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Private Full-Day Trip: Prison Island, Nakupenda, and Stone Town Exploration in Zanzibar
4.8
15 Ratings
Stone Town
Embark on a private full-day trip in Zanzibar, exploring Prison Island, Nakupenda, and Stone Town. Swim, snorkel, and enjoy a seafood lunch on Nakupenda beach, visit historical buildings in Stone Town, and more!
Embark on a private full-day trip in Zanzibar, exploring Prison Island, Nakupenda, and Stone Town. Swim, snorkel, and enjoy a seafood lunch on Nakupenda beach, visit historical buildings in Stone Town, and more!
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Prison Island - Changuu Private Island - Changuu Island, also known as Prison Island, is located approximately 25 to 30 minutes by wooden motorized boat from Zanzibar’s Stone Town. Visitors can explore the Prison Ruins, constructed by General Lloyd Mathews in 1893, which gave the island its name. The tour includes a visit to the sanctuary of…
- Prison Island - Changuu Private Island - Changuu Island, also known as Prison Island, is located approximately 25 to 30 minutes by wooden motorized boat from Zanzibar’s Stone Town. Visitors can explore the Prison Ruins, constructed by General Lloyd Mathews in 1893, which gave the island its name. The tour includes a visit to the sanctuary of Aldabra’s giant tortoises, gifted by the British Governor of Seychelles to the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1919. During the tour, guests can visit the sanctuary for the land giant tortoises, peacocks, and the prison ruins. The tour also offers the opportunity to swim in the clear, crystal waters, sunbathe, and snorkel at the nearby coral reef before heading to Nakupenda for another adventure.
- Nakupenda Beach Nature Reserve - This sandbar is situated about 55 km from Prison Island, and the tour takes travelers here immediately after visiting Prison Island. Travelers have the chance to explore the sandbar for approximately three hours before returning to Stone Town. At Nakupenda, visitors can swim, sunbathe, take photos, and enjoy a seafood lunch and beach BBQ, accompanied by tropical fruits and non-alcoholic beverages. Travelers will then enjoy a 25-minute boat ride from Nakupenda to Stone Town for their final attraction of the day.
- Stone Town - This guided tour of Zanzibar’s historic city of Stone Town offers a remarkable glimpse into a rich cultural heritage, where Persian, Indian, Arab, and European influences blend with local African traditions and culture. It provides an exclusive opportunity to explore the beauty of historical buildings with diverse architectural designs, carved wooden doors shaded by balconies, loggias, and verandas, highlighting the unique World Heritage Site of Stone Town. The half-day Stone Town Tour includes visits to the Former Slave Market Site, Darajani Town Market, Zanzibar Coffee House, Sultan’s Palace, The Old Arab Fort, House of Wonders, and many other noteworthy sites. Additionally, there is a fantastic opportunity to shop for souvenirs and explore small bazaars, where guests can bargain for great prices with assistance from our highly qualified tour guides.
What's Included
- Private transportation
- Tropical Fruits
- Lunch
- All Fees and Taxes
- Private transportation
- Tropical Fruits
- Lunch
- All Fees and Taxes
What's Not Included
- All other expenses of a personal nature
- All other expenses of a personal nature
Additional Information
This tour combines three distinct attractions in Zanzibar, offering the opportunity to explore them all in one day with the assistance of our skilled and certified guide.
The journey typically begins in Stone Town, where a motorized boat is boarded for a 25-minute trip to Prison Island. Here, visitors can explore the Sanctuary of Giant Land Tortoises,…
This tour combines three distinct attractions in Zanzibar, offering the opportunity to explore them all in one day with the assistance of our skilled and certified guide.
The journey typically begins in Stone Town, where a motorized boat is boarded for a 25-minute trip to Prison Island. Here, visitors can explore the Sanctuary of Giant Land Tortoises, admire peacocks, view the Prison Ruins, and enjoy the beach. Following this, another boat ride of approximately 35 minutes takes guests to Nakupenda, where the majority of the tour is spent. Activities at Nakupenda include swimming, snorkeling, photography, and savoring a seafood lunch with a beach BBQ prepared by our team.
The tour concludes back in Stone Town, the final segment of the journey. Here, participants visit various historical buildings, explore small bazaars, shop for souvenirs, and experience the Stone Town Market, all guided by our professional guide.
Location
Prison Island - Changuu Private Island
Off the Coast From Stone Town, Shangani
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(15 Ratings)
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Janinak552
Sep 13, 2025
Very rewarding, interesting and informative experience - Great experience, super experienced guide Abas told and showed us incredibly much. This trip was very worth it. A lot seen in Stone Town that you wouldn't have experienced otherwise.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
605sharifab
Aug 31, 2024
Just amazing trip - From start to finish our tour was amazing. Our Guide Ali made us feel so welcomed just by the time we met. Same with our Driver, Yussuf who made sure we were safe all the time during the trip. Credits to the boat guy who helped us get to the island safely and made us very delicious food. Recommended 100%.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
250mansaba
Aug 21, 2024
Absolutely Lovely Trip - Our Guide was with us throughout the trip. We started at Stone Town where we got into a private boat to Prison Island to see Giant Tortoises and The ruins and later to Nakupenda Sandbank where we enjoyed the sunbathing, seafood BBQ with tropical fruits and soft drinks. We spent almost two hours at Nakupenda and finally left for Stone Town walking Tour before we took our way back to the hotel. Ali really was a great guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Relax238624
Aug 14, 2024
It's amazing the turtles - The guide was very nice although I had no idea of Spanish, due to lack of understanding did not let us take basic things from the suitcase like a towel...
Lovely turtles, worth going to see; good lunch on nakupenda, a sandbank where hours fly
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sumaiyyaa2020
Jul 15, 2024
GREAT EXPERIENCE - We booked this trip because our friends recommended this sight to us ! And it was fun and exciting , . The food, staffs ,drivers and guides were amazing and they were helpful during the trip . I highly recommend this company for zanzibar holidays
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alisaids2024
Jul 15, 2024
A Lovely Day - My wife and I had a lot of fun in Zanzibar thanks to This Company. Our Guide, Sabrah was professional and punctual. It was a pleasure to have been able to book our activities with them and of course we would recommend them Zanzibar Holidays.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Camper51318919703
Jul 15, 2024
What an amazing Day - I have actually booked two activities with Zanzibar Crystal Tours & Safaris and They both went well Thanks to Issa who arranged everything for us and made sure that We had fun. I would definitely recommend to book with them.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jasonsgordon
Jul 13, 2024
Issa is that Guy - Another tour another day starting late...not my fault. Our ride was promptly at the hotel at the suggested time we were. I stayed in contact with Issa, who informed me that we would pick him up on the way to town..
Once in the car, he immediately gave us a brief introduction on the history of Stone Town that would be continued in the afternoon. We arrived at the Port, and he took care of all of the arrangements, and we were off to Prison Island.
Once on Prison Island, he masterfully guided us through making stops for pictures and information. The wife became smitten with the baby turtles.
We stopped for a flick or two before leaving, then it was off to the Nakupenda. We got to learn more about Issa's entrepreneurial spirit and were impressed by the combination of his vision and youth!
Once at Nakupenda, Issa and the skipper set up the tent, gave us a cooler of cold drinks, and began to prepare lunch! The scenery was absolutely unreal! Back to this lunch, though! It was a seafood spread!
Lunch consisted of BBQ and fried seafood. We had octopus, shrimp, fried tuna, fresh vegetable salad, and lobster! They also had French fries and fresh fruits. We ate as much as we could because it was good and then made our way back to Stone Town.
There Issa took us on a walking tour of Stone Town, the fresh food market, and even gave a lesson on common Swahili phrases!
Issa is outstanding. If you book with this company, request him. You will totally enjoy your experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
556caitlinf
Jun 13, 2024
Amazing day! - Amazing trip! Issa was a fantastic guide. We went to prison island, nukapeneda sandbank and stone town, all so different and fantastic!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adaugo1078
Oct 24, 2025
Lovely beaches, could have been better executed - Gorgeous locations. We started off at home, picked up from our Airbnb by a driver who took us to the beach on stone island, and then we took a wooden boat that didn’t go that fast but was captained well, with our guide, to prison island for a look at tortoises, dik diks, peacocks, a museum, and the beach. There was no swimming or sunbathing at this point contrary to the description. Nakupenda was beautiful, it’s a strip of land without anywhere to change. So swimsuit on from home is good. The water was clear and gorgeous. We had a seafood lunch with calamari, fried fish, and fries, and cut fruit (bananas, watermelon, and pineapple) made by our captain and his first mate after setting up our tent. You can take photos or a video shoot with drones at an extra cost. But we got to swim and snorkel with help from our able captain. Now to the downsides… it was not very well organized I have to say! Our guide was so confused multiple times about who would pay for tickets and took a while to find us at the start. After the excellent guide experience of the Serengeti where we learnt a lot and had our itinerary and steps given to us at various points, the minimalist style to this tour wasn’t appealing… the boat we were taken in had our food in the dirtiest cooler I’ve ever seen with a large cockroach crawling out! There was no snorkeling equipment. Hope this helps!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
