Zanzibar · Things to do

Inscribed by UNESCO in 2000 as a Swahili coast trading town where African, Arab, Indian and European building traditions fused, and for its role as a major East African slave-trading port and later a base for abolitionists including Livingstone. The Old Fort and Christ Church Anglican Cathedral are the landmarks; the town is small enough to cross on foot and tangled enough that you will get lost doing it.

Museum in Mercury House on Shangani Street, Stone Town — Farrokh Bulsara's childhood home — with photographs and personal material covering his life and his years with Queen. Open daily 09:00–20:00, which makes it one of the few Stone Town sights still open in the early evening. Enquiries on +255 777 153 232.

Private reef and forest sanctuary on an island about 8 km west of Unguja, with snorkelling over the Christine reef and a ranger-guided forest walk; meals are included. Day trips and the handful of eco-bungalows are booked direct with the park on +255 777 41 32 32 rather than through beach touts.

Full-day dhow trip that has run out of the Fumba peninsula south-west of Stone Town since 1995, with snorkelling equipment, food and drinks all included: USD 82 per adult, USD 42 for children 6–14, or USD 550 for a private dhow for two. Several operators trade on the name, so book through the trademark holder's own site.

Zanzibar's national park, and the place to see the Zanzibar red colobus, a monkey found nowhere else, on short trails through groundwater forest plus a mangrove boardwalk. It sits roughly midway between Stone Town and the south-east beaches, so it fits neatly into a transfer day. It has no reliable official website — check current fees and hours locally before you go.