Changu Island — Attraction in Changuu

One of the best place to visit in Zanzibar. Aldarba tortoise, which is 195 year old available here. It took about a half an hour to arrive at the island, where our guide assisted us off, and handed us our shoes. As the captain waved goodbye and began to sail off, our guide started yelling at him in Swahili, more and more frantically, waving his hands and jumping up and down. But to no avail, the captain either didn’t hear him, or chose to ignore him. Apparently he forgot to give us our tickets to enter the tortoise sanctuary. Our guide told us not to worry though, he had the situation under control. (It’s probably happened before.) As it is, entry to the sanctuary is only about $5 US.

Before entering the sanctuary, our guide bent down to show us one of the many other wonders of this part of the world.

Colourful starfish surround the shores of Prison Island

There were easily thousands of starfish of different colour combinations and sizes surrounding the island, so many that you should see their outlines through the crystal clear water. We gave them a gentle touch before our guide settled them back down into the water.

See all of those dark shadows in the water? They’re all starfish!

So how did Prison Island get it’s unusual name? It actually has several names. Changuu Island is the official name, but it’s also known as Quarantine Island and Kibandiko Island; although Prison Island is probably the most commonly used. Initially, the first sultan of Zanzibar gave the uninhabited island to two Arabs for use as a prison to house rebellious slaves in the 1860s. After Zanzibar became a British protectorate in 1890, the island was purchased from the Arabs with the intention of building a prison to house violent criminals. The buildings were completed in 1894, but they were never actually used as a prison.

Instead, diseases such as Yellow Fever and Cholera became the more pressing threats to East Africa. So the island buildings, including what was intended as a prison, were converted to a hospital and...

Review: Prison Island Zanzibar – Not Recommended

Yesterday, we visited Prison Island just off the coast of Stone Town with some friends – but unfortunately, the experience was highly disappointing.

While the tourism fee at the pier in Stone Town is slightly cheaper for residents compared to international tourists – which we consider fair – the real surprise came upon arrival at the island: a hefty $12 entrance fee , with no discounts whatsoever for locals . To us, this is a clear no-go: why should people living on Zanzibar pay the same price as international tourists?

And that’s not even the worst part: the attractions on the island are very limited – a few giant tortoises, a short island tour, and some historical ruins. For what’s offered, the entrance fee feels way too high. International visitors even have to pay an additional $3 tourism fee at the jetty, which quickly borders on price gouging.

In comparison, we’ve long recommended the Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park to our guests. There, you’ll find not only tortoises, but also endemic wildlife like the Zanzibar Red Colobus monkey, beautiful nature, mangrove forests, and coastal scenery – all for a fraction of the price, and with proper consideration for local residents.

Conclusion: Skip Prison Island, visit Jozani Forest instead. For what it offers, Prison Island is simply overpriced – especially for locals. Our clear recommendation to all travelers: save your money and explore Jozani Forest. It’s truly worth it!

It's a shame you're ruining everything - unfortunately we won't recommend you...

You have to pay for a boat across from Stone Town (included with our pre-booked guided trip). Before getting on said boat, you must pay 3usd tax to a government desk on the beach, per person. No idea why. This will increase to 10usd from 1st September 2025.

To board your boat, it's feet in the filthy water. A choppy 25 minute crossing and you do the same the other end, although at least the water is clean here. There are taps upstairs to wash your feet off before refitting shoes etc.

At this point, you then find out that it's actually a zoo. The remains of the 'prison' (actually a quarantine facility) have been converted into a zoo, which they rarely refer to as a tortoise sanctuary but they're captive, you can't get away from it. From what I understand as soon as a tortoise appears near the path everyone flocks to it for photos which I imagine would be very stressful for them. The young are taken away from them and put in cages until they're older.

It costs an additional 12usd per person to enter the zoo when you arrive. After realising what it was we decided not to pay and returned to stone town on our dhow.

All information we found out previously suggested 'Prison Island' was the site of a long since ruined prison where giant tortoises are free to roam, unhindered. This is absolutely not the case, our guide told us that it used to be like that, but the government realised there was money to be made as a tourist attraction.

Waste of...