After living here in Zanzibar on and off over the past 2.5 years, I’ve learned a lot. A lot about local culture and customs, and what they find disrespectful from tourists visiting their home.
I’ve also done almost all of the popular activities and tours, and some are really not worth spending your money on - especially those that are exploiting animals and causing them stress and harm.
Continue reading for all of my tips on what NOT to do on your trip to Zanzibar…and the activities and tours to avoid.
I also have in depth guides of locations in Zanzibar - check them out for hotel and restaurant recommendations!
CHILDREN ARE NOT PHOTO PROPS
I wanted to start off strong with something I feel extremely passionate about.
Local people, especially children, are not photo props.
Taking photos of children in poverty without their consent or without appropriate context can be harmful for several reasons.
First of all, I want you to seriously think about how you would feel if a foreigner came to visit your city or town, and started photographing or taking videos of your children or yourself while out playing at the park, walking to school, getting your groceries, or while you carry your groceries home / perform daily tasks. It is no different than yourself visiting a country like Tanzania, and taking photos and videos of local people living their daily life solely because they are a different ethnicity and from a different country than you are.
Here are more reasons why this is harmful:
Exploitation: Photographing children in poverty without their consent and without providing them with proper context can lead to exploitation. These photos can be used for commercial purposes or for fundraising campaigns without benefiting the children who are the subject of the photos.
Dignity and privacy: Children living in poverty are entitled to dignity and privacy, just like any other child. Taking photos of them without their consent can be seen as an invasion of their privacy and a violation of their dignity.
Stigma: Photographs of impoverished children can reinforce stereotypes and stigmas about poverty, which can further marginalize and harm these children. It can also contribute to a narrative that perpetuates the idea that children in poverty are helpless and in need of rescue, rather than recognizing them as individuals with agency and strengths.
Cultural sensitivity: Photographing children in poverty without sensitivity to cultural practices and values can perpetuate harmful narratives and reinforce power imbalances. Photographers should be mindful of cultural norms and practices when photographing children from different backgrounds.
While photography can be powerful when trying to raise awareness, promote social change, or even just create art; please remember the potential harms and risk that you’re putting on local people and children living in poverty.
If you do not know their names or have tried to get to know the person, you should not be taken their photo to share publicly anywhere.
If you do not have their parents consent (translated, so you know they fully understand) to photograph, and distribute images publicly online to your disclosed audience - do NOT take a photo of a child.
Let’s empower the children here, talk to them, teach them, learn from them - without exploiting them and teaching them that they an attraction to foreigners based on their appearance and financial status.
Currency & Exchanging
The currency used in Zanzibar is TSH - Tanzanian Shillings. You will not be able to find TSH in any country other than Tanzania, so you will need to exchange once you reach the country, either mainland or in Zanzibar.
In Zanzibar, the best currency to bring is USD or Euros. Prices on menus will either be in TSH or USD. Many places accept credit or debit cards, although they charge an average of 3%-5% on top for using card.
You can get buy spending in USD, although for tips and smaller items I would use TSH. It's much easier, especially considering many shops and restaurants don't have much change. Things like buying gas if you're renting a car can only be paid in cash, and only TSH are accepted.
If you're bringing USD - the bills cannot be older than 2009, or they will not be accepted anywhere in Tanzania - even for exchanging.
How to Dress in Zanzibar
Zanzibar is predominately Muslim, taking up about 99% of the island’s population; so it is important to respect local culture with how you dress.
For Women
You are not expected to cover your hair or anything like that.
The idea for women is to dress modestly when outside of your resort/beach.
This means longer dresses, flowy linen pants or skirts, and tops that are not revealing or cropped. There is no specific rule about knees and shoulders being exposed, but if you’d like to be respectful, it’s best to cover them.
Personally, I wear a lot of maxi dresses or long breathable pants. These are the perfect kind of outfits for the hot and humid climate here. I don’t worry too much about my shoulders being out if the top is spaghetti straps, but I am mindful not to show cleavage or wear anything cropped so my stomach is showing.
For Men
Keep your shirt on if you’re not by the pool or beach. It’s really that simple. Don’t walk shirtless through the streets, village, or Stone Town.
Keep in mind that certain tours - such as visiting any mosques or other religious sites, schools, etc - will require you to cover your knees and shoulders.
At the beach or within your hotel/resort - wear whatever you are comfortable in! You’ll see people on the beach wearing micro-bikinis, and you can wear shorts and a crop top around the resort you’re staying at no problem.
It’s best for everyone to avoid wearing clothes with offensive, crude, or political slogans and images on them.
I have heard of tourists being fined for not following dress customs, although I don't know anyone who's been fined personally.
Giving Money to Local Children
This is something else I feel very strongly about.
While in Zanzibar, you may come across children begging for money or trying to sell you things, like shells from the beach.
Although they are adorable, and when they tell you they need money for food it will pull at your heartstrings and make you want to open your wallet, I advise against this.
Children should be in school, not trying to sell you things or beg for money. The ones who are taking them out of school to do so, are typically unfortunately their own parents. The only reason their parents will choose to send them out begging instead of to get an education - is because it's working, and people have given them money. By not giving them money and learning their names and chatting instead, you can help protect their self-worth and identity, and also create change within their family structure that if people stop giving them money, there is no reason to be out begging, so school is the next best option for financial success in their future.
Why it's harmful to give money to any local person begging or asking:
Dependency: Giving money and gifts to people in poverty can create a dependency on charity and discourage them from finding sustainable ways to improve their economic situation.
Inflation: Giving money can also contribute to inflation and increase the cost of goods and services for everyone in the community.
Exploitation: Giving money or gifts directly to individuals can make them vulnerable to exploitation by criminals or traffickers.
Distortion of local markets: Giving free or heavily subsidized goods can distort local markets and undermine local economies.
Inadequate help: Giving money or gifts may not address the root causes of poverty and can provide only temporary relief.
Lack of accountability: Giving money or gifts directly to individuals may not have any accountability mechanism to ensure that the money is used for its intended purpose.
Children’s rights: Giving money or gifts directly to children can be harmful as they are not always capable of making responsible financial decisions and the money may not be used in the best way to meet their needs.
Lack of local ownership: Giving aid without involving or consulting local communities can lack of local ownership and sustainability.
Negative impact on local economy: Giving aid without considering the impact on local economy can have negative impact on local businesses and market.
It's important to note that giving money and gifts to people in poverty is not always harmful and in some cases it can be a good way to provide immediate help. However, it is better to give money to organizations that are working to address the root causes of poverty and provide sustainable solutions such as education, job training, and micro-finance programs. These programs can help lift entire communities out of poverty, rather than just providing temporary relief.
Be Weary of the "Beach Boys"
The “beach boys” in Zanzibar refers to the guys on the beach who will start chatting and end up following you on your entire beach walk trying to sell you a tour or an item. In worst cases, they will try to sell you drugs.
The beach boys are known as a huge problem in Zanzibar, and authorities do take action when reported. Unfortunately, there can be so many of them at busy tourist times, it’s hard for authorities to monitor this. Hopefully regulations will be set in the near future.
If you want to chat to the beach boys, that’s totally your call! They are usually very friendly, funny and entertaining. If they are making you uncomfortable, say no thank you (“hapana asante” in Swahili) and then start to fully ignore them. If they don’t find a new tourist to start talking to, or continue to follow you, walk to the nearest hotel or restaurant that has a security guard.
Buying items from the beach boys will likely be way more expensive that they should be, and not authentically handmade. But that is your choice!
I will warn you about booking tours through anyone you meet while walking through town or on the beach though. These might be reliable, legitimate tour operators, but under no circumstances should you pay in advance for a tour. If you pay in advance, your number will likely be blocked minutes later, and you’ll never hear from this person again, let alone get your money back.
Note: The Maasai you see on the beach, are not Maasai. These are beach boys dressed up like Maasai, so you will want to take a photo with them, and then they can charge you for this. The Maasai people live in mainland Tanzania, and their lifestyle is strict and in no way similar to the way the beach boys act. For example, authentic Maasai do not drink alcohol.
Don't Leave Your Valuables Around
This goes for inside/outside your hotel room, by the pool, on the beach, and especially in the car.
Although crime rates in Zanzibar are generally very low, many people are living close to poverty levels, which leads them to become opportunistic. They may come in to work in housekeeping with no intention of stealing from any of the rooms, but when they see cash laying on the bedside table, may start to think of all the ways they could use that to improve their life - and figure that taking this money and helping themselves is worth finding a new job over.
Do not leave anything in your vehicle. Nothing.
This also goes for talking about or showing off your financial status, it may not be their intention, but also don’t give it an invitation.
Activities and Tours to Avoid in Zanzibar
With Alternatives!
Mnemba Island
Mnemba Island is probably one of the most popular tours that tourists do when visiting Zanzibar - keep reading to see why I recommend to avoid it.
The Mnemba Island tour consists of taking a boat over to a sandbank by, not on, Mnemba Island. Mnemba is infamous for its privacy, there is one resort that owns and inhabits the island, andBeyond, and unless you are a guest staying there, you are not allowed to step foot on the island. There are rumours from local people that Bill Gates owns it, but this has never been confirmed.
At the sandbank you can swim, chill, and even head a bit farther out to go snorkelling amongst hundreds of tropical fish. Your guide will bring you fresh cut fruit to snack on and bottled water to drink.
The highlight and attraction of this tour though, is swimming with dolphins. It’s called a “dolphin tour” just as much as it’s referred to as the “Mnemba island tour”.
But Zanzibar has 0 regulation on its dolphin tourism, and guides of this tour are not educated on ethical animal practices, and keeping the dolphins safe.
Your guides are honestly just trying to do their best by their guests and get themselves a good review. They want their guests to see the dolphins, since they paid for a tour that told them they might see and swim with dolphins. But many people who go on this tour aren’t prepared for the chaos when the dolphins are spotted.
Boat drivers will call each other, yell over to each other that they spotted dolphins, and all of the other boats then rev up their engines and follow so that their guests get a glimpse of these animals as well.
Dozens of boats race towards to the dolphins, literally chasing them, and then crowd around them so they’re in the middle. Some tourists are jumping in the water with their go-pros trying to get a video, others are being knocked around by other boats hitting the boat they’re in, boat motors are revving everywhere - all around the tourists in the water and around the dolphins. It’s an experience that will leave a sinking feeling in your gut and regret for paying to do this.
When my parents came to visit me I decided to try out this tour for the first time, and we all left feeling icky from what we experienced and supported.
Below is an example of what I mean when everyone starts to crowd around the dolphins.
Instead - book an ethical dolphin tour!
Read more about how to book an ethical dolphin tour, and other activities you can’t miss on your trip to Zanzibar in my post on Bucket List Ideas.
Swimming with Turtles
There are a few turtle aquariums on the island that offer the "swimming with sea turtles" experience. I would avoid this activity as it can be harmful to the turtles.
These spots will advertises as a turtle “sanctuary” or “rehabilitation centre” which is absolutely false. Any animals that were being rehabilitated, should not have stressful direct human contact all day every day.
Swimming with turtles can be harmful to them for a few reasons:
Disturbance of natural behavior: Turtles are wild animals and when they are constantly approached by people, it can disrupt their natural behaviours such as feeding or resting.
Spread of disease: When people come into contact with turtles, they may transmit diseases to the animals. This can be especially harmful to turtles as they have a low immunity to disease.
Physical harm: Turtles are also vulnerable to physical harm from contact with humans, such as being accidentally kicked or hit by flippers.
Stress: Turtles are sensitive to stress, and being constantly surrounded by humans can cause them stress, which can affect their health.
Alteration of habitats: When people flock to see turtles, the area can become overcrowded and lead to the degradation of their habitats, which can ultimately lead to a decline in the turtle population.
It's important to remember that turtles are wild animals and that they should be respected and appreciated from a distance. Instead of swimming with turtles, you can watch them from the shore or by snorkelling or diving in an appropriate way, such as respecting the distance and not touching them.
I've been bitten by these turtles and I know many other people who have also, which leads me to know they are not happy or comfortable in their environment.
Instead - go to Jozani forest!
Read more about Jozani forest, and other activities you can’t miss on your trip to Zanzibar in my post on Bucket List Ideas.
Check out my other guides on different areas of Zanzibar!
Nungwi - North Zanzibar | Kiwengwa - East Zanzibar | Stone Town - Central Zanzibar City | Jambiani - South Zanzibar
And don't miss....
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