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7 Most Instagrammable Spots in Zanzibar, Tanzania's Spice Island
Between Stone Town's carved doors, a mid-ocean restaurant and sandbars that surface only at low tide, Zanzibar offers a wider range of frames than its beaches alone suggest.
Sep 23, 2026 · BigTravel.in.jpg?width=1000 "7 Most Instagrammable Spots in Zanzibar, Tanzania's Spice Island")
Zanzibar's coastline of white sand and turquoise water is the obvious draw, but the island's frames go well beyond the beach: a UNESCO-listed old town, a restaurant built on a rock in the open sea, and a scattering of small islands each with their own character. Here are seven spots worth planning a shot around.
1. Stone Town's carved doors
Stone Town, Zanzibar's UNESCO World Heritage old quarter, is known for its ornately carved wooden doors, a tradition blending Arab, Indian and Swahili influence; wandering the narrow lanes around Forodhani Gardens turns up dozens of distinct examples.
2. The Rock restaurant, Michamvi Pingwe
Built on a coral outcrop just offshore and reachable by foot at low tide or a short boat ride at high tide, this restaurant is one of the island's most photographed structures, framed by open water on every side.
3. Nakupenda sandbank
A sandbar off Unguja Island's west coast that surfaces at low tide and disappears at high tide, Nakupenda is reached by boat trip from Stone Town and offers a stretch of open sand with water on all sides.
4. Prison Island's giant tortoises
A short boat ride from Stone Town, Prison Island (Changuu) is home to a colony of Aldabra giant tortoises, some reportedly well over a century old, alongside a decommissioned 19th-century prison building.
5. Nungwi's sunset beach
At the island's northern tip, Nungwi faces west and is one of the more reliable spots on the island for a clear sunset over open water, backed by a working dhow-building beach.
6. Jozani Forest's red colobus monkeys
Zanzibar's only national park protects the Zanzibar red colobus, a monkey species found nowhere else in the world, along a network of boardwalks through mahogany forest and mangrove swamp.
7. Spice farm rows
Zanzibar's spice plantations, a legacy of its 19th-century trade history, offer neat rows of clove, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg plants, with most farms running guided walks that double as an informal botanical tour.
Traveller tips
- Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, near Stone Town, is the island's main gateway with direct flights from several African and Middle Eastern hubs.
- Tides matter for both Nakupenda and The Rock; check tide times before planning a visit to either.
- June to October and December to February are the drier, more reliable weather windows; the island sees heavier rain from March to May.
- Modest dress is expected in Stone Town and around religious sites, in keeping with Zanzibar's predominantly Muslim culture.
Where this is
Zanzibar, Tanzania