Zanzibar Cost: Quick Answer
A trip to Zanzibar costs roughly $50–90 a day for budget travelers, $120–250 a day for mid-range travelers, and $300–600+ a day for luxury travelers, once you're on the ground. Those figures cover accommodation, food, local transport and a share of activities, but not international flights. On top of your daily budget, every foreign visitor also pays a mandatory tourist visa (around $50, or $100 for US citizens) and a mandatory Zanzibar travel insurance policy ($44 per person) before arrival — so budget an extra $95–150 in upfront government fees per person regardless of travel style.
Mandatory Entry Fees Everyone Pays
Before you get to hotels or food, there are a few fixed costs that apply to every visitor, and they catch a lot of first-time travelers off guard because they're easy to miss when comparing hotel prices.
- Tourist visa: around $50 for most nationalities, $100 for US passport holders, applied for online through the Tanzania e-Visa portal or on arrival where available. The visa covers both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar — you don't need a second one.
- Mandatory travel insurance: a $44 per-person policy from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation, required of every non-resident visitor including children, purchased separately from any personal travel insurance you may already have.
- Hotel infrastructure tax: a nightly government levy of roughly $2–5 per person depending on your hotel's star rating, usually added to your bill at check-out rather than shown in the room rate.
Together, these fixed costs add up to roughly $95–150 per person before you've booked a single night's accommodation, so it's worth factoring them in from the start rather than treating them as a surprise add-on.
Getting There: Flights and Ferries
If you're flying internationally, Zanzibar's Abeid Amani Karume International Airport receives direct flights from several European and Middle Eastern hubs, and prices vary widely by season and how far ahead you book. If you're combining Zanzibar with a Tanzania safari or a Kilimanjaro climb, the more relevant number is the short hop from the mainland: a domestic flight from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar costs around $50–120 one way and takes about 30 minutes, while the passenger ferry between the two takes roughly two hours and costs $35–40.
Accommodation Costs
Accommodation is the single biggest lever in any Zanzibar budget, and typically makes up 50–60% of a traveler's daily spend. The gap between a basic guesthouse and a beachfront resort is enormous, which is exactly why it's the first place to adjust if you need to bring your trip in on a tighter budget.
| Style | Typical price/night | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Budget guesthouse | $20–60 | Basic room, fan or AC, shared or simple bathroom, often family-run |
| Mid-range hotel | $100–200 | Beachfront or near-beach, pool, breakfast included, AC |
| Boutique / Stone Town | $150–350 | Restored coral-stone buildings, character rooms, central location |
| Luxury resort | $300–800+ | Private beach frontage, full board options, spa, top-tier service |
Prices swing by season too — expect to pay noticeably more in July–August and over the December holidays, and considerably less during the long rains in April and May. Our best time to visit Zanzibar guide breaks down exactly when rates rise and fall through the year.
Food and Drink Costs
This is where Zanzibar can genuinely surprise budget-conscious travelers, because the gap between local and imported food is much wider than in most destinations. A plate of grilled fish with rice or ugali at a local restaurant costs around $3–6, street food like Zanzibar mix or a Stone Town night-market plate is even less, and a full dinner at a proper restaurant runs $10–30 per person. Where costs climb fast is imported items — wine, spirits, cheese, sparkling water and packaged snacks all carry shipping duty and a resort markup, so a glass of imported wine can cost more than an entire local meal. Sticking mostly to local dishes and hotel breakfasts, with the occasional restaurant dinner, is the easiest way to keep food costs down without feeling like you're missing out.
Getting Around Zanzibar
Local transport is one of the cheapest parts of a Zanzibar trip if you're willing to travel the way locals do. A dala-dala, the shared minibus that runs fixed routes across the island, costs less than a dollar for most journeys. Shared taxis and private transfers cost more but offer door-to-door convenience — a private transfer from the airport to the north coast beaches typically runs $25–40. Renting a scooter or small car gives the most flexibility for exploring beaches and villages independently, usually for $15–30 a day, though be aware that road conditions and driving norms differ from what many visitors are used to.
Tours and Activities Costs
Zanzibar's best-known excursions are priced fairly consistently across operators, and most run from half a day to a full day. As a reference point, here's what our own Zanzibar tours and excursions typically cost per person:
- Sunset dhow cruise — from $75 — Sunset Dhow Cruise
- Dolphin tour at Kizimkazi — from $75 — Dolphin Tour
- Mnemba Atoll snorkeling — from $80 — Mnemba Snorkeling
- Jozani Forest, red colobus monkeys — from $80 — Jozani Forest Tour
- Safari Blue, dhow sailing and sandbank lunch — from $80 — Safari Blue Tour
- Prison Island, giant tortoises and snorkeling — from $100 — Prison Island Tour
- Spice farm tour — from $100 — Spice Farm Tour
- Stone Town historic tour — from $150 — Stone Town Tour
Booking two or three of these across a week-long stay is a realistic way to see the island's highlights without dominating the budget. If you'd rather have it all bundled with hotels and transfers already arranged, our 3-day, 4-day, 5-day and 6-day Zanzibar holiday packages give you a fixed, all-in price to plan around.
Sample Daily Budgets
| Category | Budget | Mid-range | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | $20–60 | $100–200 | $300–800+ |
| Food | $10–20 | $25–50 | $60–100+ |
| Local transport | $3–10 | $15–30 | $40–60 (private) |
| Activities (daily share) | $10–20 | $30–50 | $80–150+ |
| Daily total | $50–90 | $120–250 | $300–600+ |
These totals exclude international flights, the visa and the mandatory insurance, which apply equally regardless of travel style. A useful sanity check: if accommodation is eating far more than half your daily budget, it's usually the easiest place to adjust before cutting back on food or activities.
Ways to Cut Costs Without Cutting the Trip Short
- Travel in the shoulder or rainy season. April–May and November–mid-December bring noticeably lower hotel rates and quieter beaches — see our best time to visit Zanzibar guide for the full seasonal breakdown.
- Eat where locals eat. A meal at a village restaurant or night-market stall costs a fraction of the same dish at a hotel restaurant, with no real difference in quality.
- Use dala-dalas or shared taxis for journeys between towns instead of booking a private transfer for every trip.
- Book tours directly with a licensed local operator rather than through your resort's concierge desk, which typically adds a significant markup on the same excursion.
- Bring key toiletries and sunscreen from home. Imported items carry duty and a resort markup that can triple the price compared with what you'd pay at home.
Combining Zanzibar With a Tanzania Safari
Many travelers extend their trip with a mainland safari, which changes the overall budget picture significantly since safari lodges, park fees and guided game drives are priced differently from beach accommodation. If you're weighing up both legs of the trip together, our Safari & Zanzibar Beach packages combine the two with a single fixed price, and our Tanzania safari tours page has budget, mid-range and luxury options depending on how you want to split spending across the two halves of the trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a trip to Zanzibar cost per day?
Budget travelers spend around $50 to $90 a day, mid-range travelers $120 to $250 a day, and luxury travelers $300 to $600+ a day. These figures cover accommodation, food, local transport and a share of activities, but not international flights or entry fees.
Is Zanzibar expensive compared to other beach destinations?
Zanzibar is more affordable than the Maldives or Seychelles at a similar quality level, but it is pricier than mainland budget destinations because imported goods, air-conditioned resorts and boat excursions carry a real premium over locally produced food and transport.
What mandatory fees does every visitor pay?
Every foreign visitor pays a tourist visa (around $50, or $100 for US passport holders) and a mandatory Zanzibar travel insurance policy ($44 per person), both purchased online before arrival. Most hotels also add a nightly infrastructure tax of roughly $2 to $5 per person.
What is the cheapest way to visit Zanzibar?
Travel during the long rains (April–May) or short rains (November–mid-December) for lower hotel rates, eat at local restaurants instead of hotel menus, use dala-dala shared minibuses or a shared taxi instead of private transfers, and book tours directly with a licensed local operator rather than through a resort concierge.
Prices are approximate as of September 2026 and can shift with the season, exchange rates and government fee changes. Confirm current visa and insurance fees on the official Tanzania e-Visa and Zanzibar Insurance Corporation portals before you travel.