Rafiki Adventures
Questions, answered
Practical notes for a smoother journey.
The dry seasons from June to October and December to February are lovely for beaches, diving and exploring. Snorkelling at Mnemba is often best from October to March.
Many visitors can obtain a visa on arrival, but requirements depend on nationality — check the current rules before you travel.
Taxis, private transfers and local dala-dalas connect the island. Your accommodation or guide can arrange trusted transport, and ferries and domestic flights link Unguja with Pemba and the mainland.
Jozani is open daily from 07:30 to 17:00 and the wildlife is easiest to see early in the morning. Keep three metres between yourself and any animal, and do not visit if you have cold or flu symptoms — the red colobus have almost no resistance to human illness.
Both the Stone Town city tour and the spice tour usually start at 08:30 and take two to three hours, depending on the places visited. Prison Island runs from about 09:00 to 15:30.
Very much so. Calm beaches, gentle dhow trips, the Butterfly Centre and the Prison Island tortoises make it wonderfully family-friendly, and parasailing is open to anyone from 8 to 80.
Light clothing, reef-safe sunscreen, a light cover-up for Stone Town and villages, comfortable shoes and a reusable water bottle.
The Tanzanian shilling is the local currency, and US dollars are widely accepted for tours and hotels. Carry small notes for markets and village stalls.