Zanzibar: Jozani Forest & Salaam Cave + Pickup & Entry fees
Free cancellation · Pickup included
fromUS$80
See dates on GetYourGuideSalaam Cave, Kizimkazi: turtle swim, tours and prices
Day tour
Zanzibar: Jozani Forest & Salaam Cave + Pickup & Entry fees
fromUS$80
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See dates on GetYourGuide
Salaam Cave
Photo: Google Maps- Type
- Tour operator
- Address
- Kizimkazi Dimbani
- Area
- Kizimkazi
- Time to spend
- A visit to the cave usually means a swim of about 30 minutes. Ocean Blue says about 30 minutes, and Salaam Tours lists the visit as half an hour.4
- Google rating
- 4.1 (1,442 reviews) on Google Maps, checked October 2026
- On the map
- Open in Google Maps
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 00:00–24:00 |
| Tuesday | 00:00–24:00 |
| Wednesday | 00:00–24:00 |
| Thursday | 00:00–24:00 |
| Friday | 00:00–24:00 |
| Saturday | 00:00–24:00 |
| Sunday | 00:00–24:00 |
Plan your visit
Opening hours and time to spend
Google Maps has a tour operator listing for the cave, open Mon–Sun 00:00–24:002 (checked October 2026). That’s the operator’s listing, not posted cave hours, so confirm your slot when you book.
Swim of about 30 minutes4
Plan on about 30 minutes4 in the water. With hotel pickup, Zanzibar Star Tours runs the whole trip in 5 hours5.
Tour prices
What a turtle swim costs
You pay through a tour, and the entry is built in. Zanzibar Star Tours’ price includes entrance fees and runs from US$150 for one person down to US$45 per person for 6 or more5 (checked October 2026).
Entrance included in tour price5
Turtle cave tour prices with entry included
| Ticket | Adult | Child |
|---|---|---|
| Zanzibar Star Tours, solo traveller | US$150, entry included | – |
| Zanzibar Star Tours, larger groups | US$45 per person (6 or more), entry included | – |
| GoWithGuide private tour | US$200 per group, 3 hours, entry and taxes included | – |
Zanzibar Star Tours (tour company); GoWithGuide (booking agent)
GoWithGuide’s private group option also covers government taxes6. Both GetYourGuide tours further down have the entry fee in their titles.
Getting there
How do you get to Salaam Cave from Stone Town?
Take a tour with hotel pickup: it’s the simplest way without a car, since Kizimkazi sits on the south coast3 and Stone Town on the west coast7.
5-hour trip with hotel pickup5
Stone Town, the historic centre of Zanzibar City, and the cave are both on Unguja, one of Zanzibar’s two large islands in the Indian Ocean8.
Your options without a car:
- Shared tour with pickup: Zanzibar Star Tours’ trip takes 5 hours5 door to door.
- Private group tour: GoWithGuide lists a 3-hour6 private turtle swim with hotel transfer.
- Cave plus forest: the GetYourGuide tour below adds Jozani Forest to the same day.
Staying up north? Nungwi on the northern tip is a resort town at the northern tip3, while Dimbani is at the southern tip9 of the island, so you cross the whole of Unguja to get here.
Book a trip
Tours that visit the cave
Both GetYourGuide tours below name the cave in their titles. The first pairs it with Jozani Forest and includes pickup and entry fees; the second is the turtle swim with the entry fee.
Zanzibar: Swimming with Turtles at Salaam Cave & Entry Fee
Free cancellation · Pickup included
fromUS$29
See dates on GetYourGuideAccess
Who the trip suits
Access is the one thing operators state so far, so check it before you pay.
Not wheelchair accessible5
Round out the day
Nearby at Kizimkazi and Jozani
Kizimkazi has more to see than the cave, and one of the tours above already adds Jozani Forest.
Mosque built in 1107 CE9
- Kizimkazi Mosque: also in Dimbani, built in 1107 CE9 according to a preserved Kufic inscription. Despite its name, it sits 4.8 km from Kizimkazi9 itself.
- Dolphin boats: Kizimkazi is the starting point for dolphin tours3, with daily boat tours10 to watch and swim with bottlenose dolphins. See Kizimkazi village and its dolphin boats.
- Jozani Forest: nature trails and red colobus monkeys, native to the island and now nearly extinct3. More on Jozani Forest’s colobus trails.
Compare day trips
Other day trips from Stone Town
Staying in Stone Town and weighing up a day out? Here’s how the turtle swim sits next to the island and sandbank trips from town.
| Trip | Length | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle cave swim | 5 hours with hotel pickup | US$45–150 per person | Zanzibar Star Tours (tour company) |
| Prison Island | 3–4 hours | From US$60 per person | Go Smart Zanzibar Tours (operator) |
| Stone Town and Prison Island | Half day | US$75–90 per person | Go Smart Zanzibar Tours (operator) |
| Prison Island and Nakupenda Beach | 6 hours | US$65 per traveller | prisonislandzanzibar.com (operator) |
Zanzibar Star Tours (tour company); Go Smart Zanzibar Tours (operator); prisonislandzanzibar.com (operator)
Nakupenda is a tidal sandbank11, a strip of white sand off Stone Town that surfaces at low tide12, so check the Nakupenda Sandbank tides and timing before you book. Its name means “I love you”11 in Swahili.
The guide to a Prison Island day trip covers the boat over and the island itself. Back in town for the evening? Read up on getting to Forodhani Gardens, and find the things to do details for the rest of Zanzibar on the hub.
Questions people ask
Is the water in the turtle cave salt or fresh?
Both: the cave naturally holds sea water and fresh water, which is part of why it became a tourist attraction.
When did the cave's aquarium open?
The Daily News reported on 25 August 2024 that the Salaam Cave Aquarium at Kizimkazi-Dimbani was opened with a ribbon-cutting at that year's Kizimkazi Festival.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons and Pexels. Authors and licences: image credits
Checked against 15 sources · last checked October 2026
- Daily News (news) · checked October 2026
- Google Maps listings via DataForSEO · checked October 2026
- Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
- Salaam Tours (tour company) · checked October 2026
- Zanzibar Star Tours (tour company) · checked October 2026
- GoWithGuide (booking agent) · checked October 2026
- Wikipedia · checked October 2026
- Wikipedia · checked October 2026
- Wikipedia · checked October 2026
- Wikipedia · checked October 2026
- see-adventures.com (tour company) · checked October 2026
- Holidays To Zanzibar (travel guide) · checked October 2026
- Go Smart Zanzibar Tours (operator) · checked October 2026
- Go Smart Zanzibar Tours (operator) · checked October 2026
- prisonislandzanzibar.com (operator) · checked October 2026
Page history · last changed 21 October 2026
- First written
