Islands in Zanzibar

Known For : Stone Town Nungwi Beach Jozani Forest

Unguja is the main island, the one most people simply call Zanzibar, and every other island on this list is reached from it. Stone Town on the west coast is the old trading port and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the north around Nungwi and Kendwa has beaches you can swim at all tides, and the east coast has wide tidal flats where the sea goes out a long way. Base yourself here and treat the smaller islands as day trips.

Best Time: June - October, December - February

51 Attractions

Mnemba is a small private island off Unguja's northeast tip, and only guests of the andBeyond lodge can land on it. Everyone else visits the Mnemba Atoll around it, the reef that almost every snorkel and dive boat from Nungwi, Kendwa and Matemwe heads for, with turtles and dolphins seen often. Go early, because by late morning the atoll has a lot of boats on it.

Chumbe Island Coral Park, about 8 km southwest of Stone Town, has been a protected reef sanctuary since the 1990s, which is why its coral is in better shape than most off Unguja. Visits are managed and numbers are kept low, with guided snorkelling over the reef and a forest trail across the island. It is the choice for people who want reef quality over a party boat, and a few eco-bungalows allow an overnight stay.

Prison Island, or Changuu, is about thirty minutes by boat from Stone Town and the easiest half-day trip from the town. It was built as a prison in the 1890s but used as a quarantine station instead, and today most people come for the giant Aldabra tortoises, some of them more than a century old. A small entry fee covers the tortoise sanctuary, and the reef off the jetty is good for a quick snorkel on the way back.

Nakupenda Beach, also known as Zanzibar Sandbank or Nakupenda Island, is a sandbank in the Zanzibar archipelago, just a 15-minute boat ride from Stone Town Harbour. It's celebrated for its beautiful sandbanks, vibrant birdlife, and crystal-clear waters, making it a favourite for beach lovers and romantic couples.

Bawe is a small private island roughly six kilometres west of Stone Town, ringed by coral rock formations and coconut palms, with water shallow and clear enough to snorkel straight off the beach. It is the closest island on this list to Stone Town, which makes it a half-day boat trip rather than somewhere to stay, and it draws fewer people than Prison Island nearby.

Kwale is a small island in Menai Bay, off Unguja's southwest coast, and it is the lunch stop on most Safari Blue dhow trips from Fumba. Boats anchor off a sandbank for snorkelling, then land at Kwale for a seafood lunch, a swim in its tidal lagoon and a look at an ancient baobab. Menai Bay is a conservation area and bottlenose dolphins are often seen on the way out. Book the day trip rather than trying to get here independently.

Pemba Island lies about 50 kilometres northeast of Unguja, the main Zanzibar island, and its chief town is Chake Chake. It is hilly and thickly forested, with mangrove creeks, tidal sandbanks and the clove plantations that earned it the name Green Island. Getting there means a flight or a ferry from Stone Town, which is why it stays far quieter than the beaches of Unguja.

Misali is a small uninhabited island off Pemba's west coast, protected as a marine conservation area, and it is the main day trip for anyone staying on Pemba. Its reef is in far better condition than the busy sites off Unguja, turtles nest on its beaches, and short trails loop through the forest. There is nowhere to stay, so visits run from Pemba with a conservation fee paid on arrival.

Tumbatu lies off Unguja's northwest coast, across a narrow channel from Mkokotoni, and it is the third largest island in the group. It sees very few tourists: there are no hotels, the community is conservative, and visits are best arranged through a local guide, with modest dress expected. What it offers is island life with no tourism layered on top, plus the ruins of old Shirazi settlements.

Uzi is a low, mangrove-fringed island off Unguja's southwest coast, joined to the main island by a causeway that floods at high tide, so the crossing has to be timed. It is farming and fishing country with no resorts, and visitors come on village and mangrove tours, often combined with a boat trip into Menai Bay. It suits travellers who want rural Zanzibar rather than another beach.

Mafia lies south of Zanzibar off the Rufiji delta and is governed from mainland Tanzania rather than Zanzibar, though it is often counted with the archipelago. Most of its southern coast is a marine park with some of the best diving in East Africa, and whale sharks gather off Kilindoni in the months around the turn of the year. Getting there means a short flight from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar, which is why it stays so quiet.

Thanda is a private island resort, and strictly it is not in Zanzibar: it lies off Mafia, inside the Shungimbili Island Marine Reserve south of Dar es Salaam. It is booked as a whole, with a single villa and a handful of suites, so it only works for those staying there and not as a day trip. It appears here because it is often sold alongside Zanzibar honeymoons.