A stroll through the home of the giant turtles
Prison Island: A Boat Adventure and a Stroll Among the Tortoises
Our visit to Prison Island was the first excursion we planned ourselves in Zanzibar. Here’s a look at how it went, what we discovered, and everything you need to know to organize your own trip.
A Brief History of the Island
Changuu Island, better known to tourists as Prison Island, is about a 30-minute boat ride from Zanzibar’s main city, Stone Town, and it has a short but dark history.
The island was first settled in the 1860s, when Zanzibar’s first sultan sold it to two Arabs to hold rebellious slaves. Later, in 1893, after Zanzibar’s falling under British protectorate, several buildings were constructed on the island intended to serve as a prison. Although the prison never actually operated, the island is still popularly known as Prison Island today.
Instead of serving as a prison, the island was used to quarantine and treat sailors suspected of having yellow fever. Outside of marine season, it functioned as a sort of resort.
Today, the island is a popular day-trip destination from Zanzibar, with its main attraction being the sanctuary for the giant Aldabra tortoises.
The tortoises
In 1919, the British governor of the Seychelles gifted Zanzibar four Aldabra tortoises, which were housed on Changuu Island. These giant tortoises are endemic to the Seychelles—they’re found nowhere else in the world—and are considered some of the largest and longest-lived tortoises on Earth. Today, Prison Island has been turned into a sanctuary, and there are now around a hundred tortoises, the oldest of which is said to be a modest 201 years old. 🙂 Each tortoise’s age is painted on its shell—the oldest we saw was ‘only’ 151 years.
The charming tortoises roam freely across a large part of the island and mingle among the visitors. In the past, tourists were allowed to touch and feed them, but that’s no longer permitted. We strolled among them, watched them, and snapped a few photos as keepsakes.
Most of the tortoises were napping in all sorts of spots, and visitors stepped around or over those who had settled on the path. One particularly curious tortoise craned its neck from beneath its shell to get a better look at the people passing by.
Besides the tortoises, the island is home to peacocks and Adar’s duikers—tiny, shy antelope relatives who hide in the bushes. Our guide was sharp-eyed enough to spot a few, allowing us to enjoy glimpses of these little creatures as well.
How we planned our visit
A visit to Prison Island is one of the most popular half-day excursions in Zanzibar, often combined with another attraction to fill the rest of the day. We had plenty of days on the island, so we decided to do it independently one morning.
The vibe in Zanzibar is that almost everyone offers tours or drives taxis. On a short walk through the village near our hotel, most of the locals we passed were offering dolphin tours, driving services, or other excursions.
Most hotels work with local tour operators, and excursions can also be booked through the reception. This, however, is often the most expensive option. In our case, we went with the young man we had also chosen for our airport transfer—details were arranged easily over WhatsApp and we paid for the trip in cash.
If you plan to organize a visit independently, you’ll need transportation to the harbor, as well as a boat to take you to the island, where there’s an entrance fee of $12 per person.”
Our day began at 9 a.m., when our taxi picked us up from the hotel and took us to Stone Town, where all the boats to Prison Island depart. The harbor was quite busy in the morning—numerous boatmen vying for customers, and street vendors persistently offering all sorts of goods. If you plan to arrange your boat independently, it’s a good idea to be a strong negotiator. Doing it yourself can probably save you quite a bit, but we aren’t exactly skilled haggling pros. 🙂
Our guide chose the services of Mr. Bean, and a few minutes later we were aboard a long wooden boat, gently rocking on the waves, while our guide, Yusuf, shared the fascinating history of the island.
The journey from Stone Town to Changuu takes between 30 and 45 minutes, depending on the boat and the waves. On our trip out, we hit some fairly strong headwinds, which slowed us down a bit.
Once we arrived on the island, our visit began at the tortoise sanctuary, the main attraction. Afterward, we wandered briefly through the buildings while our guide explained their original purpose. We then returned to the boat and headed back to Stone Town. The entire island experience took us about an hour—but you can easily linger longer, for example if you want to have lunch at the restaurant.
Since we’re snorkeling fans and had read that there’s a small reef with colorful fish around Prison Island, we asked to include a bit of swimming time. However, the waves were too strong, and in the end we decided to return to Stone Town, where our taxi was waiting at the harbor to take us back to the hotel.
If you have the time and the energy, you can combine a trip to Prison Island with a stroll through the city, a visit to a spice farm, or a longer boat ride that includes the nearby Nakupenda Sandbank—a small sandy shoal popular for beach visits or a seaside barbecue.
A couple tips
- Bring plenty of water and don’t forget to stay hydrated—the heat shouldn’t be underestimated. While the breeze on the boat feels refreshing, the island itself can get quite hot.
- The same goes for sunscreen and hats—the sun is strong and can burn you quickly.
- Wear comfortable shoes that are easy to take on and off. You’ll inevitably get wet when getting on and off the boat. We went straight for aqua shoes. Keep in mind that the tortoise area is muddy and messy, so you’re likely to get a little dirty. 🙂
- When booking your excursion, make sure everything is included in the price—transportation from and back to the hotel, the boat, and entrance fees for the island.
A little fun fact time 🙂
If, like me, you’ve ever wondered about the difference between a turtle and a tortoise, let’s clear it up now. 🙂
Tortoises live mainly on land, while turtles are the ones that spend most of their time in water.
And guess who isn’t actually a turtle? Our beloved childhood heroes, the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’—they’re technically tortoises! 🙂