9 Day Serengeti Plains to Spice Coast: Safari and Zanzibar

Yes, this is one of the most popular East African combinations; a Serengeti or Ngorongoro safari followed by several days on Zanzibar’s beaches, connected by a short flight.

Most nationalities need a visa for Tanzania, commonly available as an e-visa applied for online before travel. Requirements vary by nationality, so confirm current guidance for your passport ahead of your safari.

Zanzibar has its own international airport near Stone Town, served by direct international flights and short connections from Dar es Salaam and the northern safari circuit’s airstrips near Arusha and Kilimanjaro. A fast ferry also runs from Dar es Salaam, typically around two hours.

Tanzania protects its landscapes across more than twenty national parks, alongside conservation areas and game reserves that together cover roughly a third of the country’s total area; one of the highest proportions of protected land of any country in the world.

Kilimanjaro is usually planned as its own multi-day trek (typically 6–9 days depending on route) either before or after a separate safari itinerary, rather than combined into the same days, since it requires its own acclimatisation schedule.

Yes. Stone Town is a UNESCO World Heritage old town with a genuinely distinct Swahili, Arab, Persian and Indian architectural heritage, best explored on a guided walking tour that also covers its history as a nineteenth-century trading and, more soberingly, slave-trading port.

Both offer excellent safaris across largely the same ecosystem, and the choice often comes down to which side of the Serengeti-Mara border better fits your dates and interests: we’re happy to talk through the trade-offs for your specific safari.

No. Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous archipelago that is part of Tanzania, with its own government for local affairs while remaining under the Tanzanian union for matters like defence and currency. It uses the same visa and entry rules as mainland Tanzania.