Zanzibar: Spice Tour, Stone Town & Prison Island Small Group

4.62

(132 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest, the morning started with me nearly missing the pickup — my sandal strap snapped right as our guide arrived outside the hotel in Stone Town. He just grinned and waited while I did a quick fix (I think he’s seen it all). The streets were already humming, kids darting between stalls, and that first hit of cardamom drifting from somewhere nearby. We set off for the spice farm first; I’d thought it’d be touristy but it was actually… kind of magical? Our guide, Asha, handed us cinnamon bark to chew (it tingled) and laughed when I tried to guess what nutmeg looked like on the tree. I got it wrong.

Stone Town itself felt like a maze someone drew while half-asleep — doors carved deep, walls sun-bleached and full of stories. Asha pointed out the Old Fort where women used to gather for performances; you could almost hear echoes if you paused long enough. Outside the House of Wonders (still under renovation), she told us about the first elevator in East Africa — I didn’t expect that detail. At the old slave market site, everyone grew quiet. The air felt heavier down in those chambers; you could smell damp stone and something else I can’t name. Even now I get goosebumps thinking about it.

We passed Freddie Mercury’s childhood house (someone sang a line from “Don’t Stop Me Now,” which made Asha roll her eyes affectionately), then wandered into People’s Palace where faded photos of sultans stared back at us. Lunch was simple but perfect — rice with coconut sauce and fresh mango juice right at the farm. It tasted like sunshine after all that history.

The boat ride out to Prison Island was choppy — someone lost their hat to the wind and just shrugged. Changuu Island itself is quieter than I expected except for the giant Aldabra tortoises shuffling around like old men at a park bench. One of them blinked at me so slowly it felt like time stopped for a second. We walked under tangled trees, poked around the old prison ruins, then just sat by blue water doing nothing much at all for a while. Sometimes that’s my favorite part.