Zanzibar - Getting There By Air Zanzibar is a relatively new tourist destination, and so not many international airlines fly to the islands. The island is also served by a relatively small airport, which would only make certain size aircraft capable of landing. The four main airlines that have regular weekly flights to Zanzibar are Precision Air (which flies only locally within Tanzania) and Ethiopian Airlines (which flies from America and Europe), Gulf Air, and Kenya Airways (which flies from Europe). The latter is run in Europe by its partner, KLM. Ethopian Airlines usually makes a stop at Addis Ababa, Kenya Airways makes a stop at Nairobi (and Mombasa) where you are transferred to a smaller aircraft. Gulf Air makes a stop at either Muscat or Abudhabi. Most of the other major International airlines fly to Dar-es-salaam International Airport (on mainland Tanzania). If you choose to fly via Dar-es-salaam, it is strongly recommended that at the time of purchasing your ticket, you make arrangements to get a connecting flight to Zanzibar. Air Tanzania, Tanzania's privatized airline has regular flights to Zanzibar. Alternatively, you can catch a speed boat from the seaport in Dar-es-salaam city centre (see below). The latter might be incovenient if you have a lot of luggage with you. A word of advice - it is usually much cheaper to book your flight through your local travel agent rather than directly with the airline. By Sea As Zanzibar is an island, sea travel is also possible. If you fancy a part scenic sea trip (the view of the Stone Town as you approach Zanzibar), board a speedboat/ferry from Dar-es-salaam seaport to Zanzibar. These are the boat companies that operate services from Dar-es-salaam seaport to Zanzibar. The slower boats are much cheaper but as you can see and the journey is considerably longer. Because there are several boats leaving Dar-es-salaam everyday, you will not need to book in advance. All boat companies have their ticket sales offices at the port, so once you get there you can shop around for the best deal. Turning up at the port in the morning or at mid-day is the best time as there is always a boat leaving in the afternoon. Please be aware that the speedboats usually don't have night schedules. If you are not a resident of Tanzania, you are expected to pay your fare in US Dollars. By Land Assuming you want to drive from some other part in Africa, you will have to drive to Dar-es-salaam (mainland Tanzania), where you will have to board a ferry to Zanzibar. A word of advice - it will probably be more convenient if you did not ferry your car across to Zanzibar unless you plan to spend more than a month on the island. Clearing the vehicle from customs might take a while. Click on one of the icons below to find out about Accommodations, Activities and Getting There and Away.