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Prison Island Tour: Explore the Historical Tortoise Sanctuary and Beautiful Marine Life

4.0

24 Ratings

Zanzibar

Embark on a half-day Prison Island tour to discover a historical tortoise sanctuary and vibrant marine life. Snorkel, relax, and capture memorable moments on this captivating adventure!

Duration: 2 hours

Cancellation: 1 day learn more

Highlights

Prison Island - Changuu Private Island - Just a short boat ride from Stone Town, Changuu Island (also known as Prison Island) is a one-of-a-kind and accessible excursion with an intriguing history, unique wildlife and picturesque, You will visit the giant old tortoise, beautiful colorful peacock, swing on the crystal clear sea and snorkelling.
Prison Island - Changuu Private Island - Changuu Island has served several roles over the centuries; one was a medical quarantine outpost. Nowadays it is a tourist attraction and wildlife sanctuary. The buildings are quite picturesque in their classical construction and vivid colors, and are a must-see while on the island.

One of the best-known features of Changuu Island is its tortoise sanctuary. Just four Aldabra giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea), native to the Seychelles and second in size only to Galapagos giant tortoises and have produced hundreds of offspring. Visiting the sanctuary and feeding the tortoises, along with observing other animals brought to Changuu (such as the tiny dik dik antelope and peacocks), makes for a charming visit.

Enjoy beautiful views eastward towards Stone Town and a walk on the rustic wooden pier. Additional activities such as snorkeling off the island’s beaches.

What's Included

Bottled water
Boat from Stone Town
Snacks
Use of snorkeling equipment

What's Not Included

Lunch in the island’s restaurant
Food and drinks
Transportation to/from other parts of Zanzibar
Parking fees

Additional Information

Embark on a half-day journey to Prison Island, starting from the coastline of Stone Town and making a halt at the stunning beach of Prison Island, located 5 km off the shore. The prison, currently a hotel property, was constructed in 1893 and originally served as a confinement for violent offenders and the unwell populace from the mainland.

Prison Island offers a must-see tortoise sanctuary that houses a substantial population of giant tortoises, transported from Seychelles during the late 19th century. These magnificent beings average 200 kg in weight and are reportedly over 150 years old. You’ll have the chance to interact with these tortoises and snap a few memorable pictures. In addition, the island is home to a flock of exquisite peacocks.

For the remainder of the trip, you have the choice to either explore the underwater world as you snorkel around the coral enveloping Prison Island or simply unwind under the warm sun, before returning to Stone Town.

Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults

Location

Mizingani Road

The meeting point will be in front of the main entrance of the Old Fort in Forodhani, Stone Town at 09:00AM.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.0

(24 Ratings)

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Eni

Feb 12, 2024

Nakupenda, Jozani forest, the rock restaurant, mnemba beach, stone town and other places are perfect! Love Zanzibar - Perfect place, beautiful beaches, wonderful experience! Food excellent. I will return again! Zanibar a dream come. Masai show respect.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Zanele_m

Jan 22, 2024

Tour of Island - The tour company accommodated my schedule change and the tour guide was very knowledgeable. There were plenty of photo opportunities and the Museum on the Island was very impressive.

Review provided by Viator

Mojca15

Dec 18, 2019

Prison island and spice tour - When researching for things to do in different towns on Zanzibar i came accross the web page of Colors of Zanzibar. And after initial inquires via emails we agreed ontwo tours while already in Ston Town. We were a group of 12 - 6 adults and 6 children the price was really ok and even though you could find lower wondering streets of Stone Town for us this was best option as you really get good guides and no need to run around searching for tours. The prison island is a must as it is a special kind of exepriance with wooden boat ride, white sands at the end...rellay good. Spice tour with lunch and fruit tasting was perfect. We were luvky to have special kind of adveture with heavy rain in the middle of the tour but it just made everything so more authentic. Oh and not to forget lunch was really good. Loved it and guids were really good.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Karenjb6011pc

Nov 28, 2019

Great attention to detail - We booked our trip on line through trip advisor with ‘Colours of Zanzibar’ so possibly paid more than was necessary but in the end we were glad we did. The whole trip was professionally run. We had two guides... Emego and a lady whose name we forget... and a someone responsible for the boat. We were the only two in the boat which was nice. You get hassled a bit walking along Mizingani Road for others to take you on the trip but I think you then only get one guide who also has control of the boat. We felt much safer. On the island we were taken around at our pace and given detailed information on its history and it’s inhabitants. Fantastic! And after some time for snorkelling... this was less successful because of the wind and the coral is very bleached from the sun. Great little trip and helpful guides.... recommend ‘Colours of Zanzibar’

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Jarber

Sep 10, 2019

Brilliant tour with Mwana - Our tour guide picked us up from our hostel, gave us time to grab a quick breakfast and then took us to the boat. Gave us a great tour around the giant tortoises and the prison, having studied ecology she clearly had a lot of knowledge. We then went for a snorkel on a nearby coral reef that was amazing, so much marine life. She even surprised us with the some cassava chips and flavoured baobab seeds.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Gundaboy

May 30, 2024

Very Important History Of The Colonial Rule - I took my 11 year old daughter to show how the people were treated back then. A history lesson as most schools do not teach history

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Zezekhalil

Aug 23, 2022

Feeding turtles - It’s a nice tour for kids and adults , you reach the island by a small Wooden boat , then you walk few steps up the island and you see the turtles and you get to feed them the tour guide will give some informations about the prison island it’s nice info , and that the boat can take you to the sand bank to swim and spent little time swimming , then going back to the land and you can eat in any restaurant you prefer and walk around stone town .

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Travellust_girl

Oct 10, 2019

Great guide and one of our fave tour - We booked our trip to Prison Island and we ended up with a private tour as we were the only once book on the day. Make sure to leave an 9am our early as we ended up having the place almost to ourself for half and hour, before everyone else showed up! Our tour guide was really dedicated to her job ( sad I forgot her name) she even told us things about the town ( even tho we have book a walking tour of Stonetown) We booked our trip with snorkeling aswell - that was the only disappointment of the trip. It was just of the shore of Prison Island not much to see. And the the company should make sure to write place for pick up and what time in the confirmation mail. As it was hard for us to figure out as it wasn’t listed anywhere!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Stephen

Jan 23, 2020

Could be so much more - Easy to organise yourself while in Stone Town. For the amount there is to see ( one building and the tortoises ) it really is not worth having a guide. Entry $4 but tours will refund. Would like to have seen more history but the 'prison ' is now a cafe, bar and loo's. Tortoises seemed happy enough. Babies kept locked in horrid mesh cage with little sunlight. Smell of cabbage everywhere. Did NOT snorkel as it was too choppy. We did dive reefs nearer Chumbe and Fumba where the snorkeling was excellent. As with all boat transfers - be prepared to get wet

Review provided by Tripadvisor

53j_zekb

Jan 31, 2022

Do not go there! - Tragedy, trash and torture. By promoting conscious traveling, I will not allow my participants to watch it again. Here's what we witnessed: - the whole reserve is filled with rubbish, the staff swear that they clean it every day, and you can see that the rubbish is very old and lies for a long time. - a turtle swallowing a plastic bag in front of our eyes ... we drew the attention of the park staff who ignored the topic. One of the two employees was involved in an extremely important project - lying face down on a wall in the reserve, the other was watching over and counting donations - his reaction was too late, he did not help the turtle, he cleaned up 3 plastic bags around him, leaving the rest of the garbage (caps). plastic, foil, cookie wrappers, bills ...) - in the park, on the ground, there is an abandoned metal frame, which apparently can hurt turtles .. - you can write a lot more about what a prison with a cage for small turtles is, how some look barely alive .. It is sad that people give 5 stars for such places, only because the tortoise will eat everything out of their hands and they can take a photo with it. I sincerely hope that changes will come, that this place will be a real sanctuary for turtles.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

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