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

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: 24 hours
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.
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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…

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
3.8
(32 Ratings)
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T3367egmiriamg
Dec 5, 2024
Awesome prison island experience! - Muhsin is the Mr Five Star tour guide!!! We had a very fun boat ride, an educational tour of prison island, and a relaxing time interacting with the famous tortoises. My husband and I fully enjoyed our morning with Muhsin. He was extremely accommodating, offered us time to swim on the island, and allowed us to pace our visit. I would highly recommend Muhsin and the Colors of Zanzibar tour company!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
399nielsd
Aug 22, 2024
Enjoyable trip to prison island - Nice trip tonPrison Island, and nice snorkeling around. We even have been lucky enough to see dolphins. Our guides Fatma and Muhsin were really lovely
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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
953lelandr
Jul 13, 2025
Cool island, beautiful views, great tortoises - The guide was on time, he smoothly and quickly arranged travel, the island itself was amazing, especially the tortoise sanctuary. The guide was friendly and accommodating, but I not particularly knowledgeable. That doesn't matter much, though, because the prison island museum - which was very good - has all the information on the displays.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jozephla
Sep 24, 2024
Visit to the turtles - The boat trip there was fun and the turtles were impressive to see. As was to be expected, there were a lot of tourists.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elaine1408
Jun 14, 2024
Prison island tour - We booked through viator colours of zanzibar fatima met us at the fort nd walked us to the boat when on the boat she gave us some history walked us around the prison island and sawvthe turtles in their habitat and gave us time to explore than after giving us the history of the place then had chance to swim paddle in oceam then back to shore all in all great tour very informative was lovely to meet fatima who then showed us where we could eat over and above her job
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
Excursion32650170518
Aug 7, 2025
Nothing Outstanding - Muhsin’s energy level was lackluster and he just appeared to go through the motions of being a guide. The island, peacocks and tortoises were interesting but the snorkeling was below par with other places on Zanzibar. The advertised water and snacks never materialized. Not convinced it was worth $110.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Emiliedaugaard
Aug 5, 2025
Not worth the money - Beautiful view from the island with blue clear water all around the island. However, we payed 30$ for a private boat for 4 persons, 3$ per person on land for our ticket and what we thought was the entrance fee to prison island, and then 12$ per person when arriving on the island to see the tortoise sanctuary, the small museum, restaurant etc. So basically you pay the 3$ to enter the island and to swim in the ocean and then 12$ to see the prison/hospital and tortoises. The coral reef they mention is nonexistent.. you can snorkel if interested but only see stones and cement at the bottom. So to sum up: it’s not worth the money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $55
up to 15 guests
2 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).