How crowded is Stone Town right now?

Stone Town currently has a saturation score of 70/100, classified as Crowded. This reflects crowd density, visitor impact on infrastructure, local sentiment, and recent trajectory.

What taxes or fees apply to visitors to Stone Town?

Stone Town has 3 documented visitor fees or taxes: Infrastructure Tax (5.00 USD); Mandatory Visitor Travel Insurance (44.00 USD); Hotel Levy (12% of services). Each is sourced; see the table for effective dates.

Is Stone Town considered overtouristed?

Stone Town is rated Crowded on the crowddodger saturation index (70/100). Conditions are crowded but manageable.

When was this assessment last updated?

Saturation scoring for Stone Town was last updated on 2026-05-30. Source verification follows the published crowddodger methodology.

Tanzania · Africa

Stone Town

Stone Town is the historic core of Zanzibar City, a UNESCO World Heritage site of coral-stone buildings, carved doorways and labyrinthine lanes shaped by centuries of Indian Ocean trade. Tourism has expanded rapidly, with international arrivals rising from 260,000 in 2020 to more than 736,000 in 2024, putting mounting pressure on its fragile urban fabric. The Zanzibar government has responded with an infrastructure tax, mandatory travel insurance for all visitors, and formal directives to prioritise building restoration over new construction.

Stone Town

Tanzania

Saturation snapshot

Crowded

Last updated: 2026-05-30

Main streets are busy throughout the day. Headline attractions need 30+ minutes of waiting or advance booking. Photographing landmarks requires patience for a clear angle. Restaurants near major sights often need reservations.

Crowd Density: 70 source
Visitor Impact: 68 source
Local Sentiment: 72 source
Trajectory: 75 source

Restrictions, taxes & fees

Fee	Amount	When	Source	Verified
Infrastructure Tax Per person per night for hotel guests (rate by hotel star rating; up to USD 10 for underwater rooms)	5.00 USD	—	zanrevenue.org	2026-05-30 Verification pending
Mandatory Visitor Travel Insurance All foreign non-resident visitors entering Zanzibar (USD 22 for EAC member state nationals)	44.00 USD	—	thecitizen.co.tz	2026-05-30 Verification pending
Hotel Levy All hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, tourist vessels and tour operations on chargeable services	—	12% of services	zanrevenue.org	2026-05-30 Verification pending

Today, by our data

Current notice: US State Dept: Tanzania - Level 3: Reconsider Travel, and 1 further notice below. Phone-presence is running below the same week last year. This is a mid-season week here by our measures. The best source on today is someone who is already there.

Assembled from official statistics, public data feeds and our own measurements. Conditions change faster than data does — verify anything that affects your plans.

Current conditions

Conditions change — verify with the linked source before travelling. Last checked 2026-08-04.

major advisory

US State Dept: Tanzania - Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Source: U.S. State Department
caution advisory

UK FCDO advises against travel to parts of Tanzania

avoid_all_but_essential_travel_to_parts

Source: UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office