A month in Zanzibar

A month on a tourist visa is a visit. The Ordinary Visa that EU and UK visitors take allows up to 90 days, and the Multiple Visa that US citizens must take allows at most 90 days per visit within its year. Holders of an Ordinary Visa may not work or conduct business.

In a hotel, the infrastructure tax runs for every day, per person: USD 4 in a 2 or 3 star hotel adds USD 120 per person over 30 nights, and USD 2 in a 1 star hotel adds USD 60. The law sets no cap on the number of nights.

A home let to tourists carries the hotel levy at 15% of the rental value, and the law names rentals through online platforms. It does not say where a monthly lease stops being a tourist rental, so ask the host how the price treats the levy. No reputable source on monthly rents, deposits or utilities was found, so this guide gives no rent figures.

Paje and Bwejuu suit a month of kitesurfing, with a lagoon that stays shallow at low tide and Jambiani about 7 km away for a change of scene. Stone Town suits a month with the city's services, the port and the airport about 10 km away, if a car can stay outside the old town.

Nungwi and Kendwa suit a month with restaurants and bars within walking distance. These choices are editorial.

Apply for the visa through the immigration service's own website, which processes online applications within ten days, or get a single-entry visa on arrival; a return ticket is shown at the border and the passport needs six months of validity and a blank page. The visa covers the mainland and Zanzibar alike.

Buy the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation policy for the dates of the stay. It covers at most 92 consecutive days, cannot be renewed, and a visitor still in Zanzibar after 92 days must buy a new policy. It costs USD 44 per adult and USD 22 per child, and a family plan exists.

Carry copies of the passport photo page and the visa: UK travel advice says immigration officials or police can ask for them at any time. No official page on extending a tourist visa beyond 90 days was found as of September 2026.

Airbnb calls a reservation of 28 nights or more a monthly stay. It charges the first month up front and releases it to the host 24 hours after check-in, then charges each later month 10 days in advance. A long-term cancellation policy applies to these stays and generally requires 30 days' notice of changes.

The platform label does not change the Zanzibar rules: a hotel collects the infrastructure tax for every night, and a home let to tourists owes the 15% levy.

A month with a car needs the local Zanzibar driving permit, which the hire company can arrange, and a place with its own space: Stone Town parking is paid by phone app or through a kerbside agent at set areas outside the old town (via GetCar), and no parking rules were found for the beach villages. Roads into Nungwi, north of Paje and into Kizimkazi are on the 2026 to 2027 works programme (via GetCar).

Letting the insurance run out. It stops after 92 days and cannot be renewed.

Comparing prices without the tax. Two adults in a 3 star hotel owe USD 240 in infrastructure tax over 30 nights unless the price already includes it.

Renting a private home without asking about registration. Press reports describe a 2024 registration rule with the Commission for Tourism that could not be checked at the source.

Working on a tourist visa. The Ordinary Visa rules out work and business.

Dressing for the beach in town. The authorities can fine a visitor USD 700 or more for clothing they judge inappropriate in public.