Stone Town & Prison Island: Turtles & Snorkeling

Experience the captivating Zanzibar Historical Tour, exploring Stone Town’s mysteries, meeting big turtles on Prison Island, and relaxing on the stunning Vanishing Nakupenda Island.

Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Zanzibar - Begin your day with a trip to Nakupenda Island (Sandbank), where you can unwind on a secluded beach that vanishes under high tide twice daily. Sail on a traditional Swahili dhow and savor ginger-spiced tea, refreshing juices, homemade bread, and tropical fruits during the journey. Snorkel in the pristine waters of the Indian Ocean, and…
What's Included
  • Old Dispensary, Former Slave Market & Lunch
  • Stone Town Tour, House of Wonders & Tippu Tip House
  • Africa House, Old Fort, Palace Museum
  • Visit the Prison Island & Snorkeling using Snorkeling Equipment
  • Hotel Pick up & Drop off by an Air Conditioned vehicle (if Option selected)
  • Visit Nakupenda Island With a Professional Guide
What's Not Included
  • Prison Island & Slave market With Nakupenda entry fees 27 $ per person (paid in cash)
  • Transfer from outside Stone Town city will be Extra charged
Additional Information

Start your day at Nakupenda Island (Sandbank), where you can unwind on a beach that disappears with the tide. Set sail on a traditional Swahili dhow, relishing ginger-spiced tea, refreshing juices, homemade bread, and tropical fruits. Dive into the crystal-clear waters for snorkeling and enjoy local fruits, snacks, and a Swahili cuisine lunch buffet…

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.0
(27 Ratings)
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Yann_a
Aug 11, 2025
Great experience - Nakupenda is the place to be if you want to see Zanzibar in its pure sand moment. Story of prison island is stunning but the site does not relay this history too much. Stone Town is a spécial place to feel the zanzibar heart.
Review provided by Viator
Mariaathanasia_k
Aug 10, 2025
Great tour of stone town highlights - The tour of stone town is really nice we were able to walk through the narrow streets and also see a part of the history however there where some places that we missed i.e some museums and the slave market entrance but we didn't know before hand. The boat to nakupenda and prison island has super small engine so be prepared to move really slow especially if it windy but the place is awesome and really worth the visit. The prison island has some giant tortoises ( really cool ) but we were disappointed about the slave history places which have been turned to all day bars. Again that not the tour's fault. In conclusion is a really good tour worth the money and the lunch with the seafood is was awesome and huge portions i would highly recommend it
Review provided by Viator
Abdulmalek_a
Jun 14, 2025
Great experience - Great experience overall, unfortunately the weather was very rainy. Otherwise everything was good the guide was perfect and the food was delicious.
Review provided by Viator
Mame_n
May 24, 2025
It was so much fun and... - It was so much fun and the tour guides are amazing and very attentive to all of your needs and will answer all of your questions. I loved the boat ride to nakupenda (scary at first) and the grilled seafood for lunch was to die for. Enjoyed the prison island tour and the history lesson as well and really appreciated the tour of stone town and getting to learn all the history behind the buildings.
Review provided by Viator
Angela
May 5, 2025
Great experience!! - We had a great experience, our tour guide Cappuccino was hospitable and friendly. He took us to all of the sites and ensured we got to see everything we wanted to see. He made our experience very enjoyable and would highly recommend this experience because of him.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eden_d
Aug 2, 2025
Beautiful but price not specified - Nothing to say for Prison Island and Nakupenda it was breathtakingly beautiful the meal was good, but the visit to Stone Town disappointed me enormously because in addition to adding $26 per person on arrival to visit Prison Island, during the city visit you still have to add $5 per person to see Freddy Mercury’s house, and in addition $6 per person to visit the slave market. So in the end, the activity costs you much more than the price indicated on Viator.
Review provided by Viator
Claire_s
Aug 11, 2025
The organisation of the... - The organisation of the trip is very chaotic. You don’t really know timings or order of events which makes it quite difficult. We waited at the old fort for nearly an hour at the start and at the end of the day were very late for our taxi. That said, we really enjoyed nakupenda. The chaps on the boat made a lovely lunch, and the snorkelling was very good. You don’t need long at prison island, not much more to see than the tortoises although the museum is interesting.
Review provided by Viator
Haya_s
Aug 6, 2025
A day in the indian ocean - There were time delays, insufficient food for the group. The guides were kind however. Was expecting a great tour, we ddnt have enoughtime on Nakupenda due to bad timing.
Review provided by Viator
Andreane_j
Jul 23, 2025
A living nightmare - The worst day I've ever had in my year long experience of travelling around the world. First, I was notified that I would get picked up at 9:50am the day before. At 8:56am the morning of, I got a notification on whatsapp telling me I needed to be ready for pickup at my hostel. Since I was having coffee and breakfast in town I rushed back to my hostel without finishing my coffee. And I waited there until 10:17am, where I was told to go outside and look for my driver. My driver drove me around and dropped me less than 3 min away from my hostel. Had I been told beforehand, I would have just walked there. We then waited there (apparently for 2 more people) until 11:45am and only got on the water at around 12:00. WHEN IT SAYS ON THE WEBSITE, THE ACTIVITY STARTS AT 7:30am. We first stopped at Prison Island, where we got to see the turtoises who live in overcrowded enclosures. Everyone was petting them on the face, the kids were climbing on them and the so-called guides were encouraging us to do so. There were signs at the entrance saying "no feeding and petting the animals allowed". We then left for Nakupenda island at around 2:45pm, everyone was starving on the boat. We were dropped there with absolutely no instruction. I went to ask the people who were installing some sort or tent. They told me "food will be ready in an hour". So I asked if we could go snorkelling now as promised on the website but they said they forgot the snorkelling equipment. So we had lunch at around 4pm. I had texted and written on the website in advance that I was vegetarian to make sure I could eat the food included in the price. I was told there was no problem. To my surprise, there was nothing prepared for vegetarians (and I wasn't the only one) but french fries. So I had a lunch of just french fries and a few fruits for desert. Right before leaving, the island was starting to disappear underwater, it was getting really windy and cold. I was told the snorkelling equipment was finally here and maybe I could go now but to be quick and do it in front of the boats. I refused. We then got back to Stone Town where we were supposed to get a walking tour to some nice historic and interesting areas regarding the complicated history of the Island. Instead, we got dropped in a tourist shops area. Lost a some members of the group a few times, then walked back to our hostels. I would say the experience I had on this day was not even worth 10 cents. I immediately asked for a refund and graciously got 10 USD of the 55 USD I paid back. This is theft and the company isn't done hearing from me.
Review provided by Viator
Meloogyz
Jul 14, 2025
Terrible experience .. communication and quality of service is the lowest I ever had - Terrible is a polite word to describe-no over exaggeration- the WORST experience I had with so much stress and unprofessionalism from that supplier. 1st of all, this company isn't in Tanzania -that is the key for their no care- and the Whatsapp messages prove they are in Egypt and also their official website state the same, these Egyptian basterds are staying in some village in Egypt and has nothing to do with Zanzibar and they run things with low profile unauthorized individuals on ground . Let me explain what happen to me so others can be aware .. I was never informed before buying the trip that I have to accept a 24 note from the supplier about the time and location of the meeting. Then, 24 hours before the trip they texted me from an egyptian number on whatsapp to wait till night 22:00 local time—less than 8 hours before the tour start— to inform me where and when. I had no confirmed details regarding the meeting time or location till 22:00 the night before the trip. This delay caused significant issues for me in arranging hotel check-out and transportation on the island. It’s particularly troubling that the supplier was uncooperative, possibly due to my decision not to book transportation through them. I was left uncertain and unable to make alternative plans. As I mentioned, it was 22:00 and it was impossible to plan anything at this time especially not knowing where and when I should be travelling from my side of the Island to an unknown location at an unknown time !!  Given that cancellation is not allowed within 24 hours, I felt cornered and unsupported—something I did not expect to be at the mercy of poor supplier communication. However, It didn't end here .. I finally received a message after many follow up messages from my side which are all replied with the same message from the Class Travel size to "wait .. we will inform you when and where" .. received a generic location and 9:30am as time !! I could finally make it to the meeting point after arranging a transportation who charged me more for short note .. reached the meeting point and waited for 3 hours and tour guide never appeared!! Class Travel didn't help, and I had to wait with a disappointed family till a guide appeared claiming he will be our guide to 1st Island before he will hand us to someone else for next stop !!I Realized while waiting that my private tour is actually shared and that the others had similar problems with lack of info and last minute updates . What made it worse is the guided tour quality ! The boat and food and timing .. to a guide taking us in his friends shops in Stone Town and he latterly stand in front of church which he don't know it's name or who is the statue in front of it .. all what he kept saying is that they used to put slaves here .. they cut slaves head here .. they sold slaves there .. a man with History knowledge like me definitely didn't appreciate all his lies and stopped him and ended our suffer .... it was waste of money and time .. stressful . May God punishment teach them a lesson
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $42
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).