Zanzibar dos and don'ts: what visitors get wrong
Zanzibar is a Muslim island that makes most of its living from beach tourism, and it manages that contradiction with more grace than it gets credit for.
Nobody will confront you. You will not be shouted at for wearing the wrong thing or eating at the wrong moment. That politeness is precisely why so many visitors never learn what they did wrong, and why the same handful of mistakes get repeated every week.
Here is the short version. Cover up away from the beach, do not bring plastic bags into the country, ask before photographing anyone, and greet people before you ask them for anything. The rest of this fills in the detail.
What to wear, and where
This is the one that matters most, and it is not complicated once you understand the geography of it.
On the beach and in hotel grounds
Swimwear is fine. Bikinis are fine. Nobody minds, this is what these places are for.
Topless sunbathing is not acceptable anywhere, including at resorts.
In villages, towns and Stone Town
Shoulders and knees covered, for men and women both.
That means no swimwear walking to the shop, no bare chests on men, no very short shorts, and ideally a top with actual sleeves rather than a strappy vest. A loose shirt and light trousers or a long skirt is comfortable in the heat and entirely unremarkable here.
Stone Town's back streets are residential. People are living their ordinary lives about a metre from you, and walking through in beachwear reads roughly as it would through a residential street at home.
The practical solution
Buy a kanga or a kikoi in the first market you visit. They cost very little, they are a genuine local garment rather than a tourist item, they dry in minutes, and they work as a skirt, a wrap, a shawl, a beach towel or a sunshade.
One in your bag solves the entire problem for the whole trip.
At mosques
Most mosques in Zanzibar are not open to non-Muslim visitors, so the question usually does not arise. Where a mosque does welcome visitors it will be clearly indicated, and the requirements are stricter: heads covered for women, long trousers for men, shoes off, and no visits during prayer times.
Do not bring plastic bags into the country
[EXTERNAL SOURCE NEEDED] Link the official Tanzanian government notice on the plastic bag ban.
This one is a law rather than a courtesy, and it catches travellers at the airport.
Tanzania banned single-use plastic carrier bags in 2019, and the ban is enforced on arrival. Plastic bags found in luggage can be confiscated, and there are penalties on paper for bringing them in.
Practically: repack before you fly, use fabric or mesh bags for anything you would normally bag up, and put liquids in a resealable pouch rather than a carrier bag. Ziplock bags for toiletries are generally treated as an exception, but do not rely on it for anything larger.
Greet before you ask
The expected order of any interaction here is greeting first, business second. Walking up and immediately asking a question is not neutral, it reads as brusque.
Three phrases carry you a long way:
- Habari? (hah-BAH-ree) How are things. The everyday opener. Reply: nzuri, meaning good.
- Shikamoo (shee-KAH-moh) The respectful greeting to anyone noticeably older than you or in a position of authority. The reply is marahaba. Getting this one right is noticed.
- Asante sana (ah-SAHN-tay SAH-nah) Thank you very much.
Give and receive with your right hand. The left is considered unclean, and using it to hand over money or documents reads as an insult even though nobody will say so.
The same principles at a checkpoint or behind the wheel: Zanzibar driving etiquette
Photography: ask, every time
Ask before photographing any person, and accept a refusal without argument. This applies especially to women and to anyone at prayer.
Some people will ask for a small payment in exchange. That is a reasonable transaction, not a scam. Agree it before you take the picture rather than after.
Never photograph police or military personnel, which is illegal in Tanzania, and avoid government buildings and the port.
Drones are tightly restricted and require permits arranged well in advance. Do not assume you can fly one because you managed it somewhere else in the region. Check the current requirements before you pack it.
Ramadan changes the island
During the fasting month, eating, drinking and smoking in public during daylight hours is restricted, and the tourism authorities issue this guidance to visitors and residents every year. Restaurants outside hotel compounds close during the day and reopen after sunset.
You are not expected to fast. You are expected to be discreet: eat inside or in covered places, keep your water bottle out of sight on the street, and do not smoke in public.
Hotels continue to serve their own guests normally in designated areas.
The upside is real. Evenings become social in a way they are not the rest of the year, and if you are invited to an iftar, the meal that breaks the fast at sunset, go. It usually begins with dates and coffee and continues into pilau, biryani and cooked bananas.
Ramadan moves roughly eleven days earlier each year, so check the dates for your travel window rather than assuming.
Alcohol, and where it belongs
Alcohol is available and entirely normal in hotels, resorts and tourist restaurants. It is not part of daily life for most of the population, and it is not sold or consumed openly in villages.
Drink where it is served, do not carry open drinks through residential areas, and do not offer alcohol to local people you have just met.
Affection in public
Hand holding between couples is unremarkable. Kissing, embracing and anything beyond that is not, and it is noticed in a way it would not be at a European beach resort.
Keep it for the hotel.
Laws worth knowing before you travel
[EXTERNAL SOURCE NEEDED] Link your own government's official travel advice page for Tanzania. An official advisory is the right citation here, not a travel guide.
Two points that some guides skirt around, and that you are better off knowing in advance.
Drug offences carry severe penalties, including for quantities that would be treated as minor elsewhere. Cannabis is illegal despite occasional offers on the beach, and those offers are sometimes made by people working with the police.
Same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Tanzania, including Zanzibar, and the penalties on the statute books are severe. Enforcement against tourists is uncommon, but the law exists and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships. LGBTQ+ travellers do visit Zanzibar, and the general advice from travel advisories is discretion in public. We mention this not to discourage anyone but because it is information you are entitled to have before you book rather than after you arrive.
Papasi, bargaining and saying no
In Stone Town you will be approached by touts, known locally as papasi. They offer tours, taxis, spice trips and boat excursions.
Most are simply working. A polite, clear hapana asante, meaning no thank you, without breaking stride, is the normal response and it works. Vagueness invites persistence.
For anything you actually want to buy, bargaining is expected in markets and with street vendors. It is not expected in shops with fixed prices, in restaurants, or with your driver for an agreed fare. Bargain cheerfully, settle at a price you are happy with, and do not grind someone down over the equivalent of fifty cents.
Tipping
Not obligatory, widely appreciated, and modest amounts are normal.
Restaurants: round up or add roughly ten percent where service is not included. Guides and drivers on a full day: a few dollars equivalent per person. Hotel staff: small amounts, given directly.
Tip in Tanzanian shillings where you can. It is more useful to the recipient than foreign notes they have to change.
If you want to give something, give it well
Children may ask you for pens, sweets or money. The instinct to hand something over is a good one and the method matters.
Giving directly to children encourages begging from tourists and keeps some of them out of school. Handing things from a vehicle is worse still, because it teaches children to run towards moving cars.
Give to a school, a clinic or a community organisation instead. Ask your hotel or your rental company which local projects they actually work with, rather than a name you found online.
Leave the reef where it is
Do not buy or collect shells, coral or starfish. Taking coral is illegal and buying shells sustains the collecting.
Use reef-safe sunscreen if you can get it, do not stand on coral while snorkelling, and take your rubbish with you from the beach.
Pole pole
Pole pole means slowly, slowly, and it is the pace of the island rather than an apology for it.
Meals take time. Boats leave when they leave. The person you are waiting for is on their way and has been for a while.
Visitors who fight this have a worse trip than those who plan around it. Build slack into your days, and treat the pace as one of the things you came for rather than an obstacle to what you came for.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to cover up in Zanzibar? On the beach and in hotel grounds, no. Everywhere else, shoulders and knees covered for both men and women. A kanga bought in any market solves this for the whole trip.
Can I wear a bikini in Zanzibar? Yes, on the beach and at your hotel. Not in villages, in Stone Town, or walking to a shop. Topless sunbathing is not acceptable anywhere.
Are plastic bags really banned in Tanzania? Yes. Single-use plastic carrier bags have been banned since 2019 and the ban is enforced on arrival, so repack before you fly.
Can I visit Zanzibar during Ramadan? Yes. Restaurants outside hotels close during daylight and you should avoid eating, drinking or smoking in public until sunset. Hotels serve their guests normally.
Is it rude to bargain in Zanzibar? Not in markets or with street vendors, where it is expected. It is inappropriate in fixed-price shops, in restaurants, or over a fare you already agreed.
Most of this reduces to one habit: treating the island as a place where people live rather than a backdrop. If you are working out how to get around it, our guide to Zanzibar by car covers which sights you can reach yourself and which need a boat.
Rules and enforcement change. If something here no longer matches your experience, tell us and we will correct it.