Cheap flights from London to Zanzibar

The page lists fares for every month from September through August, and October is the cheapest of them. If your dates are flexible, price the weeks on either side of October too — late September and early November sit close to the low point. School holidays and the end-of-year break are the periods when seats fill first, so if term times decide your travel, book as soon as you can. Otherwise, compare a midweek departure with a weekend one before you settle: the day you fly can matter as much as the airline.

Kenya Airways, Egyptair, Wizz Air Malta, Israir, Qatar Airways, Hahn Air, Uganda Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and Etihad Airways all sell this route. None of them fly it non-stop, so what you are choosing is a hub and the length of the wait in it. Wizz Air Malta is the low-cost name in that list; the rest are full-service carriers, and what each fare includes varies by ticket, so read the baggage and change rules before you compare totals. Hahn Air appears as a ticketing name, so check which carrier actually operates the flight. On a route like this, the total journey — bags, layover and all — is what matters.

Zanzibar's airport is Kisauni, the island's only gateway, and it serves both Zanzibar Town and the beach resorts along the coast. Transfer times depend on where you are staying: Zanzibar Town is the closest, while resorts further along the coast mean a longer road journey, so arrange your ride before you land rather than at the kerb. Taxis wait outside arrivals, and a pre-booked transfer is the calmer choice after a connecting flight. Keep your paperwork for Tanzania within reach when you land instead of packed in the hold, and if you are heading straight to a resort, confirm the pickup point with your accommodation before you fly.

Currency

TZS (TSh)

Power sockets

Type G · 230 V

Language

Swahili, English

Emergency number

112, 114, 115

Calling code

+255

Internet domain

.tz

Population of Zanzibar

710 k (2022)

Time zone

UTC+03 (Africa/Dar_es_Salaam)

Country facts: Wikidata

• Check which London airport your fare leaves from, since Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City are not interchangeable and moving between them takes planning.
• Confirm whether the connection is covered by one ticket or two, because a missed link on separate tickets is yours to fix.
• Read what the fare includes on the low-cost leg, since baggage rules differ from ticket to ticket.
• Sort out your passport and any visa or entry paperwork for Tanzania before you pay for the flight.
• Price the weeks around October, the cheapest month on this route, before you lock in your dates.
• Give yourself room on the layover, because with no non-stop flights the connection is part of the journey.