GETTING THERE AND AROUND.

Visas and compulsory documents

Visitors from the USA and Europe require visas to enter Tanzania. These last for three months and cost around $30. Multiple entry visas, allowing you to leave and return to Tanzania as many times as you like in the three month period, cost around $50. Zanzibar is a semi autonomous state within Tanzania, so although you don’t need a separate visa to visit the islands, you’ll need to show your passport. Also compulsory is a certificate to show you’ve been vaccinated against yellow fever. A $20 departure tax is levied if you are leaving by air, and a $5 port tax applies when you book a ferry ticket. This is payable in US dollars only.

By Boat.

Frequent ferries-two or three a day in both directions-make the crossing between the port of Dar es Salaam on the mainland and Zanzibar. The fastest journey time is around 75 minutes on the boats operated by Megaspeed Liners; the slowest is the overnight trip made by the Flying Horse passenger ship. Fares on the faster services average around $35 for non residents. Ferry tickets can be bought on the spot or in advance from row of booking offices next to the port in Dar es Salaam. Non residents must pay in US dollars rather than Tanzanian shillings. Timetables and prices are displayed on boards outside each office.
            The MS Sepideh ferry runs once a week from Mombasa, Kenya and Tanga, Tanzania to Unguja and Pemba. Fares are around $40.

By Plane.

There are no direct flights from the USA to Zanzibar. KLM, Kenya Airways, and North West Airlines offer fares to Zanzibar from a range of East, Central and West USA cities, which cost from $1600 to $2500 depending on season. Stopovers are in Nairobi or Amsterdam, then Dar-es-Salaam. As flights from Europe- and especially London- to East Africa are among the cheapest around, you may be better off buying two tickets-a cheap fare to London or Milan, then a separate scheduled or charter ticket on to Zanzibar.
            From Europe, the principal carrier to Zanzibar is Kenya Airways stopping over at Nairobi. Numerous airlines including British Airways, Sabena and KLM fly to Dar es Salaam, from where you can catch a ferry to Zanzibar. Charter flights from Europe, especially Italy, fly into Zanzibar almost daily, and some holiday companies such as Kuoni, may sell ‘seat-only’ deals on these.
            If your air ticket takes you only as far as Dar-es-Salaam and you’re in a hurry to get to Zanzibar. Precision Air (+255 2230029) and Coastal Travel (+255 2233489) both provide scheduled charter flights in small twin-engined aircraft. The flight costs $55 plus $4 tax and takes around 20 minutes.

Travel between Unguja and Pemba

 Air.

Zan Air, a local charter company, runs a scheduled service between Unguja and the town of Chake Chake on Pemba three times a week. A single fare is $80. Coastal Aviation (www.coastal.cc), another small local company,also runs  flights from Zanzibar to Pemba and back.

Boat.
The MS Sepideh, run by Mega Speed Liners, runs a service five times a week between Unguja and the port of Mkoani, at the southern end of Pemba island. The single fare is $40 for a three-hour journey.

Getting around.

Unguja and Pemba are small islands, and thanks to a wealth of transport and (relatively) good roads, traveling around them is quite easy. The options on Unguja include hiring a vehicle yourself, be it a car, jeep or motorcycle. Renting is cheap (around $25 a day) and easy, provided you have an International Driving Permit these are checked frequently by  police, so don’t be tempted to chance it. Drive with extra care, especially if you’ve hired a motorbike-traffic on Zanzibar is chaotic and pileups frequent. Most tour companies can hire cars, jeeps or minibuses. Good quality Honda 250 motorbikes can be hired in Stone Town from Ally ‘Keys’, a colourful character who can be reached on 0747 411797.
Cars with driver are also available. In addition, a plethora of tour companies and freelance ‘guides’ offer group transport to and from the coast and arrange trips to other areas of interest on Unguja and Pemba. Prices, reliability and condition of their vehicles vary so if  you’re concerned, use a reputable tour company.
For those on a tight budget, or for shorter distances, dala-dalas(trucks converted into passenger vehicles) and local buses run all over the island, with fares starting from just a few shillings. They congregate in the Creek Road area of Stono Town-just turn up there and enquire as to the right route for your chosen destination. Bare in mind, however, that this form of transport will be significantly slower and less comfortable than minibus, and that accidents involving buses and dala-dalas are frequent.
Zanzibar, and especially Unguja, is an ideal place to explore by mountain bike due to its flat terrain. Reasonable quality mountain bikes can be hired from several of the tour companies.