Stone Town & spice tours
Stone Town travel guide: the old town, Forodhani gardens, spice tours and the best way to see it on a Zanzibar holiday or before a safari.
Carved doors, waterfront lanes, and the spice trade
Stone Town is a maze of narrow streets, historic buildings, and bustling markets. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it bears witness to the island’s rich trading history. A walking day here sits naturally after a northern safari, before you continue to the east or north coast beaches. A spice farm visit explains why the islands were once the heart of the spice trade — cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla, with tasting and stories from the plantation.
Highlights
- UNESCO Stone Town — Carved doors, waterfront lanes, and a living Swahili city. Spice farm — A guided plantation visit that makes the spice islands tangible. Fits a rest day — Useful as a stopover or a day between safari and beach.
Wildlife
- Harbour birds along the waterfront. Aldabra giant tortoises on Prison Island, a short boat from town. Red colobus in Jozani if you add the forest on the same day.
Things to do
- Stone Town walking tour — Lanes, palaces, markets, and the waterfront with a guide who can actually read the doors. Spice tour — Plantation tasting and lunch, usually half a day. Prison Island — Boat to the tortoise colony — the name is leftover; it was a yellow-fever isolation site.
Best time to visit
- July–October — Drier, cooler walking weather in the lanes. December–February — Hotter; still a good stopover between safari and beach.