Zanzibar Airport Transfer Guide
Your transfer is the first thing that happens after you land and the last thing before you fly. Getting it right sets the tone for the whole trip. Here is what you need to know about arriving at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport and getting to your hotel.
What arrival is actually like
The airport is small. You clear immigration, collect your bag, and step out into a car park where a large number of people will offer you a taxi. If you have a transfer booked, your driver is waiting inside the arrivals area with a board showing your name. That is the difference between walking straight to an air-conditioned vehicle and negotiating a price on the pavement after a long flight.
Book it before you arrive
Three reasons.
Price. A pre-booked transfer has a fixed price agreed in writing before you travel. A taxi at the airport is a negotiation you will lose after eleven hours in the air.
Vehicle. If there are four of you with four large cases, that is not a saloon car. Booking ahead means the right size vehicle is waiting.
Flight delays. We track your flight. If you land two hours late, your driver is still there. A taxi you arranged by message is not.
How long the drive takes
The airport sits just south of Stone Town, so the town itself is close. Everything else depends on where on the island you are staying. The north coast at Nungwi and Kendwa is the longest drive. The south-east at Paje and Jambiani is shorter. The east coast at Kiwengwa and Matemwe sits in between.
Roads are surfaced on the main routes and slower than the distances suggest, with villages, speed bumps and livestock. Ask us for the drive time to your specific hotel and we will give you a realistic figure rather than an optimistic one.
What we need from you
To arrange an airport transfer we need your flight number, your arrival date and time, your hotel name and area, the number of passengers, and how much luggage you have. If you are travelling with small children, tell us and we will arrange a seat.
Departure transfers
We normally collect you from your hotel three hours before an international departure and two hours before a domestic flight, adjusted for the drive. Check-in queues at this airport can be long in high season. If your flight is early morning and you are staying far north, consider a last night in or near Stone Town.
Other transfers we run
Seaport transfers. If you are arriving from Dar es Salaam by ferry, we meet you at the Zanzibar seaport in Stone Town.
Hotel to hotel. Moving between coasts mid-trip. Often worth combining with an excursion on the way so the drive earns its keep.
Private vehicle for the day. A vehicle and driver at your disposal, for people who want to move at their own pace.
Areas we cover
Zanzibar Airport, Zanzibar Seaport, Stone Town, Maungani, Mangapwani, Fumba, Pwani Mchangani, Kiwengwa, Uroa, Pongwe, Chwaka, Matemwe, Kizimkazi, Paje, Jambiani, Michamvi, Makunduchi, Nungwi and Kendwa.
Book a transfer
Send us your flight details and hotel and we will confirm the vehicle and a fixed price. If you are also booking excursions with us, we will build the transfers into the same plan so you have one point of contact for the whole trip. Book a transfer or see all Zanzibar transfers.
