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Zanzibar Packing List

Zanzibar packing is easy until you add Stone Town's dress code, a 15kg bush-flight limit and a reef that punishes bare feet. This list covers all three.

Travellers with packed backpacks setting out on a trip
Guide
Planning
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In this guide
4sections
  • Beach and town clothing
  • Reef-safe sun care
  • Bush-flight limits

Written and maintained by the Safari Soles planning team in Arusha, Tanzania.

Plan my trip

Pack light, loose and modest:

  1. Two swimsuits minimum; nothing dries fast in humidity.
  2. Cover shoulders and knees away from the beach, it matters here.
  3. Reef shoes for any east-coast stay or reef walk.
  4. Reef-safe sunscreen: several marine areas ban oxybenzone products.
  5. Plug type G (UK three-pin), 230V.
Ask us to plan this

01 / 04

Clothing for beach, town and boats

Beach and hotel

  • Two or three swimsuits
  • Rash vest or UV top: the sun is stronger than it feels
  • Light cotton or linen shirts and dresses
  • Shorts, sarong or kikoy (buy one locally)
  • Flip flops plus one pair of sandals

Stone Town, villages and boats

  • Trousers or a long skirt covering the knees
  • T-shirts or shirts covering the shoulders
  • Light scarf: useful for sun, dust and mosques
  • Closed shoes for walking the alleys
  • A light layer for breezy evening dhow trips

Zanzibar is a predominantly Muslim island. On the resort beach, normal swimwear is fine. Away from it (in Stone Town, in a village, on a spice farm) covered shoulders and knees are expected and noticeably change how you are received. It is not a rule enforced on tourists; it is simply the difference between being a guest and being a nuisance.

02 / 04

The things people wish they had packed

  • Reef shoes: coral, sea urchins and rocky flats at low tide.
  • Reef-safe SPF 50 and a hat. The equatorial UV index is extreme by 10am.
  • Insect repellent with DEET or picaridin: dusk and dawn, every day.
  • Dry bag: small boats can get wet, so a dry bag is useful.
  • Refillable water bottle. Most good hotels have filtered refill stations.
  • Universal adapter (type G) and a power bank for boat days.
  • Small first aid kit: antihistamine, rehydration salts, plasters, antiseptic.
  • Snorkel mask if you are fussy about fit; rentals are variable.
Buy the kikoy there

Do not pack a beach towel or a sarong. A locally woven kikoy costs a few dollars in Stone Town or at any beach market, dries faster than anything you own, and doubles as a shoulder cover for the alleys.

03 / 04

Packing for safari and beach in one bag

  • Light-aircraft baggage is typically 15kg per person in soft bags; hard cases are refused.
  • Pack neutral colours for the parks (khaki, olive, grey) and avoid dark blue and black, which attract tsetse flies.
  • Bring one warm fleece and a windproof layer: Serengeti mornings are cold in an open vehicle.
  • Leave the excess in Arusha and collect it at the end of the trip; every good operator stores luggage.
  • Keep documents, camera gear, medication and one change of clothes in hand luggage.

The practical trick is two bags: a small soft duffel with your safari and beach essentials that stays with you, and a second bag with everything else left in storage. See safari and beach for how the flight between the two halves works.

04 / 04

Interactive Zanzibar packing checklist

Zanzibar packing checklist

Work through the groups below. Anything left unticked in documents or sun protection is worth solving before you fly.

Still a few gaps: sort documents and sun protection first.

0 / 27 sorted

Documents

Sun and sea

Clothing

Health

If a safari comes first

General guidance, not medical advice. Confirm vaccinations and malaria prophylaxis with a travel clinic.

Common mistakes to avoid

The planning slips we see most often. Each one is easy to avoid once you know it.

  1. Packing only beachwear and having nothing suitable for Stone Town.
  2. Bringing standard sunscreen to reefs where oxybenzone products are discouraged or banned.
  3. Arriving at a bush airstrip with a hard suitcase over the weight limit.
  4. Forgetting reef shoes and cutting your feet on the first low-tide walk.
  5. Packing heavy clothes: humidity means nothing dries and nothing is needed.
Safari Soles planning note

Pack for two climates in one small bag: a beach where less is more, and a town where covering up matters. Everything else (towels, sarongs, souvenirs) is better and cheaper bought on the island. Check it against your Zanzibar entry requirements and the best time to visit Zanzibar, both linked from our complete Zanzibar guide. If you are still shaping the trip itself, our Zanzibar holiday packages show what a typical week includes.

Questions worth asking any operator

Copy these questions into your enquiry: to us or to any operator you are comparing. The answers tell you more about a Zanzibar trip than any brochure.

  1. What is the baggage limit on our internal flights?
  2. Where can we store excess luggage during the safari?
  3. Does the hotel provide beach towels and snorkel gear?
  4. Is there a laundry service, and how long does it take?
  5. Are there filtered water refill stations at the hotel?

What Safari Soles puts in writing

Nothing important about your trip should be discovered at check-in. Each of these is put in writing for your itinerary before you pay a deposit.

  • Which beach area, and why that one for our dates?

    Tide, wind and atmosphere vary hugely by coast; the reason should match how you want to spend your days.

  • What exactly is included in the board basis?

    Half board, full board and all-inclusive mean different things island to island: drinks and excursions are often outside.

  • How are transfers and internal flights handled?

    Baggage limits, drive times and connection buffers decide whether a safari-to-beach day is calm or stressful.

  • Which excursions are booked, and at what price?

    Pre-booked trips at fixed prices avoid beach-side selling and surprise costs mid-holiday.

  • What is the payment, change and cancellation policy?

    Island hotels have their own terms; you should see them in writing before you pay a deposit.

How we run a Zanzibar trip

Safari Soles is a Tanzania-based team. This is what we do for every traveller who books an island stay with us, in plain language.

  • One planner, start to finish

    The person who plans your route is the person who answers on the day you travel. No handover to an unnamed inbox.

  • Itemised quotes

    Accommodation, transfers, flights, excursions and fees are listed separately so you can see exactly what you are paying for.

  • Safari and beach as one trip

    We plan the parks, the internal flight and the island days together, which is where most Zanzibar itineraries go wrong.

  • Honest seasonal advice

    If your dates fall in the long rains or a tide window that will not suit you, we say so and suggest an alternative.

Planned by people who live the route

This hub exists because the same Zanzibar questions come up on every safari enquiry we answer.

  • Locally based in Tanzania
  • Safari and island specialists
  • Licensed and insured operator
  • Fast, direct answers
Where these facts come from (2)

Related Safari Soles guides

Continue with the guides travellers usually read next.

Zanzibar Travel Guide Best beaches in Zanzibar Safari and beach Zanzibar honeymoon Stone Town Contact a local Safari Soles planner

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Light, loose clothing on the beach and covered shoulders and knees in Stone Town, villages and spice farms. Beachwear is for the beach only.

One bag, two climates, no surprises

Book with us and you get this list tailored to your itinerary, including baggage limits for every flight and what to leave in storage.

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