Money
The coast matters more than the band
A good hotel on the coast that suits you beats a grand one on the coast that does not, and the gap is not close.
| Per person per night | What it buys |
|---|---|
| US$800 – 1,200 | Established camps in genuinely good locations, a private vehicle throughout, light-aircraft hops between parks rather than long road transfers, and guiding that is a profession rather than a job. The entry point to a safari that does not compromise. |
| US$1,200 – 1,800 | Camps on private land, where the rules change: off-road driving to a sighting, night drives, walking with an armed guide, and a cap on how many vehicles may attend anything. Usually the point at which people stop comparing safaris on price. |
| US$1,800 – 2,500 | The camps people name when they get home. Six to ten tents, an owner or manager who is present, a guide assigned to you for the stay, and food that would hold its own in a city. |
| US$2,500 – 4,000 | A guide who travels with you from park to park rather than being handed over at each one, private charters on your own schedule, and small camps taken whole for your party. |
| US$4,000 and up | Exclusive-use houses and villas with their own staff, mobile expedition camps built for your route, and private aircraft between countries. Bought for privacy and control rather than for thread count. |
Indicative planning ranges only, per person per night sharing, for a fully inclusive safari — accommodation, meals, park and conservancy fees, guiding, and transport between parks. They are what we see in the market, not a quote and not an official tariff. Your quote will be exact and itemised. International flights are not included.
Zanzibar sits lower in these bands than a safari camp does, and the island has a genuinely deep field at every level.
How the coasts differ on price
| Coast | Relative cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| North | Highest | Swimmable all day, most developed, most demand |
| North-east | High | Quieter, prettier, the diving is here |
| East and south-east | Best value | Large tides and wind keep rates down |
| West | Varies | A few very good properties, and convenience to town |
The east and south-east are cheaper for reasons you can see from this site. If those reasons do not bother you — and for a lot of people they genuinely do not — it is the best value on the island.
What sits on top
- Transfers from the airport, which are an hour or more to the east coast and worth knowing about.
- Drinks, since fewer hotels here are fully inclusive than a safari camp would be.
- Diving packages, which are the one activity that adds up meaningfully.
- Excursions, most of which are inexpensive and better taken privately.
Season
Rates move a great deal. Christmas, New Year and the European summer are the peaks; the long rains around April and May are the cheapest and the riskiest, with some hotels closed.
The shoulders either side of the peaks are excellent value and the weather is frequently indistinguishable from the peak month next door.
Where the money is worth spending
On days rather than on grandeur, and on the right coast rather than the better hotel. On the east coast specifically, on a hotel with a serious pool, because that is what carries the middle of the day.
What we itemise
Rooms, flights, transfers, excursions and any diving package, separately, so that the effect of moving a night or changing a coast is visible rather than buried.
Ready to turn this into a real itinerary?
Send us your dates, who is travelling and roughly what you want to spend per person per night. Our Zanzibar specialist comes back within 24 hours with a plan built around them and a costed quote.