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Last checked: October 2026

Chumbe Island, Tanzania: day trips, reef and getting there

Sun setting over the sea off Stone Town with two dhows on the horizon

Island hopping

Zanzibar: Prison Island and Nakupenda Boat Trip with Lunch

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Chumbe Island on Google Maps

Chumbe Island

Photo: Google Maps
Type
Island
Address
Chumbe Island
Entry fee
Chumbe Island says all visitors, day-trippers and overnight guests alike, pay a Blue Economy Levy on top of its rates, effective 20 August 2024.9
Google rating
4.4 (92 reviews) on Google Maps, checked October 2026

Google Maps lists no opening hours

Coral park and forest

What Chumbe Island is

Chumbe Island is a small, privately managed conservation area, and the whole island is protected as a Coral Reef Sanctuary and a Forest Reserve1. The island and its waters were declared the Chumbe Island Coral Park in 19944.

Declared a coral park in 19944

The park is an accredited Global Ocean Refuge1. It’s tiny: Wikipedia gives the island’s length as 1.0 km4.

You can visit as an overnight guest or on a day trip:

  • Overnight: guests stay in one of seven eco-bungalows1.
  • Day trip: Chumbe Island says day trips are possible5, sold through the lodge and local tour companies.

From Stone Town by boat

How do you get to Chumbe Island?

You get to Chumbe Island by road to Mbweni, a 10-minute drive south of Stone Town, then on the lodge’s boat at 10:00 am2.

Boat leaves at 10:00 am2

  1. Drive to Mbweni

    The check-in point at Jungle Paradise Resort & Spa in Mbweni is a 10-minute drive south of Stone Town.

  2. Check in for the boat

    Boat check-in is at 9:30 am in the resort's restaurant area.

  3. Board the boat

    The boat leaves for the island at 10:00 am.

  4. Cross to Chumbe

    The crossing takes 30–45 minutes, depending on the source.

Tanzania Odyssey puts the island 13 km south-west of Stone Town6. Miss the morning boat and late transfers between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm cost US$75 per boat, one way2 (checked October 2026).

Sort out your own ride to Mbweni. Colors of Zanzibar says transfers from hotels anywhere in Zanzibar to Mbweni Ruins are not included7 in its trip.

Dhow with a red cover on the reef at low tide, with the shore behind
Dhow with a red cover on the reef at low tide, with the shore behind

Short-notice booking

Booking a day trip

Book a Chumbe day trip close to your date, not weeks ahead: places depend on how full the lodge is.

Max 14 guests on the island7

  • Timing: Eco & Culture Tours says to ask about availability two days before3 you want to go.
  • Booking window: Colors of Zanzibar sells day tours no more than 3 days ahead, and only when the lodge has space7.
  • Numbers: no more than 14 guests7 are allowed on the island at a time.

Trip prices and levies

What a Chumbe day trip costs

Day-trip prices differ by seller, from US$90–1108 (checked October 2026) plus levy to US$2007 for a private boat trip. Compare what each one includes before you pick.

No levy for children under 59

Chumbe day-trip prices by seller
SellerPriceWhat you getSource
Holidays To Zanzibar
US$90–110
Day package, plus a government levy of about US$25
Holidays To Zanzibar (tour company)
Eco & Culture Tours
US$135
Boat, guide, snorkel gear and lunch cooked on the island
ecoculture-zanzibar.com (tour company)
Colors of Zanzibar
US$200 per person
Private boat trip; hotel transfers to Mbweni not included
Colors of Zanzibar (tour company)

Holidays To Zanzibar (tour company); ecoculture-zanzibar.com (tour company); Colors of Zanzibar (tour company)

On top of the trip, every visitor pays a Blue Economy Levy9, day-trippers and overnight guests alike. The lodge’s notice and the government’s revised marine-area fees give different figures.

Levies on a Chumbe visit

TicketAdultChild
Blue Economy Levy, Chumbe's own notice, per day
US$25 (over 15)
US$10 (age 5–15)
Revised marine-area fee, non-East African visitors, per day
US$10
US$5 (age 5–15)
Youngest children
–
Free under 5

Chumbe Island (official); The Citizen (news)

The long rains

When Chumbe closes

Chumbe closes for the long rains, roughly April to early or mid June10, but sources disagree on the exact dates.

Expert Africa: open mid-June to mid-April11

Source What it says
i-escape.com (booking agent)
Closed late April and May10
Expert Africa (booking agent)
Open mid-June to mid-April11
Tanzania Specialist (tour company)
No day trips 1 April to 3 June12
When Chumbe is open
  • Lodge and day trips run
  • Sources disagree
  • Long-rains closure

If your dates fall in April or June, check with the lodge or your seller before you build a day around it.

Reef, forest, lighthouse

What you do on the island

A Chumbe day mixes reef, forest and a lighthouse climb. Holidays To Zanzibar says its package runs from about 10am to late afternoon8.

Guided snorkel about an hour5

  • Guided snorkelling: tours last about an hour5, with all equipment provided.
  • The lighthouse: you can climb the 132 steps5 to the top.
  • The forest trail: a trail loops around the southern part of the island’s dense coral rag forest5.
  • Lunch: Eco & Culture Tours includes lunch cooked on the island3 in its day rate.

Under the water

What marine life lives around Zanzibar?

Zanzibar’s reefs hold turtles and big shoals of reef fish, and Chumbe’s marine park alone has over 400 fish species13. Clear water and good reefs14 make the island good for diving and snorkelling.

Over 400 fish species13

The catch: in some areas, reefs are in poor condition and fish populations are low14. Chumbe’s protected reef is a different story:

  • Turtles: the park is an important feeding ground for green and hawksbill turtles13.
  • Reef fish: Holidays To Zanzibar says the reef has groupers, snapper, parrotfish and wrasse in numbers not seen elsewhere in the archipelago8.
  • On land: Wikipedia says coconut crabs are often seen4 on the island.

Holidays To Zanzibar picks out Chumbe for coral condition and Mnemba Atoll for fish life8. If fish matter more to you than coral, read up on Mnemba snorkelling too.

Lionfish swimming over coral on the reef at Mnemba Atoll
Lionfish swimming over coral on the reef at Mnemba Atoll

Families and access

Who Chumbe suits

Chumbe welcomes children, but its rocky ground and open bungalows make it a better fit for older kids than for toddlers.

Balconies unsuitable under age 611

  • Families: children are welcome, and baby cots are available on request15.
  • Older children: Expert Africa calls Chumbe a great choice for older, adventurous kids11.
  • Young children: the balconies are not suitable for children under six11, according to Expert Africa.
  • The ground: Chumbe warns that the ground on the island is rocky and the bungalows are very open15.
  • Wheelchair users: Expert Africa lists disabled access as not possible11.

Back on the main island

Nearby trips from Stone Town

Chumbe can also send you back to the main island: i-escape says day trips to Stone Town, Jozani Forest and the spice gardens10 can be arranged.

  • Prison Island (Changuu): 5.6 km north-west of Stone Town16, with a boat ride of 20–30 minutes17 each way. It sits in the same Chumbe and Changuu-Bawe marine conservation area18, and Holidays To Zanzibar calls it the standard first snorkel for families and complete beginners8.
  • Jozani Forest: the forest has nature trails14, and its page covers getting to the forest from town.
  • Nungwi and Kendwa: Holidays To Zanzibar says Nungwi is the island’s one reliable spot for snorkelling from the shore8. Kendwa is a couple of miles from Nungwi14; the Kendwa page covers that stretch.
  • Paje and Bwejuu: Paje is a small east-coast village known for kiteboarding14.

None of the tours listed on this site goes to Chumbe itself, so you book the island through the lodge or a local seller. If Chumbe is full on your dates, this Prison Island boat trip is a bookable alternative from Stone Town:

Giant tortoises in the shaded enclosure on Changuu (Prison) Island

Island hopping · GetYourGuide

Zanzibar: Prison Island and Nakupenda Boat Trip with Lunch

4.2 (1,113 reviews) on GetYourGuide, checked October 2026

Free cancellation · Pickup included

fromUS$18

See dates on GetYourGuide

For the rest of the island, browse the rest of Zanzibar’s things to do.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons and Pexels. Authors and licences: image credits

Checked against 19 sources · last checked October 2026
  1. Chumbe Island (official) · checked October 2026
  2. Chumbe Island (official) · checked October 2026
  3. ecoculture-zanzibar.com (tour company) · checked October 2026
  4. Wikipedia · checked October 2026
  5. Chumbe Island (official) · checked October 2026
  6. Tanzania Odyssey (booking agent) · checked October 2026
  7. Colors of Zanzibar (tour company) · checked October 2026
  8. Holidays To Zanzibar (tour company) · checked October 2026
  9. Chumbe Island (official) · checked October 2026
  10. i-escape.com (booking agent) · checked October 2026
  11. Expert Africa (booking agent) · checked October 2026
  12. Tanzania Specialist (tour company) · checked October 2026
  13. Wikipedia · checked October 2026
  14. Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
  15. Chumbe Island (official) · checked October 2026
  16. Wikipedia · checked October 2026
  17. Holidays To Zanzibar (tour company) · checked October 2026
  18. The Citizen (news) · checked October 2026
  19. Google Maps listings via DataForSEO · checked October 2026
Page history · last changed 21 October 2026