Salaam Cave Aquarium — Attraction in Unguja

The experience started out okay. I’m a solo traveller and it took a while to have them accept my guide into the cave to take pictures of me.

Two things ruined the experience: 1 of the guys working there came up to me when I was drying off in between photos, rumbling through my bag, struggling with my hair and just kept pressuring me: “Where are you staying? What’s the name of your hotel?”. I kept telling him I didn’t know and it wasn’t far and HE JUST KEPT ASKING until I gave the name of a hotel, like why do you care??! (open added photo to see who)

Secondly, I believe it was the same guy. I’d already gotten in the water twice and was trying to get out. And just a few steps away from the stairs out of the water, a turtle nipped/bit me. And I said “ouch that hurt”. The man started SCREAMING AT ME in front of 15-20 other people there in the cave. “CALM DOWN, ENJOY THE MOMENT, CALM DOWN, CALM DOWN, CALM DOWN!!!”. I kept telling him I was finished and had to go, I was already getting out of the water and I was calm. I have no idea why he was freaking out like that. He just kept yelling and everyone was staring so confused. It was so embarrassing. When I got out of the cave, two different tourists came to me and told me they were sorry about his behaviour because he was clearly targeting me. 10 minutes earlier a girl was literally squealing and almost crying in fear and no one said any thing, but this crazy man wants to scream at me.

Such a strange experience. Hated it. Crowded. Men pressuring you to get the name of your hotel, then screaming at you. Do...

Salaam Cave Aquarium offers a unique opportunity to interact with turtles in a natural cave pool setting, but sadly, the overall experience falls short in many critical areas. The only standout feature was the excellent videography service provided by one of the staff members—though even this requires haggling to get a reasonable price.

Visitor management is lacking, with far too many people allowed into the pool at once, raising concerns about the turtles’ well-being. There’s no visible system to refresh or filter the water regularly, which is alarming considering the pollution caused by constant human activity. For an attraction that charges a premium fee, the showers and restrooms are subpar and in need of serious improvement.

There are also safety issues. The turkeys on site, likely stressed by captivity, can be aggressive and are prone to biting. Visitors should also tread carefully inside the cave—the uneven rock floor is quite slippery and could lead to injury if one isn’t cautious.

Most disappointing is the lack of education or orientation. A brief welcome speech explaining the cave’s significance and the conservation efforts for the turtles, including their eventual release, would go a long way in improving the experience.

Overall, an average and somewhat...

OMG, this place is amazing, I would give 10* if it was possible!! It's a small cave where injured turtles are cared for and rehabilitated before being released back into the sea. You pay a small fee at the gate for 1/2 hour or 1 hour and have a guide to explain the process. We brought some seaweed, and as we already had our swimmers on, we went down the ladder into the cave. They do have changing rooms you can use for free. Once in the cave, we left our bags on the platform, I gave our guide my phone, and we went down another ladder into the water. The water is fresh at first and comes to waist height if you are 5ft 9, the floor of the cave was very rocky. As soon as we were in the water, the turtles swam over to us, and we fed them some seaweed. Just watch your fingers as one turtle was quite greedy and nipped my thumb! They don't mind you being there and swimming around you. They are very gentle, and you can pet them when they swim past. There are yellow birds that have made their nests above you in the cave. We got out after half an hour, and our guide gave me my phone back with lots of amazing pictures and videos of me in the water with the turtles. It was a truly lovely time and not too busy when we...