Price
$82 adult, $42 child 6 to 14
Leaves from
Fumba, on the south west coast
Length
A full day, roughly seven hours on the water
Included
Snorkel gear, seafood lunch, fruit, drinks
Not included
Getting to Fumba, unless you add it
Departure
Set by the tide, so it moves through the week
Book Safari Blue
Through your hotel, direct with the operator, or on a booking platform. All three work. What matters is that the listing names the operator, states the group size, and includes the transfer, because Fumba is an hour from the east coast and the taxi is not cheap.
Full days in Menai Bay
Prices, ratings and review counts as the partner lists them, read on the date shown below the cards. Check the group size on the listing before booking, because that is what separates a good day from a crowded one.
Safari Blue: lagoon, snorkelling and a barbecue lunch
The classic dhow day out in Menai Bay, full day.
Safari Blue with lunch
Shared departure, hotel pickup included.
From$45per person
Check availabilityPrices, ratings and review counts read from GetYourGuide on 10 September 2026, and indicative. These are partner links: the price is the same for you.
Safari Blue price and what is included
| Option | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, 15 and over | $82 | The rate on the operator's own booking page. Its FAQ still shows $75, so ask which one you are being charged. |
| Child, 6 to 14 | $42 | Under sixes have historically gone free. Confirm it rather than assuming. |
| Small private boat | $70 a head plus $200 | The same day without strangers. It works out well for four or more, badly for two. |
| A copy, booked locally | $45 to $65 | Same bay, same sandbank, wildly variable boat and lunch. Some are excellent. |
| Transfer to Fumba | $25 to $70 return | Cheap from Stone Town, expensive from Nungwi. This is the line people forget to budget. |
What the price covers on the water is genuinely everything: snorkel gear, the guide, a Swahili seafood barbecue on Kwale island, the fruit tasting, soft drinks, water, and coffee with Amarula. Cocktails at the beach bar are the only thing you pay for again.
Vegetarians and people who do not eat seafood are catered for, with grilled chicken, lentils in coconut milk and Swahili vegetable dishes. Say so when you book rather than on the beach.
The original Safari Blue, and the copies
Safari Blue is a company, not a category. It has run out of Fumba since the mid nineties, the name is trademarked, and the operator cares enough that its own FAQ opens with how to tell whether you have booked the real one.
Around it an industry grew. Plenty of operators run a comparable day in Menai Bay and sell it under the same two words, because that is what people type into a search box. Some are genuinely good and cost thirty dollars less. Some put thirty people on a boat built for twenty.
Neither is automatically the right answer. What is wrong is not knowing which one you booked, and four questions settle it in under a minute.
Ask before you pay
- How many people are on the boat, and how many does it hold?
- How long at the sandbank and at the snorkelling stop?
- Is lunch grilled on the island, or brought out ready in a box?
- Are there life jackets, and in child sizes if you need them?
An operator who answers all four without hesitating is fine at any price. One who talks around them has already told you what you needed to know.
The Safari Blue itinerary, stop by stop
Six stops across about seven hours, and the sailing between them is a good part of the point rather than dead time.
Out into Menai Bay under sail
A traditional dhow rather than a speedboat, which is slower and much better. Menai Bay has been a conservation area since 1997 and the water inside it is flat almost all year.
Snorkelling on the reef
Forty minutes or so over reasonable coral with plenty of fish. It is not Mnemba and nobody sensible claims it is, but it is a genuine stop rather than a token one. Gear is provided and fits badly, as gear does.
Dolphins, if they are there
Bottlenose and humpback dolphins live in the bay and the boat looks for them on the way. It is a better encounter than the one sold at Kizimkazi, for reasons set out there. It is a maybe, not a promise, and any operator promising them is lying.
The sandbank
A bar of white sand that surfaces as the tide drops, with nothing on it. This is the photograph that sells the trip, and it does deliver. Time here depends entirely on the tide.
The mangrove lagoon
A hidden channel through mangrove where the boat threads in and stops. Some operators let you swim, others treat it as a look and move on. Ask which yours does.
Lunch on Kwale island
Grilled seafood under the trees, then the fruit tasting everybody remembers, then coffee with Amarula. There is a baobab you can climb. The quality of this one hour is what separates the operators.
Safari Blue or a real safari
One word, two entirely different holidays, and people book the wrong one more often than you would think. Safari Blue has no land animals in it.
| Safari Blue | A game safari | |
|---|---|---|
| What you see | Reef fish, a sandbank, maybe dolphins | Elephant, lion, buffalo, giraffe |
| Where | Menai Bay, an hour from most hotels | The mainland, by light aircraft or ferry |
| How long | One day, back by five | One very long day, or two to four nights |
| Cost | $45 to $82 a head | From about $350 a head, and up fast |
If it is animals you came for, the options and what each really costs are in combining a safari with Zanzibar. Do both if the budget allows. Do not book one expecting the other.
The tide sets the departure time, not the operator
The channel out of Fumba is shallow and the sandbank only exists once the water has dropped. Both are the moon's decision. Departure moves through the week, and an operator who quotes a fixed time months ahead is guessing.
Two consequences. Confirm the time the evening before, and do not book a flight out on the same day. How the tide works here explains why it shifts by roughly fifty minutes a day.
What to bring, and who should skip it
- Reef safe sun cream and a long sleeved top. Seven hours on open water with a canvas awning is more sun than a day on a lounger, and the sandbank has no shade at all.
- Water shoes. Menai Bay has sea urchins and the boarding is off the sand.
- Cash for the bar and the tip. Small notes. There is no card machine on a dhow.
- Your own mask if you have one. The supplied gear works and fits badly, as supplied gear does.
- A dry bag. Everything on a dhow gets wet eventually, including the bench you left your phone on.
Skip it if
Questions people ask about Safari Blue
How much is Safari Blue Zanzibar?
The original operator charges $82 for adults and anyone fifteen and over, and $42 for children between six and fourteen, on its own booking page. Its FAQ page still shows the older $75 and $40 with under sixes free, so confirm which applies when you book. Either way that covers everything on the water, and transport to Fumba is added separately.
What is included in a Safari Blue package?
Snorkelling equipment, the guide, a Swahili seafood barbecue on Kwale island, a tasting of tropical fruit, soft drinks, water and coffee with Amarula through the day. Cocktails at the beach bar are extra. Transfers from your hotel are extra unless you add them at booking, and Fumba is an hour from the east coast.
Is Safari Blue worth it?
For most people yes, and it is the one full day boat trip on the island that consistently justifies its price. The sandbank and the lunch are what people talk about afterwards. If you have already snorkelled at Mnemba, the reef stop here will feel ordinary.
Which safari is best from Zanzibar?
Two completely different things share that word. Safari Blue is a day on a boat in Menai Bay with no animals in it beyond fish and possibly dolphins. A real game safari means flying or ferrying to the mainland for Nyerere, Mikumi or the Serengeti, from around $350 for one long day to well over $1,000 for a proper multi day trip. Decide which you actually want before you book anything.
What is the difference between Safari Blue and the copies?
Safari Blue is one operator running out of Fumba since the mid nineties and the name is trademarked. Other operators sell a similar itinerary under the same two words, sometimes twenty or thirty dollars cheaper. What varies is boat size, how long you get at each stop, whether lunch is grilled fresh in front of you, and whether there are life jackets in child sizes.
What time does Safari Blue leave?
Around half past nine, but it moves with the tide, which shifts roughly fifty minutes later each day. The channel out of Fumba is too shallow to leave on a low tide. Confirm the time the evening before rather than trusting a schedule you were sent weeks ago.
Can you do Safari Blue with children?
Yes, and it works for anybody comfortable on a boat for a few hours. The sandbank is shallow and safe and the snorkelling stop can be skipped from the deck. Check the boat carries life jackets in child sizes, because not all of them do, and bring more sun cover than you think you need.