Where
South west tip of Unguja, on Menai Bay
From Stone Town
About 60 km, 1 to 1.5 h by road
Swimming
Around high tide, the sea goes out at low water
Faces
West, so the sun sets over the sea
Best months
June to October, January and February
Time to allow
Half a day, or one night for the sunset
Kizimkazi beach: what it looks like, and when you can swim
Kizimkazi is not a postcard strip like Nungwi. It is about 8 km of coast at the bottom of the island, with high coral cliffs north of Dimbani, a small beach and dhow harbour in the village, and a long, calm stretch of sand running south from Mkunguni towards the tip. The sand is darker than on the east coast and the reef sits close to shore.
The tide decides your day here, as it does everywhere in the south. At high water the sea comes up to the foot of the cliffs and you can swim and snorkel straight off the rocks. At low water it pulls back across the reef flat: in front of Unguja Lodge, a visitor measured it at roughly 70 metres of wet sand, with no real beach to lie on. Plan swims within two or three hours of high tide and keep low tide for walking. The Zanzibar tide guide shows how to read the table.
What Kizimkazi has that the east coast does not is the sunset. The villages face west over Menai Bay, the protected marine area where the dolphin boats go, so evenings end with the sun dropping into the water rather than behind the palms. The calmest, clearest months are June to October and January to February.
Things to do in Kizimkazi
The dolphin boats are the reason most people come. They leave Mkunguni at first light into Menai Bay, and how the trip is run matters more than which boat you pick. Prices, the problem with “swim with dolphins” and how to choose an operator are all on our Kizimkazi dolphins page. If you book one, pick a watching trip, not a swimming one.
A sail to Pungume sandbank is the quieter way onto Menai Bay: a private boat out of Kizimkazi Mkunguni, time on the sand at low tide and a barbecue lunch, without the dawn scramble of the dolphin fleet.
Jozani Forest and Salaam Cave fill the rest of a south coast day. Jozani, home of the red colobus monkey, sits about 30 minutes up the road you drive in on, and the tour adds a swim in a cave pool with pickup and entry fees included.
Kuza Cave and The Rock are on the south east coast: Kuza, in Jambiani, is about 40 minutes away, a freshwater cave to swim in at any tide, and The Rock, the restaurant on a rock in the lagoon, is further up the coast. The tour links the two in one afternoon, and on the way you can stop at Mtende, the rock cove that is best at low tide.
Private Sail to Pungume Sandbank with BBQ Lunch
- 4 to 6 hours
- Hotel pickup included
- Free cancellation
4.6(32 reviews)
from$95per person
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Jozani Forest & Salaam Cave + Pickup & Entry fees
- 4.5 to 6.5 hours
- Hotel pickup included
- Free cancellation
4.8(535 reviews)
from$80per person
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Private Kuza Cave & visit to The Rock restaurant
- 5 hours
- Hotel pickup included
- Free cancellation
4.5(50 reviews)
from$100per person
Check prices & availabilityAll activities in Kizimkazi
Kizimkazi Dimbani and Kizimkazi Mkunguni: which village is which
“Kizimkazi” on a map covers two villages a few minutes apart by car, and mixing them up is how people end up at the wrong beach. Kizimkazi Mkunguni, also called Mtendeni, is the larger and more modern one, and the one usually meant by “Kizimkazi”. Kizimkazi Dimbani, to the north, is the older village, with the mosque.
| Village | Position | What you find there |
|---|---|---|
| Kizimkazi Dimbani | The northern village | The old mosque, a small beach with a dhow harbour, the fish market on the sand, cliff-top lodges |
| Kizimkazi Mkunguni | The southern village, the larger one | The boat launch for most dolphin trips, a long calm beach running south, small owner-run lodges |
Sources disagree on the distance between them, from about 1.5 km to nearly 5 km depending on where you measure from. In practice it is a short taxi or tuk tuk ride. If your driver asks “which Kizimkazi?”, the answer is Dimbani for the mosque and Mkunguni for most boats and lodges.
Kizimkazi Mosque: the 1107 inscription and how to visit
Photo: Mnazini, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The mosque in Kizimkazi Dimbani holds a Kufic inscription dated 500 AH, or 1107 CE, carved in the coral of the prayer hall. It is the earliest dated inscription on the East African coast, which is why the building is called a 12th-century mosque. It is still in use as the village mosque.
What most guides leave out: the inscription is original, most of the building is not. The mosque was largely rebuilt in the 18th century, keeping the inscription and some of the carved coral work. What you see is a low, whitewashed building of coral rag, its roof long carried on mangrove poles, and outside, a cemetery with pillar tombs, a style of grave typical of the old Swahili coast. It is protected by Zanzibar's Department of Antiquities.
Visiting the Kizimkazi mosque
The mosque stands near the main road in Dimbani, a few hundred metres from the beach. Non-Muslim visitors are usually shown in by a caretaker. No official entry fee is published: expect to be asked for a small donation and give it in shillings.
- Cover shoulders and knees, and women should bring a scarf for the hair.
- Shoes come off at the door.
- Avoid prayer times, Friday midday above all. Late morning after the dolphin boats is usually a good slot.
- Ask before photographing people or the inside.
Kizimkazi hotels: The Residence, lodges and villas
Places to stay fall into three groups. North of Dimbani, two large resorts sit on their own stretch of shore. On the cliffs at Dimbani are small mid-range lodges with sea-view villas. Around Mkunguni and further south are simple owner-run lodges, the cheapest beds in the area.
The Residence Zanzibar is the big one: 66 villas, each with its own pool, on 32 hectares of palm garden behind a private beach. We cover villas, prices and the tide in front of it in our review of The Residence Zanzibar. Its neighbour Fruit & Spice Wellness Resort shares the same sunsets, built around a spa.
On the cliffs, Unguja Lodge has sea-view villas and its own PADI dive centre, with reefs about ten minutes offshore. Karamba is on the water a five-minute walk from Dimbani beach and the mosque. Promised Land Lodge, a handful of bungalows run by a Franco-Zanzibari couple, is the low-key option by the sea at Mkunguni.
Two things to know before booking. Water sports here are often for hotel guests only, so check what is included. And the area is quiet: no bar strip, few restaurants, so where you stay is also where you eat.
Photo: Expedia GroupThe Residence Zanzibar
Kizimkazi, south west coast
9.0225 Hotels.com reviews
66 villas, each with its own pool, on 32 hectares of palm garden behind a mile of private beach, with a spa and a kids' club.
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Photo: Expedia GroupUnguja Lodge
Kizimkazi Dimbani, cliff top
8.813 Hotels.com reviews
Villas on the cliff above the water with a PADI dive centre on site. Swim off the rocks at high tide.
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Photo: Expedia GroupKaramba
Kizimkazi Dimbani
8.08 Hotels.com reviews
On the shore a five-minute walk from Dimbani beach and the old mosque, with a pool and sunset views over Menai Bay.
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Photo: Expedia GroupPromised Land Lodge
Kizimkazi Mkunguni
9.245 Hotels.com reviews
A handful of bungalows by the sea, owner run, close to the dolphin boats and a few minutes from the mosque.
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Photo: Expedia GroupFruit & Spice Wellness Resort Zanzibar
Kizimkazi
8.8211 Hotels.com reviews
The Residence's neighbour on the same stretch of south west shore, built around wellness. Same sunsets, same tide.
See prices for my datesHotels.com ratings recorded in November 2026. Partner links to Hotels.com: prices and availability depend on your dates, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Restaurants in Kizimkazi: where to eat
Kizimkazi has very few independent restaurants, and the ones there mostly serve the dolphin-trip crowd at lunchtime. They will often stay open later if you ask in the afternoon, but some serve no alcohol: this is a conservative Muslim village.
The best meal in the village is the simplest. On the beach at Dimbani there is a fish market where boats land the morning catch, and you can have fish grilled on the spot. Come late morning when the boats are in, agree the price before it goes on the fire, and bring small notes.
For dinner, wine or a cocktail, you eat at a hotel. Unguja Lodge has a restaurant and bar on the cliff and The Residence has two restaurants; book ahead if you are not staying, as outside guests are not always taken. For more choice, Jambiani is about 40 minutes away and our guide to Zanzibar food covers what to order.
How to get to Kizimkazi from Stone Town and the airport
Kizimkazi is about 60 km south east of Stone Town. The road goes past Jozani Forest, about 25 km before the village, and the drive takes between one hour and an hour and a half, more when leaving Zanzibar City at rush hour. The airport is on the south side of town, so the time from there is about the same.
- Taxi. Quotes run from about $30 to $80 one way from Stone Town or the airport, depending on who you ask and how you haggle. There is no fixed fare. Agree the price and the village, Dimbani or Mkunguni, before you get in.
- Hotel transfer. Most lodges arrange airport pickup for a fee, which saves the haggling on arrival.
- Dala-dala. The shared minibuses for the south leave from Mwanakwerekwe market on the edge of Zanzibar City, and go when full. Cheap and slow, fine with a small bag. Ask for Kizimkazi at the stand, as line numbers change.
- Hire car or scooter. The road is paved most of the way. Our car rental guide covers the permit you need.
Dolphin trips from Stone Town
How long to stay in Kizimkazi
Most visitors come for half a day and leave after lunch. That is enough to see the dolphins and the mosque. One or two nights is what the place rewards, for the sunset and the morning without the drive. Beyond that, unless you are diving or want total quiet, you will run out of things to do: combine it with a few days on the south east coast, in Jambiani or Paje.
Half a day in Kizimkazi
- Dawn boat in Menai Bay, back on land by mid morning
- The mosque in Dimbani, ten minutes with the caretaker
- Grilled fish on the beach, then on to Jozani or the south east coast
One or two nights in Kizimkazi
- A swim at high tide from the lodge, a walk at low tide
- Sunset over Menai Bay, which the east coast cannot offer
- First boat out without a 5 am drive from Stone Town
- A dive on the reefs ten minutes offshore
If you are on the island in late July, Makunduchi, the next village east, holds Mwaka Kogwa, the four-day Shirazi new year festival with mock fights and a ritual hut burning. It is a short drive from Kizimkazi.
Questions people ask about Kizimkazi
How far is Stone Town from Kizimkazi?
About 60 kilometres. The road runs south east past Jozani Forest and takes between one hour and an hour and a half by car, longer when Zanzibar City traffic is bad. The airport sits on the same side of town, so the drive from there is about the same.
What to do in Kizimkazi?
Most visitors come for a morning boat in Menai Bay to see dolphins, then visit the old mosque in Kizimkazi Dimbani and eat grilled fish by the water. If you stay, add a swim at high tide, the sunset over the bay, a dive on the nearby reefs or a sail to a sandbank.
Can you swim at Kizimkazi beach?
Yes, around high tide. At low water the sea pulls back across the reef flat, by about 70 metres in front of one cliff-top lodge, and swimming stops until it returns. Check a tide table before you plan a beach afternoon.
Is Kizimkazi in Tanzania?
Yes. Kizimkazi is on Unguja, the main island of Zanzibar, and Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of the United Republic of Tanzania. You arrive through Zanzibar's airport or the ferry port in Stone Town.
Is there an entrance fee for the Kizimkazi mosque?
No fixed fee is published. Visitors are shown round by whoever holds the key, and a small donation is customary. Cover shoulders and knees, take your shoes off, and do not come at prayer time.
Is it worth staying in Kizimkazi?
Stay if you want a quiet base, sunsets over the water and the first dolphin boat without an early drive. Stay elsewhere if you want bars, a long beach that swims all day or a choice of restaurants, which Kizimkazi does not have.