Recently Viewed
Stone Town and Prison Island: Zanzibar History Tour
4.7
49 Ratings
Stone Town
Explore Stone Town’s rich history, meet giant tortoises on Prison Island, and snorkel in crystal-clear waters at Nakupenda. Enjoy a seafood lunch on a stunning sandbank.
Explore Stone Town’s rich history, meet giant tortoises on Prison Island, and snorkel in crystal-clear waters at Nakupenda. Enjoy a seafood lunch on a stunning sandbank.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Stone Town - This historic district in Zanzibar’s capital is a treasure trove of history and a blend of diverse influences, including British, Portuguese, Indian, Omani, and Swahili. This tour uniquely allows exploration of Zanzibar’s Old City, the oldest historical site in East Africa. Visitors can explore significant landmarks such as the Old…
- Stone Town - This historic district in Zanzibar’s capital is a treasure trove of history and a blend of diverse influences, including British, Portuguese, Indian, Omani, and Swahili. This tour uniquely allows exploration of Zanzibar’s Old City, the oldest historical site in East Africa. Visitors can explore significant landmarks such as the Old Fort, House of Wonders, Old Dispensary, Freddie Mercury House, and many other fascinating historical sites.
- Prison Island - Changuu Private Island - Enjoy a scenic 30-minute boat ride with views of the Stone Town skyline. Upon arrival at Prison Island, a guide will share the island’s history, including its role in the slave trade and its later use as a quarantine hospital. Meet the Giant Tortoises and delve into the island’s intriguing past. This trip promises to be highly engaging.
- Nakupenda Beach Nature Reserve - Nakupenda, an incredible sandbank in the middle of the Indian Ocean, gets its name from its stunning beauty, meaning “I love you” in Swahili. Revel in the clear, crystal waters of the Indian Ocean at this vanishing island. Enjoy snorkeling to experience Zanzibar’s vibrant marine life. The refreshing ocean breeze, tropical fruits, soft drinks, and a seafood platter will ensure an unforgettable experience on Zanzibar Island. This is truly an amazing adventure.
What's Included
- Private transportation
- Tour guide
- Bottled water
- Lunch
- All Fees and Taxes
- Use of snorkeling equipment
- Private transportation
- Tour guide
- Bottled water
- Lunch
- All Fees and Taxes
- Use of snorkeling equipment
What's Not Included
- Alcoholic beverages
- Alcoholic beverages
Additional Information
Travelers will visit the historic district, the capital of Zanzibar, which is rich in history and showcases a blend of British, Portuguese, Indian, Omani, and Swahili influences. This unique tour allows exploration of the oldest historical area in East Africa, as Stone Town was the first town established in the region.
After exploring Stone Town, enjoy a…
Travelers will visit the historic district, the capital of Zanzibar, which is rich in history and showcases a blend of British, Portuguese, Indian, Omani, and Swahili influences. This unique tour allows exploration of the oldest historical area in East Africa, as Stone Town was the first town established in the region.
After exploring Stone Town, enjoy a 30-minute boat ride with a view of the Stone Town skyline. Upon arriving at Prison Island, the guide will share the island’s history and introduce the Giant tortoises.
The journey continues with another 30-minute boat ride to the middle of the Indian Ocean, where an amazing sandbank called Nakupenda, meaning ‘I love you’ in Swahili, awaits. Enjoy the clear, crystal waters of the Indian Ocean, with opportunities for snorkeling to experience Zanzibar’s incredible marine life. Tropical fruits, soft drinks, and a seafood platter lunch will be served.
Location
Stone Town
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
4.7
(49 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Cosmin
Jul 8, 2025
A Perfect Family Day Out with Sultan - My wife, our daughter, and I had a truly memorable experience during the excursion with Sultan. Everything was perfectly planned — from the comfortable transport to the beautiful locations we visited. Sultan was kind, knowledgeable, and made us all feel very welcome. It was a great mix of fun and culture, and we highly recommend this tour to families looking for a special day together.
— Cosmin
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sherpa44914656768
Jul 5, 2025
Insightful - Our guide Nassir was kind and accommodating throughout the trip. Due to the tide, our itinerary took us to Prison Island first with a 25min boat trip… Tortoises and history of Prison island were plentiful. Getting to see the Tortoises in close proximity was a highlight of the trip.
After a 20min boat trip to a busy but picturesque Nakupenda, we relaxed before a seafood platter with chips cooked on the beach at around 1500hrs. Shortly after eating, we left for Stone town. Our guide Nassir, was knowledgable and struck a good balance of history and how it had shaped the town through time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sanasiddique123
Jul 4, 2025
Memorable day in Zanzibar - We did the private tour of Stone Town, Prison Island, and Nakupenda Island and it was easily one of our favourite days in Zanzibar! What really made the experience special was our guide Ramjun. He was incredibly kind, patient, and knowledgeable.
From the moment we met him, he made us feel relaxed and taken care of. At Prison Island, he gave us space to enjoy the giant tortoises and even helped us take a few great pictures. And when we reached Nakupenda Island he made sure we had everything we needed but also gave us privacy to just enjoy the beach, the warm water, and the moment. He walked us through the alleys of Stone Town, sharing interesting historical facts without rushing us. We loved that he let us take our time to explore, take photos, and just soak it all in.
The whole tour felt easy and seamless. Highly recommend this tour and if you can request a guide ask for Ramjun!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
K6657wqlawrencem
Jul 2, 2025
Your through stone town and prison island - Khalid was a great guide through stone town and prison island. The lunch was so good! He was careful to take his time and to customize the tour specifically for us. He also brought us through the local market and showed us all of the different vendors without any pressure. I would recommend to book with him again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nicolechilders96
Jul 2, 2025
GOOD DAY :) - We got picked up on time and driven from Nungwi. Khalid was an awesome guide, he was very knowledgeable in Stone Town during the walking tour. He took lots of photos, and was great about avoiding the tourist crowds but still having us see everything “touristy”. We had a lot of free time at Nakupende for photos and the food was FABULOUS!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mel_m802
Jul 2, 2025
Nice way to spend a day - My sister and I did this tour with "Jun" as our guide. He picked us up on time from our hotel and walked us to where the boats leave from. He communicated well about the plan for the day, that there were bathroom facilities at Prison Island for changing before going to Nakupenda for instance. And even on the boat he would give information.
We went to Prison Island first, saw the museum and the tortoises. Jun also gave us some of the history of the island, the flora and the tortoises.
Next we headed to Nakupenda where we could swim or wander about while Jun and the other guides, drivers and cooks prepared our lunch. And what a lunch it was! First a tray of fresh fruit per group, then a tray of seafood (octopus, prawns, lobster, tuna etc) and potato fries. They also put up a shade with chairs and a cooler with drinks.
After lunch there was the option for more swimming while everything got packed up and then the boat took us back to Stone Town for the walking tour.
The walking tour Jun did a great job of, he gave us information and then the ability to ask questions which he was happy to answer so we could get as much or as little information as we liked. He even stopped to teach us some Swahili. A number of the sites are closed for renovations but that was ok, you still got to hear about them.
We would recommend this tour and Jun as a guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V3596yhbenjaminl
Jun 24, 2025
Wonderful day - Wonderful day spent with Sultan, with a smile and even a final surprise for us.
Excursion to do absolutely!!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maria_r
Jun 20, 2025
Highly Recommended - Jun was an excellent tour guide who put our requirements first at all times. His enthusiasm was infectious and knowledge helped us to understand his culture and country. We would definitely recommend the company to others.
Review provided by Viator
Sparviero36
Jun 30, 2025
All in all positive experience - The visit to Prison Island was all in all quite pleasant. Large centenarian turtles and a building with a square in the middle where slaves were brought. Explanation of the history of Prison Island.
Then off to the port towards Nakupenda. Here we have to open a parenthesis: the tongue of sand exists BUT it is nothing like in the picture. There are a lot of boats that arrive with their guests - including us - and that day there would have been at least 100/150 people, plus the street vendors (could they miss?) and the people who organized the barbecue. All very nice and well organized but you are not alone on the island. The bathroom and 'pleasant but watch out for the currents. Pisces I haven't seen.
After the barbeque return to Stone Town and visit the old town and market. Dead tired we were then escorted back to the hotel.
Our guide was nice but his English was quite rough and many times difficult to understand. All in all positive experience. If I may give one piece of advice: unpack visits on different days. Maybe one day just for Stone Town, and another for the other businesses.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Toytoy91
Jun 25, 2025
Deceived into participating - We did not do our excursion. It was storming from the previous night and through the day of our excursions. We called to cancel and was told by the tour guide that there was no rain in that area, which was not true. They insisted on picking us up from our hotel. A relative of one of my travel partners who lives near Stone Town verified that it had been storming all morning. The rain continued when we arrived. We insisted on being returned to our hotel and asked for a refund. Later, the tour company issued a partial refund. I find this unacceptable. They knew it was raining and were purposely deceptive. It continued to rain for hours. We could not have taken boat rides and snorkel. I do not recommend this excursion due to the local tour company that provides the service and their dishonesty.
Review provided by Viator
