Zanzibar From Dar es Salaam: Ferry, Flights and Whether a Day Trip Works
How to get from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar by ferry or plane, what the crossing is actually like, and an honest answer on whether a single day is enough. Timings, booking, the resident-versus-visitor fare, and what to do when you land.
Dar es Salaam5 min readUpdated 26 August 2026
Zanzibar sits about forty kilometres off the coast, close enough to see the shipping lane traffic from the Msasani peninsula on a clear evening, and the single most common question visitors to Dar ask is whether they can get there and back in a day.
The honest answer is: yes, for one version of Zanzibar, and no for the version most people are picturing.
The ferry
- Operators
- Azam Marine, Zan Fast Ferries
- Crossing
- About 2 hours
- Terminal
- Kivukoni ferry terminal
- Sailings
- Several daily, each direction
Fast catamarans run between the Kivukoni ferry terminal in central Dar and Zanzibar port at Stone Town, several times a day in each direction. The first departure is early morning and the last return is early evening, which is the entire basis of the day trip.
Schedules move with season and demand and are not worth memorising from any article, including this one. Check the operator's current timetable the day before, and book the day before if you can, because the early morning and late afternoon sailings sell out in high season.
Buying tickets
Buy at the official Azam Marine or Zan Fast Ferries office at the terminal, or online. You will be approached outside by people offering to help, sell tickets, carry bags or handle your paperwork. Decline all of it and walk to the window.
There is a published two-tier fare: a higher non-resident price, usually quoted and paid in US dollars, and a lower resident rate. This is official policy rather than a scam, so bring your passport, expect the visitor rate, and be wary of anyone offering to get you the resident price.
Zanzibar runs its own immigration. Even though it is part of Tanzania, you pass through a passport check at both ends. Carry your actual passport, not a copy. Travellers have been turned back at Kivukoni for arriving with a photocopy.
What the crossing is like
Two hours, air-conditioned, seated, with a VIP deck available for a premium that is mostly about a quieter cabin and a better seat. The approach into Stone Town harbour, with the old waterfront buildings coming up ahead and the dhows working around you, is genuinely one of the good arrivals in East Africa.
It can be rough. The channel is open ocean and the June-to-September wind season produces some memorable crossings. If you are susceptible, take something before you board, sit low and central, and avoid the front row.
The flight
Roughly twenty minutes in the air between Julius Nyerere International in Dar and Abeid Amani Karume International in Zanzibar, with frequent daily services on the domestic carriers. Add the usual airport overhead at both ends and the door-to-door saving over the ferry is smaller than it looks, but it is still faster, and it removes the sea entirely.
Fly if you get seasick, if you are travelling with young children, or if you are connecting onward the same day. Take the ferry otherwise.
Can you really do it in a day?
Take the first ferry out and the last one back and you have roughly seven hours ashore. Here is what that buys you.
It is enough for: Stone Town's old quarter on foot, the former slave market site and Anglican cathedral built over it, the House of Wonders and Old Fort waterfront, the Darajani market, a spice-heavy lunch, an hour of getting deliberately lost in the alleys, and the Forodhani Gardens food stalls if your ferry is late enough.
It is not enough for: Nungwi or Kendwa in the north, which are 60 to 90 minutes each way by road. Jozani Chwaka Bay and the red colobus. A spice farm tour done properly. Prison Island. Any actual beach time. The east coast at Paje or Jambiani.
If beaches are why you want Zanzibar, a day trip will only make you resentful. Stay one night minimum, two to make it worthwhile.
A working day-trip plan
- Be at Kivukoni terminal an hour before departure. Immigration, ticketing and boarding all take longer than seems reasonable.
- Land at Stone Town, clear immigration, and walk straight into the old town. It is small enough to cover on foot and no taxi is needed.
- Morning: the slave market site and cathedral, then the Old Fort and House of Wonders waterfront.
- Lunch in the old quarter. Zanzibari biryani, urojo soup, or grilled seafood.
- Afternoon: Darajani market and the alleys. Buy spices here rather than at the airport.
- Be back at the port at least an hour before the return sailing, with your passport out.
Practical notes
- Money. Zanzibar takes both Tanzanian shillings and US dollars, and quotes visitors in dollars more often than the mainland does. Bring both. Small dollar notes are useful; torn or pre-2013 notes are frequently refused.
- Dress. Zanzibar is more conservative than Dar. Covered shoulders and knees in Stone Town, away from the beach hotels. This matters more than most visitors expect.
- Ramadan. Much of Stone Town closes during daylight hours. Plan around it or go another week.
- Alcohol is available in hotels and tourist restaurants but not generally elsewhere in Stone Town.
- Onward. Many people do Dar to Zanzibar to a safari flight north. Zanzibar has good connections to Arusha and the northern circuit, so you do not have to come back through Dar.
Coming back on the evening ferry lands you in Dar around dusk, twenty minutes from Masaki. Midtown is on the roof there, which is a reasonable answer to a long day on the water.
Book a table at MidtownCommon questions
- How long is the ferry from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar?
- About two hours on the fast catamaran services run by Azam Marine and Zan Fast Ferries. Sailings run several times a day in each direction, with the first departures early morning and the last back in the early evening. Times shift with season and demand, so confirm the current schedule the day before you travel.
- Can you do Zanzibar as a day trip from Dar es Salaam?
- Yes, but only Stone Town. Take the first ferry out and the last one back and you get roughly seven hours on the island, which is enough for Stone Town's old quarter, the House of Wonders area, the former slave market site and a long lunch. It is not enough for Nungwi, Kendwa, Jozani forest or a beach day. For those, stay a night.
- Do tourists pay more for the Zanzibar ferry?
- Yes. There is a two-tier fare structure, with a higher non-resident price paid in US dollars and a lower resident fare. This is official and applies at the ticket window. Bring your passport, expect to pay the visitor rate, and buy from the official Azam Marine or Zan Fast Ferries office rather than from anyone approaching you outside the terminal.
- Is it better to fly or take the ferry to Zanzibar?
- Fly if you are prone to seasickness, travelling with small children, or short on time. The flight is about twenty minutes and several airlines run it frequently. Take the ferry if you want the crossing itself, the harbour approach to Stone Town, and a cheaper fare. The ferry is also more reliable in practice than the smaller airlines' schedules.
- Is the Zanzibar ferry rough?
- It can be. The channel is open ocean and the catamarans move quickly through it. Most crossings are unremarkable, but a windy day between June and September produces a genuinely bumpy two hours. Sit toward the middle and lower deck, take something before boarding if you are susceptible, and avoid the very front seats.
