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Home » Destinations » Africa » Tanzania

Exploring Changuu, Zanzibar's Prison Island in Tanzania

Modified: Feb 22, 2025 · Published: Jan 17, 2012 by Mark Wiens |

What is now a tiny, beautiful tropical island off the coast of Zanzibar was once not a pleasant place. At first, Changuu Island (known more commonly as Prison Island) was where enslaved people were detained and held until they were transported to locations in the Middle East or Europe.

Zanzibar
Prison Island

After that, the island was transformed into a quarantine center where people with deadly diseases were left so they wouldn't spread their illnesses to the healthy. Today, the island is a nature reserve and a beautiful place to spend the day when you visit Stone Town, Zanzibar.

Getting to the island takes about 30 minutes by motorboat and should cost around $30 - $40 per boat (there and back), each of which can accommodate up to 10 people.

Zanzibar Island
Zanzibar Island

If you don't want to deal with the boat owners themselves, or if you don't have ten people to rent the entire boat, you can easily book a day trip to Prison Island at one of the many tourist offices in the central part of Stone Town. Just be sure to negotiate a deal before you go.

The Indian Ocean can be pretty choppy, so be forewarned if you are prone to seasickness. Once you arrive in the shallower waters of the island, the water becomes calm, and the color turns to that beautiful shade of turquoise blue.

One of the island's famous activities is taking a cool dip and snorkeling around the island. The water wasn't overly clear when I visited, so I couldn't see much while snorkeling, but the swimming was fantastic.

Giant Tortoises
Giant Tortoises

A gift from the Seychelles, on one side of the island is a colony of giant tortoises, one of the highlights of Prison Island these days. Some are gentle goliaths, creeping around silently while munching everything green in sight.

Though it is not permitted to ride them anymore (as it was a few years ago), you can still feed and touch them. They do look and act just like dinosaurs.

The Old Prison
The Old Prison

About a 5-minute walk away are the former ruins that once functioned as the prison. The structure has aged and weathered into an interesting combination of concrete and overgrown vegetation, offering a lovely view of the water below. Another iconic symbol of Zanzibar's Prison Island is the rickety wooden bridge that stretches from dry land to about 50 meters into the water.

Related: World Famous Prisons

Prison Island Bridge
Prison Island Bridge

With every wave, the bridge shakes a little, and apart from being a decent place for locals to go fishing, it doesn't serve much another purpose. Most people visit Prison Island as a day trip on their busy schedules in Zanzibar, but if you choose to spend the night, there is one pricey private island resort where you can stay.

I think it's not worth staying on Prison Island as there are more beautiful beaches around Zanzibar. Still, the island's beauty, history (and the tortoise colony) are worth a day trip from Stone Town. 

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About Mark Wiens

Mark was raised in central Africa before migrating back to the U.S. for University. After graduating, he decided to continue traveling the world. On Migrationology, he shares the cultural side of travel from a slow-paced local perspective that often revolves around his love for eating all forms of food. Join him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @migrationology.

Comments

  1. Andi of My Beautiful Adventures says

    January 18, 2012 at 8:54 am

    I will pay someone to imprison me there! ;-)

    • Mark Wiens says

      January 18, 2012 at 11:49 pm

      Definitely!

  2. Mohamed Issa says

    November 17, 2014 at 4:05 am

    Prison Island is a quiet beautiful place to spend the day.However the Znz goverment should also think of lowering prices for the locals.They shoud promote local tourism.

Dave at Ahu Ko Te Riku on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile.

Hi, I'm Dave

Editor in Chief

I've been writing about adventure travel on Go Backpacking since 2007. I've visited 68 countries.

Read more about Dave.

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