Snorkeling ZanzibarPrison Island & Nakupenda Sandbank Boat Tour
Sold and operated by Bureau De Tours; booked and paid through GetYourGuide. We may earn a commission if you book through our link, at no extra cost to you. Price and details checked August 2026.
The Prison Island and Nakupenda sandbank tour is the cheapest way onto the water from Stone Town, and the one where the online price tells you least. $41 buys a dhow to Changuu and its two-hundred-year-old tortoises, then swimming, snorkeling and a seafood barbecue on the Nakupenda sandbank. A further $22 per person is collected in cash on the day, so budget $63.
About This Stone Town Day Trip
A full day; the listing spans 2 to 9 hours depending on the option booked
$41 per adult online, plus $22 per person in cash on the day
4.5 from 738 GetYourGuide reviews
Traditional dhow, 30 minutes from Stone Town to Changuu
About 3 hours of free time at Nakupenda for swimming and snorkeling
Shared group with a private option; children under 8 get 30% off
Listing at a Glance
The same fields on every tour page here, read from the operator's own GetYourGuide listing in August 2026. Prices, inclusions and availability are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout on their site.
- Tour name Zanzibar: Prison Island & Nakupenda Sandbank Boat Tour +BBQ
- Operator Bureau De Tours
- Booking platform GetYourGuide
- Product ID 771711
- Starting price $41 USD per adult
- Price last checked August 2026
- Rating 4.5 out of 5
- Review count 738 reviews
- Review source GetYourGuide verified bookings
- Duration 7 to 8 hours on the standard option
- Reef visited Nakupenda sandbank and the Changuu fringing reef
- Time in the water About 3.25 hours at Nakupenda covering swimming, snorkeling and lunch
- Pickup window Morning; meet outside Darajani Market or select the transfer option
- Arrival at the reef Changuu after 30 minutes, Nakupenda 45 minutes later
- Expected return Late afternoon, with drop-off options including the airport
- Transport Traditional dhow
- Group size Shared group; private option sold
- Guide language English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Korean, Swahili, Russian
- Fees payable on the day $22 per person in cash — $10 marine conservation and $12 Prison Island entry, in force since 1 September 2025
- Lunch Included — seafood BBQ, with vegetarian alternatives on request
- Drinks Soft drinks and seasonal tropical fruit
- Equipment Mask, snorkel, fins and a life jacket
- Hotel pickup Available if the transfer option is selected
- Cancellation Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the activity starts
- Reserve now, pay later Available
- Minimum age None stated; children under 8 receive 30% off the adult price
- Difficulty Easy; shallow warm water, suits families
- Wheelchair access None stated
- Not suitable for None stated
- Meeting point Outside Darajani Market; the guide wears a blue or yellow Bureau De Tours shirt
- Weather and tide Nakupenda is a tidal sandbank; time on it depends on the day's tide
- Alternative The Safari Blue day trip, for a full day with better snorkeling
Check Dates and Availability
Live prices and departures from GetYourGuide. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the activity, and reserve now, pay later.
Quick answer
A dhow day from Stone Town for $41 plus $22 in cash on the day. Thirty minutes to Changuu — Prison Island — for the Aldabra giant tortoises and the colonial ruins, then on to the Nakupenda sandbank for roughly three hours of swimming, snorkeling and a seafood barbecue. Rated 4.5 from 738 reviews.
Key takeaways
- All snorkeling in Zanzibar tours compared — six trips, four reefs, prices from $41 before fees
- The real price is $63: $41 online plus $10 marine conservation and $12 island entry, collected since September 2025. The full fee stack
- Bring the $22 in cash. There is no card machine on a sandbank
- The reef here is modest — this is a history-and-sandbank day with a snorkel in it
- Guides work in eight languages, the widest range in this catalog
- Want the better reef instead? Mnemba or Tumbatu from the north coast
What You Get for $41, and What Costs $22 More
This is the best-value day in the catalog and the one most likely to surprise you at the boat. Both things are true.
The $22 nobody mentions until you are there
The operator states it clearly in its pre-booking notes, and almost no comparison page repeats it: since 1 September 2025 the total entry fee for this tour is $22 per person, made up of $10 for marine conservation and $12 for entry to Prison Island. It is payable on the day, in cash, alongside the ticket you already bought online.
That is not a scam and it is not hidden — it is a government charge the operator cannot absorb. But it moves the real price from $41 to $63, which changes how it compares with the $55 Mnemba trip whose conservation fees are already inside the price. Carry small dollar notes or Tanzanian shillings; the listing quotes 60,000 shillings as the equivalent.
Changuu, and the prison that never was
The island everyone calls Prison Island is Changuu, thirty minutes by dhow from Stone Town. The building that gives it the name was completed in 1894 to hold prisoners and then never used for that purpose — it opened instead as a yellow-fever quarantine station, which is what the ruins actually are.
The living attraction is the colony of Aldabra giant tortoises, some individuals over two hundred years old, originally a gift from the British governor of the Seychelles. Peacocks and small antelope wander the same grounds. You get about an hour here, guided, before the boat moves on.
Nakupenda, and the snorkeling reality
Nakupenda is a sandbank rather than a beach — it exists at low water and is sea at high water, which is why departure times shift day to day. The listing schedules about three and a quarter hours there, covering free time, swimming, snorkeling, the BBQ and marine-life viewing.
Be realistic about the reef. The fringing coral around Changuu and the sandbank is modest next to Mnemba or Tumbatu, the water is shallow and warm, and mornings collect cruise-ship groups. What it is very good at is a long, easy, sociable day on white sand with a plate of grilled seafood in the middle of it — and at $63 all in, that is genuinely cheap for what it is.
Practicalities that matter here
The meeting point is outside Darajani Market, where the guide wears a blue or yellow Bureau De Tours shirt; hotel transfer is a paid option. The operator asks for a WhatsApp number so it can reach you quickly, and will swap the seafood lunch for a vegetarian meal at no extra cost if you say so in advance.
Children under eight get 30% off the adult price, and the shallow sandbank water makes this the most child-friendly trip in the catalog. Drop-off options include the airport, which is useful on a departure day.
Questions About This Trip
What is the $22 payable on the day?
It is $10 for marine conservation plus $12 for entry to Prison Island, a combined government charge the operator says has applied since 1 September 2025. It is not part of the online price and must be paid in cash — the listing quotes 60,000 Tanzanian shillings as the alternative. See the full fee stack.
Is the snorkeling any good?
Is it good for families?
Yes — probably the best in this catalog for young children. The water at the sandbank is shallow and calm, there are tortoises to look at, lunch is included, and children under eight get 30% off. The only caveat is the length of the day.
Were prisoners ever held on Prison Island?
No. The prison complex was finished in 1894 but never used to hold prisoners; it became a quarantine station for yellow fever instead. The name stuck anyway, and the ruins are part of the visit.
How long is the trip really?
The listing spans 2 to 9 hours depending on the option you choose; the standard shared day runs about 7 to 8 hours, with roughly an hour on Changuu and three and a quarter hours at Nakupenda. Drop-off options include Stone Town, Livingstone Beach and the airport.
What Travellers Said
Nakupenda was beautiful, and the seafood lunch was delicious. Bahama was a great guide. He communicated clearly and arranged transportation for me to get back to the mainland for the second part of the excursion.
As a solo traveler, I had an amazing time on this tour, special thanks to the tour guide and I also enjoyed the lunch. Worth every penny.
Verified GetYourGuide reviews of this listing, quoted as published and read in August 2026.
Tortoises, a sandbank and a seafood BBQ — the cheapest day on the water from Stone Town.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure
Page last reviewed August 2026. Price, rating and review count read from the listing on August 2026. Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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