Money
The right coast before the better hotel
And more nights before a bigger room. Both are unfashionable and both are correct.
| Per person per night | What it buys |
|---|---|
| US$800 – 1,200 | Established camps in genuinely good locations, a private vehicle throughout, light-aircraft hops between parks rather than long road transfers, and guiding that is a profession rather than a job. The entry point to a safari that does not compromise. |
| US$1,200 – 1,800 | Camps on private land, where the rules change: off-road driving to a sighting, night drives, walking with an armed guide, and a cap on how many vehicles may attend anything. Usually the point at which people stop comparing safaris on price. |
| US$1,800 – 2,500 | The camps people name when they get home. Six to ten tents, an owner or manager who is present, a guide assigned to you for the stay, and food that would hold its own in a city. |
| US$2,500 – 4,000 | A guide who travels with you from park to park rather than being handed over at each one, private charters on your own schedule, and small camps taken whole for your party. |
| US$4,000 and up | Exclusive-use houses and villas with their own staff, mobile expedition camps built for your route, and private aircraft between countries. Bought for privacy and control rather than for thread count. |
Indicative planning ranges only, per person per night sharing, for a fully inclusive safari — accommodation, meals, park and conservancy fees, guiding, and transport between parks. They are what we see in the market, not a quote and not an official tariff. Your quote will be exact and itemised. International flights are not included.
Zanzibar sits lower in these bands than a safari camp does and has a genuinely deep field at every level, which is why a beach week costs less per night than the fortnight that preceded it.
What sits on top
- Airport transfers, which can be ninety minutes to the east coast and are not always included.
- Drinks, unless all-inclusive — and premium spirits and imported wine even then.
- Diving, which is the one activity that adds up meaningfully.
- Excursions, mostly inexpensive, and worth taking privately rather than shared.
- Spa treatments, which are good value here and are almost never in a rate.
Comparing like with like
Board basis is the trap. An all-inclusive rate against a half-board one at similar-looking properties is not a comparable number, and adding seven dinners to the second usually closes most of the gap.
Transfers are the second trap, and on the east coast they are not small.
Where the money does most
The right coast, first and by a distance. A good hotel where you can swim when you want beats a grand one where you cannot.
More nights, second. Six at a good property beats four at a grand one, particularly where the tide shapes the day.
A serious pool on the east coast, third, because it carries the middle of every day.
A night or two in Stone Town, fourth. It costs little and it is the part people remember.
Where it does least
A larger room. A famous name. And an all-inclusive package at a hotel with one restaurant, which buys you a week of the same menu at a premium.
Season
Rates move a great deal. Christmas, New Year and the European summer are the peaks; the long rains around April and May are the cheapest and the riskiest, with some hotels closed entirely.
The shoulders either side of the peaks are excellent value and the weather is frequently indistinguishable from the peak month beside them.
Ready to turn this into a real itinerary?
Send us your dates, who is travelling and roughly what you want to spend per person per night. Our Zanzibar specialist comes back within 24 hours with a plan built around them and a costed quote.