Prison Island gets its name from the prison built to condemn Zanzibar citizens to the isolation of the island, looking out at the coast. The prison was never used, and the Island is now home to a tortoise sanctuary, prison ruins, and hotel. It is 20 minutes by boat ride from Stone Town and has spectacular coral reefs to enjoy snorkeling. Giant Aldabra tortoises shuffle through the trees, with the patience that old age brings you. Some of these tortoises are said to be over 100 years old. Lunch is available on the island at your own cost. If you’re feeling active, you can snorkel in the crystal clear waters in search of colorful tropical fish darting through the reef or soak up some sun on the white sandy beach. The Prison Island Excursion is a great companion to a morning Stone Town Tour. After an eventful morning of walking through the busy streets of Zanzibar, you can enjoy this slow and relaxing island excursion.
Zanzibar is quite the honeymoon destination, and Halisi Africa tours mostly deal with private tours, so it is sometimes lonely. Having said that, Hamza my tour guide was fantastic throughout… read more the trip, offering competitive prices and accommodating my schedule. I would suggest contacting him through whatsapp and arranging your whole stay (other tours) with him too, he won’t disappoint.
852zakr July 30, 2021
Loved learning about all the spices grown on the island, tour had fun interactive tasting of spices, tour guides made beautiful jewelry and baskets to carry samples out of banana… read more leaves and hibiscus flowers. Very authentic tour of history of spice use and practical cooking and medicinal application of the spices, including how the spices spice up your relationship haha!
Kira G December 22, 2021
We wanted an authentic African experience in Zqnzibar and we decided to visit Tumbatu island. This was the best decision! We came accross Hamza and he organized everything really well.… read more He was flexible with our changing plans and has welcomed us warmly. Then we visited a local market and although we are experienced travelers we would never find small local spots Hamza and his guide have shown us. The journey to the island was pleasant and then visiting the village – OMG, we really recommend it. We ate local fruit and food, which is an important part for us. Drink home made mango juice rather then coke or fanta! I will keep some secrets so you can have an adventure as we had but you can trust Hamza as he will be right there with you, taking care and having fun at the same time. Enjoy!
spelcashantim March 2, 2022
This class was such a delight in so many ways. Hamza met us at the hotel and took us to the local market with Miriam to buy all the… read more ingredients for the meals. We were given a myriad of choices on what we wanted to cook that day. Miriam is such a is such a joy to spend time with and she hand Hamza not only explained the recipes and how to cook, but also gave us historical and cultural perspective on food, Stonetown, and anything else we wanted to ask about regarding their experiences in Zanzibar. We chose pumpkin soup, rice pilau, chicken curry, and coconut/cinnamon/cardamom/banana dessert. It was one of the best meals we ate in Zanzibar. Looking forward to receiving the recipes to try to recreate the island at home. It was all so much fun and so delicious all rolled up into one authentic and perfect experience. We also went to Miriam’s Baboo Beach Cafe for dinner that night. We would highly recommend you put this on your Zanzibar list of things to do!
katierA2557SH December 17, 2022
Nature Lovers Forest Excursion – Halisi Africa Tours is the best company I have found on the island of Zanzibar. We visited Jozani Forest and mangrove with our guide Hamza for a half day… read more tour and loved it. The company goes beyond normal tour agencies and makes you feel like family. We loved seeing the Red Colobus monkeys, walking through the beautiful forests of mahogany, strangler fig, and Eucalyptus and dropping early seedlings into the mangrove. Highly recommend this lovely visit with Halisi Tours!
Michele R February 18, 2021
Halisi Africa Tours: – Hamza and his team are awesome, me and my friend had a wonderful holiday in Zanzibar and Hamza he arrange everything. Transport was always on time, guides are knowledgeable and… read more very friendly. We learned some Swahili words, Jambo, Asante Sana, Karibu and Hakuna Matata. It was absolutely fun.
Alain25012 February 25, 2020
Great tours of Ston Town: – Our guider Juma is more than just a guider, he was punctual and very informative. He showed us around and told us a great history of Sultans, culture, and slave… read more trade. We visited an old fort, the slave market, and the spice market. The Zanzibar doors and the stone town architectures are fascinating.
shyguvamombe February 24, 2020
Exceeded high expectation! – We were met at our hotel by Hamza & Miram who the took us round the market to choose ingredients for our chosen recipes. Great going round market not being… read more hassled and able to look at everything.
We then walked to Miram’s house where we started to prepare vegetables. Grinding coconuts, chopping veg, once all prepared cooking started.
Such a wonderful experience, her family, friends popped in and out it felt so authentic.
Miram has her own restaurant too nearby Bobo Beach cafe which she showed us afterwards.
Our other 2 friends joined us for lunch which we ate with Miram, Hamza and a couple of her friends/ help.
Food was delicious,
We cooked – Pan fried king fish, vegetable curry, pilau rice, banana stew, sweet pumpkin, mango/passion fruit/avacado &lime smoothie and spiced tea!!
Their english was excellent and fun to be with. Would totally recommend and hope you enjoy as much as we did.
Y4545ADfionam March 3, 2020
Hamza is an incredible tour guide. We recommend him 10/10! In fact, we had plans to use a different tour company on Wednesday and Friday, with Hamza’s Stone Town and… read more Spice Plantation tour landing on the Thursday in between. We ended up canceling with the other company for Friday and using Hamza instead because he was just that awesome. The other company wasn’t bad per say (they facilitated the things we hired them to arrange), but Hamza was much friendlier and enthusiastic about the work he is doing here.
He is from the islands and loves being Pemban/Zanzibari. It shows through the thorough tours that he gives and the way he interacts with all of the people around. It seems like he knows everyone! He bought us some local snacks to try (make sure you eat the Zanzibari Mix in Stone Town!!), gave us an incredible tour of Stone Town and then the Spice Farms.
We didn’t want just a facilitator, but we wanted a guide…someone who could answer our questions and really help us get to know the Zanzibari culture. His English is excellent!
We also went to the Nakupenda Sand Bar and then to Prison Island with him, as well. He built sand castles with our kids, showed us around and made us feel like family.
Book with him – you won’t regret it!!
hannaliv1122 August 1, 2022
Hamza was our go-to guy on Zanzibar. He was super professional and helped us organize all our activities including transfers, fishing trip and spice tour. The spice tour was especially… read more memorable and Hamza is a very knowledgeable and good guide! We learned a lot about the various spices on Zanzibar. He went out of his way to make sure our trip was fantastic and he succeeded so many many thanks to Hamza. Highly recommend!