Extraordinary African Safaris
A short boat ride from Stone Town to Changuu Island — giant Aldabra tortoises, a former quarantine station, and a snorkel reef.
A 20-minute boat ride off Stone Town, Changuu Island — universally called Prison Island — has a layered history: built as a prison that never held prisoners, it served instead as a quarantine station for yellow fever. Today its draw is a colony of giant Aldabra tortoises, some over a century old, that you can walk among and feed.
The trip combines the tortoise sanctuary and the historic buildings with a snorkel over the surrounding reef and time on the small beach. It’s an easy, varied half-day from Stone Town, popular with families.
A 20-minute boat ride from Stone Town.
Walk among and feed the giant Aldabra tortoises.
Explore the historic prison/quarantine buildings.
Snorkel the surrounding reef and relax on the beach.
A pleasant, easy half-day with genuine appeal — the tortoises are remarkable and great for kids. It can get busy mid-morning with cruise crowds, so going early helps. Combine it with a Stone Town stay; it's right offshore.




These are the destinations we most often pair with Prison Island Tour, based on route flow, season, and how the wider itinerary fits together.
Powder-white beaches, turquoise reef lagoons, and the carved doorways of Stone Town — the natural finale to any Tanzania safari, 30 minutes'...
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Zanzibar's historic heart — a UNESCO-listed maze of coral-stone houses, carved doors, spice markets, and centuries of Swahili, Arab, Indian, and European...
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Zanzibar's liveliest beach village at the island's northern tip — powder sand, swimmable water at all tides, and the archipelago's best sunsets.
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Nungwi's calmer neighbour — a broad, tide-free swimming beach with a more relaxed pace and a famous monthly full-moon party.
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