15 Boat Tours in Zanzibar to Plan a Week Around

1.Prison Island and Nakupenda Boat Trip with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 882 reviews · 6 - 9 hours · from $39Our pick

Review of Zanzibar's Prison Island and Nakupenda boat trip, covering tortoises, snorkeling, seafood lunch, timing, cost, and practical tips.

“We had a fantastic time visiting Nakupenda Sandbank and Stone Town Island. The sandbank was stunning—crystal-clear water, soft white sand, and perfect for swimming. We enjoyed a delicious seafood lunch right on the beach, which made the experience even more special.”

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2.Prison Island & Nakupenda Boat Tour with BBQ Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 554 reviews · 3 - 8 hours · from $35

Cruise from Stone Town to Prison Island and Nakupenda Sandbank for giant tortoises, snorkeling, fresh seafood BBQ, and tropical fruit.

“The trip combined the highlights in front of Zanzibar’s stone town and was well organized. The food was very yummy!”

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3.Sunset Dhow Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 141 reviews · 3 - 4 hours · from $19Best value

Cruise Zanzibar’s coast on a traditional dhow with sunset views, live music, fresh fruit, swimming, hotel pickup, and local charm for $19.

“The drummers and staff were the highlight. Was a good length of time on the sea. If you get seasick easily then I do not advise. The provided fruit and drinks. Just wished the people on my boat were happier. Great value for money”

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4.Mnemba island Snorkeling & Boat Tour with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 132 reviews · 6 hours · from $47

Review of Zanzibar’s Mnemba Island snorkeling tour, with coral, fish, tropical fruit, seafood lunch, transport tips, and honest drawbacks.

“The Hotel Pick Up was organized well! We loved the snorkeling spot and saw lots of fish! We also saw some dolphins although we found it quite dangerous to get in the water with them when there were about 20 boats circelling the animals and not paying any attention to the swimmers. We were also a little sad we had our lunch not right at the beach as others did but in a shelter in the back. In general a fun trip though :)”

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5.Sunset party cruise in Zanzibar with BoomBoom Boat

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 76 reviews · 3.5 hours · from $25

BoomBoom Boat’s Zanzibar sunset cruise pairs music, swimming, fruit, and Nungwi and Kendwa views for a lively 3.5-hour evening.

“Loved it! Great fun but chilled party vibes. Met some great people too! Music was awesome!”

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6.Full-Day Blue Lagoon and Sandbank Boat Tour from Zanzibar ( Safari blue)

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 35 reviews · from $100

Review of Zanzibar’s Safari Blue boat tour, with Kwale Island, snorkeling, seafood lunch, sandbanks, costs, timing, and practical advice.

“Completed this tour back in December and had a wonderful day! Sunnia was my guide and she did a really good job explaining the locations we were in and how the day would play out :)”

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7.Sunset Dhow Cruise Experience

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 22 reviews · from $39

Review of Stone Town’s $39 sunset dhow cruise, with coastal views, snacks, music, practical tips, timing concerns, and honest value advice.

“Really enjoyable time, but it lasted about 1 hour and 20 minutes, not 2 hours as advertised”

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8.Kwale Island Dhow Sailing Tour from Zanzibar with Seafood Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 18 reviews · from $98

Review of Zanzibar’s Kwale Island dhow tour, with snorkeling, a tidal sandbank, seafood lunch, practical tips, and honest advice.

“This tour was the best ever. Driver and guide were so friendly and helpful and lots fun. Dhow ride to and from Kwale Island was a beautiful experience. Only 5 of us on the Dhow, served fresh fruit, plenty of time to swim and snorkel and eat so much BBq seafood could not finish all the lobster! Hakuna Matarta :”

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9.Zanzibar Dhow Evening Sunset Cruise Tour at Nungwi&Kendwa Beach

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 16 reviews · from $35

Review of Zanzibar’s $35 Nungwi and Kendwa dhow sunset cruise, with timing, food, music, value, group size, and booking advice.

“We had a fantastic time on the Zanzibar Dhow Evening Sunset Cruise! Our guide, Charisma, made the experience even more memorable by providing delicious snacks and refreshing water throughout the cruise. The highlight was watching thRead more”

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10.Traditional Dhow Sunset Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 5 reviews · 5 hours · from $100

Review of Zanzibar’s $100 Stone Town dhow sunset cruise, with live music, snacks, practical tips, value advice, and honest drawbacks.

“Great experience! Provided snacks, fruit and delicious white wine. The guide will answer any questions you may have. The view during the sunset is incredible, it was very atmospheric, live music and dancing along with a guide as an nicest added bonus ;)”

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11.Sunset Dhow Cruise in Stone town

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · 2 hours · from $62Top rated

Review of Zanzibar’s $62 Stone Town sunset dhow cruise, with traditional music, local snacks, coastal views, practical tips, and honest value advice.

“It was a wonderful trip. our guide, Mussa, was very knowledgeable, and he shared a lot of interesting facts about Zanzibar. We had traditional music performed by violinist. Definitely recommended.”

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12.Dolphin, Snorkeling,Turtles and SunSet Cruise with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · 1 day · from $135

Swim with dolphins and turtles, snorkel near Mnemba Island, enjoy lunch and fruit, then watch sunset from a private dhow in Zanzibar.

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13.Half-Day Yacht Trip experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1 reviews · 6 - 7 hours · from $1,072

Review this private Zanzibar yacht trip with snorkeling, sandbanks, seafood, coastal views, hotel pickup, and practical booking advice.

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14.Sunset Cruise Yacht Trip experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1 reviews · 1.5 hours · from $715

Review of Zanzibar’s private sunset yacht cruise, with coastline views, snacks, hotel pickup, swimming, and practical booking advice.

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15.Private Sunset Cruise with Local Music & Snacks

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1 reviews · 2 hours · from $56

Review of Zanzibar’s private Stone Town sunset dhow cruise, with local music, snacks, hotel pickup, coastal views, pricing, and practical tips.

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