Stone Town in 2 days
The maze on day one, spices and Prison Island on day two — two days before the beach, because after a week on the sand nobody comes back to town.
- How long
- 2 nights, before the beach
- Getting around
- On foot in town
- Rhythm
- The town in the morning while it is cool
Stone Town is done in two nights, and at the start of the trip: the town is a maze you deliberately get lost in on the first day, while the second goes to a spice farm and the island with the tortoises. Both evenings end at Forodhani, by the grills on the seafront.
The maze, the slave market, sunset from a roof
Breakfast on a roof and straight into the maze: streets two metres wide, carved doors with brass spikes, children playing football on every corner. No map — the town is small and every street comes out at the sea.
The former slave market and the Anglican cathedral built on it: the cellar where seventy people at a time were held, the altar exactly where the whipping post stood, and a museum that explains the trade the island lived off. An hour and a half, with a guide.
The Stone Town museum in the Old Fort, or the House of Wonders if it has reopened after the works — check at the door, because the date has moved more than once.
Lunch in town: pilau or biryani in a local place, not in a hotel.
Freddie Mercury's house from outside and the Darajani market before closing, when fish is sold by the kilo and prices drop.
Sunset from a roof terrace — Emerson or any hotel bar; the cocktail is expensive, the view over the roofs and the sea is nowhere else.
Forodhani: fish stalls, Zanzibar pizza and cane juice. The price is asked before ordering; you sit on the wall by the water.
Spices in the morning, Prison Island in the afternoon
A spice farm outside town, half a day: cloves, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg on the tree, everything to smell and taste, and a farm lunch that is the best Swahili meal around.
Back to town, a pause while the sun is at its worst.
A boat to Prison Island, half an hour: giant tortoises over a hundred years old, a prison never used as one, and a reef for a mask. Entry is paid separately from the boat; the boat price is agreed per vessel.
Back; the last hour in the souks for spices and cloth, because tomorrow is the beach.
Dinner in town — this time in a restaurant with tables, not at Forodhani.
Two things that wreck the plan
- Stone Town after the beach. After a week in Nungwi nobody goes back for two days in a hot bazaar — the town goes first, the beach second.
- A guide from the street outside the cathedral. An official guide has a badge and an hourly rate; the one who intercepts you leads to his cousin's spice shop.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How many days does Stone Town need?
Two, and before the beach: the town on the first day, spices and Prison Island on the second. After a week on the sand in Nungwi few people come back to town, so it is not left for the end.
Is Stone Town safe in the evening?
It is, with the usual care: Forodhani and the main streets are full of people until late. Unlit side alleys are not walked alone, and a bag is carried in front — as in any bazaar.
Ready for Stone Town?
Where to next
Where to stay in Stone Town
→Shangani by the sea, Malindi by the market, or a house with a roof terrace in the middle of the maze — in…
Nungwi · 50 km
→The northern tip of Zanzibar, the one stretch of coast where you can swim at every tide — and a dhow-building village that became the densest hotel strip on the island
How well does Stone Town suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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