Stone Town Tour

Highlights

• Carved doors and historic architecture
• The market and narrow lanes
• Key landmarks and the waterfront
• Walked at your own pace with a local

From our days out

How the day runs

Times are a guide. Tides, sea conditions and how far your hotel is from the departure point all move them, and we confirm your pick-up the day before.

1. 08:30

   Meet your guide

   • We start at your hotel if you are staying in Stone Town, or at an agreed point on the edge of the old town.
   • Wear shoes you can walk in. The whole tour is on foot, on uneven lanes.

2. 08:45

   The lanes and the carved doors

   • Into the old town, where the streets are too narrow for cars and the buildings are held together by coral stone.
   • Your guide reads the doors for you: which carvings are Indian, which are Omani, and what the brass studs were for.

3. 09:45

   Darajani market

   • The market the island actually shops at. Fish, fruit, spices and a great deal of noise.
   • Busy and close, so we keep together and you keep your bag in front of you.

4. 10:30

   The Old Fort and the waterfront

   • The Omani fort, the Old Dispensary and the seafront buildings that face the harbour.
   • The House of Wonders is seen from the outside. Part of it collapsed in 2020 and it has been closed for restoration since.

5. 11:30

   The cathedral and the slave market site

   • The Anglican cathedral was built on the site of the old slave market, and the holding cells are still underneath it.
   • Our guides tell this part plainly and without drama. It is the heaviest half hour of the walk.

6. 12:30

   Finish in the old town

   • We end in the centre, near lunch and the shops, or drop you back at your hotel.
   • Come back to Forodhani gardens after dark for the evening food stalls. It is a different place at night.

What to bring

• Shoes you can walk in for three hours
• Clothing that covers the shoulders and knees. Stone Town is a Muslim town and it is noticed
• A hat, sunglasses and water
• A small amount of cash for the market
• A camera, and the manners to ask before photographing people

Questions we get asked

Can we go inside the House of Wonders?

No. Part of the building collapsed in December 2020 during restoration work and it has been closed to visitors since. We show it from the outside and tell you what it was.

How long is the walk?

Three to four hours at an easy pace, with stops. It is flat throughout, but the lanes are uneven and there is not much to sit on along the way.

What should I wear?

Cover shoulders and knees. Beachwear is fine on the beach and out of place in the old town, and modest clothing is expected at the cathedral and near the mosques.

Is it worth doing with a guide?

Stone Town is walkable on your own, and you will see doors and lanes. What you will not get is why the doors differ, what the fort was for, or how the trade that built the town worked. That is the tour.

Can we combine it with something else?

It pairs well with a spice farm in the morning, or with Prison Island and the Nakupenda sandbank on the water. We run both as single days.

Is it suitable for children?

Yes, and the market is usually the part they remember. Keep them close in the lanes, and tell us their ages so the guide can adjust how the slave market site is covered.