Zanzibar Vacation Cost: What We Spent in Zanzibar in 2022
Are you wondering how much a Zanzibar vacation costs? We stayed in Zanzibar, Tanzania for 8 days and 7 nights in November 2022, and the cost of our luxury vacation was far less than you would think!
Prior to scoring a flight deal to Zanzibar, I assumed that this exotic, distant destination with such gorgeous turquoise water would cost as much as a trip to Bora Bora or the Maldives. Boy, was I wrong!
Zanzibar is surprisingly an affordable island, and a great place to plan an exotic vacation or honeymoon. A number of all-inclusive resorts exist, and we find them to be quite comparably priced to resorts we have stayed at in Mexico. And if you can find a deal on airfare, you may end up spending less than you would for a Caribbean vacation!
I’ve detailed every single cost we incurred during out trip to Zanzibar in this post. From flights to accommodations to food and drink to transportation, it’s all here. Keep reading for an inside look into what it costs to take a luxury vacation for two to Zanzibar.
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How Much We Spent in Zanzibar in 2022
Our Zanzibar vacation cost breakdown covers two people (a couple) and is a detailed accounting of every dollar we spent on our vacation. We did NOT have any points, miles, or rewards to decrease the cost of our trip.
Zanzibar Vacation Costs: Airfare
The only reason why we planned a trip to Zanzibar was because a flight deal popped up in my email from Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights). The advertised rate was right around $730/person for a round trip ticket from JFK in New York to Zanzibar.
In addition to this base fare, we did need to book roundtrip flights from our home airport in Nashville to JFK. We did originally have a more affordable domestic flights planned through JetBlue. However, the flight times were changed fairly last minute, and we had to rebook elsewhere at a slightly higher cost unfortunately.
Our flights costs also include extra costs for seat selection. We picked slightly upgraded seats on two legs of our journey to ensure we could sit together.
- BNA to JFK via Delta: $247.20
- JFK to ZNZ via Delta/KLM: $1,463.94
- JFK to BNA via Delta: $257.20
- Seat selection costs: $64.20
Total Flight Costs: $2,032.54 ($1016.27/person)
Zanzibar Vacation Costs: Entry
United States citizens are required to obtain visas from the Tanzanian government in order to enter the country. We highly recommend applying and paying for your visas online in advance of your trip. Otherwise, you will be stuck in a very long line for visas on demand upon landing in Tanzania.
At the time of our trip, the Tanzanian government required all visitors to either be vaccinated other for COVID or provide proof of a negative test. There was no cost of us here as our insurance covered the shots.
We were not required to get any other vaccinations for our trip. While you may have heard a Yellow Fever vaccine is required, it is only necessary if you are transiting through a Yellow Fever endemic country.
- Tanzania Visas: $200
- Vaccinations: $0
Total Entry Costs: $200 ($100/person)
Zanzibar Vacation Costs: Hotels & Resorts
We chose to split up our seven nights among three different hotels in three different parts of the island so we could experience as much of Zanzibar as possible.
We booked a historic hotel Stone Town, an all-inclusive resort on the north end of the island, and a boutique hotel on the east side. Although this added to our transportation costs, we were glad we were able to experience these three vastly different locations.
Our first stay was a historic hotel Emerson on Hurumzi in Stone Town that featured open-air, themed rooms. This was such a unique experience, and we definitely recommend spending a night or two here to explore the city’s history and culture before heading to the beach.
The second resort we stayed at was traditional all-inclusive resort, similar to what you can find in many Caribbean countries. Located on the north end of the island, we had the best swimming here and stunning Gatoraid blue water. While an amazing resort, we wished we would have only spent two nights here since we’ve done the all-inclusive experience so many times before.
And our final hotel, and the highlight of our stay, was two nights in a six-room, family-owned boutique hotel. We were able to opt for a full-board package to include two meals with our rate. It was incredibly romantic with exceptional personalized service, and we really wished we would have added a third night here.
- 2 nights at Emerson on Hurumze: $370.00 ($185/night including breakfast)
- 3 nights at Riu Palace Zanzibar: $1,310.82 ($436.94/night all inclusive)
- 2 nights at Boutique Hotel Matlai: $816.00 ($408/night full board)
Total Hotel Costs: $2,496.82 ($1,248.41/person)
Zanzibar Vacation Costs: Food & Drink
The majority of our food costs were included in the nightly rate of our accommodations. Whenever possible, we try to opt for all-inclusive or full board because we LOVE to eat and drink! At the minimum, we always book rooms that include free breakfast, as that typically fills us up through lunch as well.
Our stay at Emerson on Hurumze included free breakfast, Hotel Riu Palace Zanzibar was all-inclusive, and Boutique Hotel Matlai included three meals daily.
Our only food and drink costs for the trip include a rooftop dinner experience at Emerson on Hurumze (highly recommend!), and drinks at Hotel Matlai (including cocktails, beer, and wine bottles at dinner).
And since we had meal service included in our long-haul flights, we only had two airport meals and two coffee stops during our 36 hour journey to Zanzibar and back. Airport food is expensive and the travel long, so don’t forget to budget for these costs as well.
- Emerson on Hurumze Rooftop Dinner: $80.00 (Fixed menu)
- Emerson on Hurumze Drinks: $48.00 (2 bottles of champagne)
- Hotel Matlai Drinks: $238.00 (Cocktails, beer, and 3 bottles of wine)
- Airport Meals: $182.05 (2 meals, 2 beers, 4 coffees, + tip)
Total Food & Drink Costs: $548.05 ($274.02/person)
Zanzibar Vacation Costs: Transportation
We utilized taxis for our transportation and arranged each one through our hotel directly to make things easy. The taxi rates were quite reasonable, considering we were traveling 1-2 hours across the island each way.
- Taxi from Airport to Stonetown: $20.00
- Taxi from Stone Town to Nungwi (north): $50.00
- Taxi from Nungwi to Pingwe (east): $100
- Taxi from Pingwe to Airport: $50.00
Total Transportation Costs: $220.00 ($110.00/person)
Zanzibar Vacation Costs: Activities
While we were in Zanzibar, we did not choose to do any activities. Originally, I had a few excursions planned, but we were simply too tired to go through the effort of leaving the resorts, especially with the limited amount of time we had at each location.
Instead, we spent our days swimming and snorkeling in the ocean, laying by the pool, and eating and drinking at an all-inclusive. Totally free!
Total Activities Costs: $0
Misc Expenses
We did have quite a few miscellaneous expenses during our trip. This includes laundry service prior to our departure, a 30-minute shower at the Minute Suites at the JFK airport, and costs to use our cell phone abroad.
In addition, we also spent about a $100 on tips. While this number is lower than we might spend on tips someplace like Mexico, there is not as heavy of a tipping culture in Zanzibar as we were used to. Additionally, our hotels recommending doing a tip at the end of the stay, as their cultural norm is for the staff pools tips and shares equally.
- Minute Suites Shower at JFK: $32.66
- Laundry Service: $25.00
- AT&T International Day Pass: $180.00 (10 days for Stella and 8 days for David at $10/day)
- Tips: $100.00
Total Misc Costs: $337.66 ($168.83/person)
Note: While we had a rather large bill for pet sitting during our trip, we did not include this in our breakdown as this is a highly personalized cost that not everyone will have. We also build this into our budget separate from travel, and are used to making such arrangements when we go out of town.
Total Zanzibar Vacation Cost
Alright, the moment you have been waiting for! What our entire trip to Zanzibar cost including airfare, visas, hotels, food& drink, transportation, activities, and miscellaneous expenses.
Total Cost of a Trip to Zanzibar: $5,435.07 ($2717.53/person)
Is our Zanzibar vacation cost higher or lower than you thought? Leave a comment below and make sure you check out our other Zanzibar resources!
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