What to Do in Zanzibar for a Week: 7-Day Itinerary

What is there to do in Zanzibar for a week? More than most travellers expect. Seven days gives you time to walk Stone Town's carved-door lanes, eat grilled octopus at a waterfront market at dusk, snorkel over a coral reef and still spend days on beaches on opposite sides of the island. A four-day trip usually means choosing between Stone Town and a beach base; a week lets you have both.

This itinerary follows the routing our team uses when we design custom Zanzibar weeks: two nights in Stone Town, two on the north coast at Nungwi or Kendwa, and two on the east coast at Paje or Jambiani. Each base unlocks different experiences: history, food and day trips in Stone Town; calm water, snorkelling trips and sunset dhow cruises in the north; and the tidal lagoon, kitesurfing and a laid-back café scene in the east.

We can build this week for you, with transfers, excursions and accommodation arranged across all three bases, or you can use it as a plan for travelling independently. If you prefer one base, our 5-day packages keep you in our private villa throughout.

The most effective week uses three bases. Moving between two beach bases means repacking twice, but you experience the full character of the island rather than a single postcard version of it.

The east coast tides are significant: at low tide the sea can pull back several hundred metres, so plan swims around the tide chart your hotel gives you. Our Zanzibar beach guide compares every coast.

• Relaxation first: skip the second beach base, stay four nights at Nungwi or Kendwa, and visit Jozani and the south as day trips
• Adventure travellers: book Safari Blue, Mnemba Atoll and a kitesurfing lesson before you arrive
• Culture lovers: add a third night in Stone Town for a slower look at the slave trade history sites, the Palace Museum and the food scene

Forodhani Gardens is the essential first evening: order Zanzibar pizza (a thin, pan-fried parcel filled with egg, meat or vegetables), urojo soup, mishkaki skewers and sugarcane juice. Lukmaan Restaurant is the local favourite for inexpensive Zanzibari cooking such as pilau, biryani, octopus curry and chapati; the octopus curry is worth ordering. For slower meals, the rooftop and courtyard restaurants of the old town have the atmosphere, and Zanzibar Coffee House is good for daytime coffee and pastries.

Private transfers are the most reliable way to move between bases with luggage. Shared shuttles are cheaper but add stops, and dala-dalas (local minibuses) are slow and usually require a change in Stone Town between the north and east coasts.

For shared excursions, budget roughly $50–$100 per person per activity day. Typical ranges for shared trips:

Accommodation: budget guesthouses and surf lodges in Paje cost about $25–$80 a night, mid-range beachfront hotels $80–$220, and luxury resorts in Nungwi and Kendwa $250–$600 or more. Peak season (June to October and December to January) is noticeably more expensive.

Stone Town tours, the spice farm and Prison Island can usually be arranged on arrival or with 24 hours' notice outside peak season. Mnemba Atoll, Safari Blue and The Rock Restaurant should be booked in advance.

• Mnemba and Safari Blue: at least two to four weeks ahead from June to October and around December–January
• July and August: one to three months ahead is safer
• Confirm each boat trip's departure time against the tide before you pay
• Choose a Mnemba operator that follows the no-anchor and no-coral-contact rules