beautiful natural surroundings of this location. Meet your guide in Zanzibar, or select the option including hotel pickup, then enjoy the ride to the island on a traditional dhow. Learn how this small island gained its name and explore the place that is now home to more than 50 tortoises, some over 100 years old.   Feed the tortoises and take up-close pictures with them, as you keep a look out for the peacocks and antelope that also live there. After discovering the island and its history, take the opportunity to snorkel in the clear waters off the coast amongst tropical fish and colorful coral. At the end of your tour, return to Zanzibar, where you’ll be dropped off in the city center, or at your hotel.

See the National Museum of Zanzibar (rebuilt in 1883) and the Arab fort while passing along bazaar streets towards the famous Freddie Mercury house. See the old slave market, fruit market, and spice market — don’t miss the classic Zanzibar curved doors decorating the stone town.  After you have explored Stone Town, you’ll have an opportunity to take a short break before heading to Prison Island. Prison Island is also known as Changuu Island, the nickname came from the island being used by some sultans of Zanzibar to detain enslaved people. While you are on this island, you can swim and take pictures with giant tortoises. 

Take a walking tour of Stone Town, visit an organic spice farm, and explore the historic Prison Island all in one day on a full-day, guided tour of Zanzibar. Meander through a labyrinth of chaotic alleyways between towering limestone houses, and interact with Aldabra tortoises. Start your day with a walking tour of Stone Town, the oldest part of Zanzibar City. Relive the grander age of this port city as you stroll through the twisting streets and look at former palaces, Sultan’s Palace, and Arab mansions. Get an insight into the tragic history of slave trading. After your walking tour, drive to the plantation and learn why Zanzibar is known as “Spice Island”. Smell, touch, and even taste some of the crops grown on this Island and find out what the spices were originally used for. Finally, take a boat ride offshore to Prison Island, home to large land tortoises that were imported from Seychelles. Get to touch and feed these creatures living in a sanctuary. Also, learn about the island’s historic use as a prison for rebellious slaves in the 1860s.

Enjoy a complete full day tour to get to know a breathtaking highlights of Zanzibar, experiencing the natural beauty of Zanzibar with all your senses. Save time and optimize a good value for money. Explore Mnemba Island Atoll Zanzibar! Enjoy Snorkeling, swim with playful Dolphins, and relax on a shallow water Sandbank. Discover natural beauty of Prison Island! Witness The giant tortoise which is an iconic Zanzibar species. Visit Jozani Forest where you will interact in close proximity with our beautiful and friendly Red Colobus Monkeys. Visit The Rock Restaurant Zanzibar! One of the most iconic views of Zanzibar! We have exclusive surprise added values, free upgrades, and extras to make sure that this excursion is your special getaway in Zanzibar. Lunch at The Rock Restaurant is extra supplement.

Your Zanzibar adventure begins with a visit to Prison Island, purchased in 1893 by Lloyd Mathews, the British First Minister of Zanzibar at the time. Mathews constructed a prison complex on the island which is still visible today, however no prisoners were ever housed on the island and instead it became a quarantine station for yellow fever sufferers. On the island, spend some time exploring the area and discover the collection of over 50 tortoises that live here, some of which are more than 100 years old. Learn about why the tortoises call the island their home, as well as taking photos and feeding them too. The island is also home to peacocks and small antelope too. Once you’ve explored the island, enjoy the opportunity to cool off from the hot weather with a refreshing dip in the surrounding crystal clear waters. Spend some time snorkeling in the water just off the island and search for colorful tropical fish and vibrant coral reef. After you’ve worked up an appetite from swimming, relax on the sandbank with a delicious lunch including a seafood BBQ, Swahili cuisine, cheese, tropical fruit, and more.

This is a half a day trip where you can visit a historical street constructed from coral stone during the 19th and 20th century. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000. Stone Town is a very lively place where you’ll find a combination of Arabic, African, Indian and European cultures living happily together. As you walk through the labyrinth of streets too narrow for cars to pass, you can see mosques, churches and temples side to side. While you wonder around the city, your guide will take you on a historical and cultural journey through the old slave market, the House of Wonders, the Old Fort, Sultan’s Palace , Darajani market place and Forodhani Gardens . Afterwards we will take a boat from the shores of Stone Town, setting down anchor 5 km away, on the beautiful beach of Prison Island. The prison – which is now owned by a hotel – was built in 1893 and was originally intended to house violent prisoners from the mainland and sick people. You will get the opportunity to visit the tortoise sanctuary, which contains a large colony of giant tortoise imported from the Seychelles in the late 19th century. The average weight of these creatures is 200 kg, and many of them are said to be over 150 years old. There will be a chance to touch the tortoise and take photos. The island is also a home to a colony of beautiful peacocks. For the rest of the trip, you can either enjoy the marine life as you snorkel around the coral that fringes Prison Island or just relax under the warm glow of the sun, until you head back to Stone Town.

The tour begins with a private boat trip to Changuu Island, also known as Prison Island or Turtle Island. The island earned its name after it was purchased in 1893 by the British First Minister of Zanzibar who constructed a prison complex here. Although no prisoners were ever housed on the island, it was eventually used as a quarantine station for yellow fever sufferers, and later became home to more than 50 tortoises who still live there today. On the island, enjoy some free time to explore the beauty of this wild paradise, and get up close to the tortoises that roam freely. Some of the tortoises here are more than 100 years old, and you can even get close enough to feed them and take photos. You can also find peacocks and antelope on the island, then cool off in the crystal clear waters during a snorkel session in search of marine life, colorful fish, and coral reef. After your visit to Changuu Island, head towards one of the most historically prominent and artistic destinations in East Africa, Stone Town. Upon arrival, admire the fascinating architecture of the town, which dates back to the 19th century, and reflects the diverse influences of Swahili, Arab, Persian, Indian and European cultures. Learn about how the town earned its UNESCO World Heritage status, and then visit the Old Slave Market and the City Market. Here you can shop for almost anything whilst soaking up the authentic East African atmosphere and meeting the locals. Once you’ve wandered through the market it’s time to visit the Palace Museum, the local House of Wonder, and of course Freddie Mercury’s former home. There’s also time for a trip to the Peace Memorial and the Natural History Museum before ending the tour with a delicious local lunch at a traditional restaurant.

Come and experience a unique place called Prison Island and learn more about Zanzibar’s history. Prison Island gets its name from the prison built to condemn Zanzibari citizens to be isolated from the island. The prison was previously owned by an Arab to house his rebellious slaves, the prison was never actually used, and the island is now home to a tortoise sanctuary and a hotel. Prison Island is 20 minutes away from Stone Town by boat and has spectacular coral reefs for you to enjoy. Giant tortoises shuffle through the trees, with the infinite patience that old age brings. Originally thought to be from the Comoros Islands and Seychelles, some of these tortoises are thought to be over 100 years old. After the trip to the tortoise sanctuary, you´re left to explore the island. If you´re feeling active, you can follow one of the hiking trails, snorkel in the crystal clear waters in search of colourful tropical fish darting through the reef or soak up some sun on the white beach. Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park, Zanzibar Tanzania Jozani Forest is in the south of the island and is the largest area of mature forest in Zanzibar. A car will take you there, and a guide will walk you around the ancient hardwood forest and mangrove swamps. It is also home to the Red Colobus monkeys, unique to Zanzibar, with less than 2000 remaining in the world. A boardwalk around the mangrove swamp at the end of the tour and a visit to the giant turtle sanctuary is also included.

Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park, Zanzibar Tanzania Jozani Forest is in the south of the island and is the largest area of mature forest in Zanzibar. A car will take you there, and a guide will walk you around the ancient hardwood forest and mangrove swamps. It is also home to the Red Colobus monkeys, unique to Zanzibar, with less than 2000 remaining in the world. A boardwalk around the mangrove swamp at the end of the tour, and a visit to the giant tortoise sanctuary, is also included. Your next spot will be the Spice Farm where you will discover why Zanzibar is called the Spice Island. You will learn all about the fruits, plants and spices planted on the island. Furthermore, you will taste a delicious meal made of these spices.