Zanzibar is an island, but it doesn’t feel like one from a flight-booking perspective — on a typical day, somewhere between 21 and 34 separate flights connect Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar alone, which is a genuinely startling number for a route that takes about 15 minutes in the air. That’s not the only way to reach the island, though, and which route actually makes sense for you depends on where you’re coming from and what else is on your itinerary.
Route 1: Dar es Salaam ↔ Zanzibar (the one almost everyone uses)
This is the route most travelers end up on, usually because they flew internationally into Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere International Airport and need the short hop across the channel. The flight itself takes about 15 minutes — barely enough time to reach cruising altitude — and fares average around €67–75 one-way, though this moves with season and how far ahead you book. Nine airlines show up on this route in schedule data: Air Tanzania, Precision Air, Auric Air, Coastal Aviation, Flightlink, Fastjet, FlexFlight, Oman Air, and flydubai, though the last two are really long-haul carriers continuing a flight that originated elsewhere rather than dedicated shuttle service. Flightlink and Auric Air tend to run the most frequent domestic service, each with several flights most days; Air Tanzania and Precision Air fill in the rest. With this many options, you’re rarely waiting more than an hour or two for the next available seat, even if your first-choice flight is full.
Route 2: Arusha / Kilimanjaro ↔ Zanzibar (the safari route)
If you’re combining Zanzibar with a Serengeti or Ngorongoro safari, this is your route instead, and it’s a different animal from the Dar hop — a longer flight (roughly an hour), usually on the same light-aircraft operators that run the safari circuit: Coastal Aviation, Auric Air, Safari Air Link, Air Excel, Regional Air, and ZanAir. Some of these routes fly directly out of bush airstrips inside the Serengeti rather than requiring you to return to Arusha first — the kind of detail that saves a genuinely long drive. If this is your route, our Zanzibar + Serengeti combo guide and Zanzibar + Ngorongoro Crater guide both go deep on the specific luggage rules (soft duffel bags only, strict weight limits) and timing that apply here but don’t apply to the plain Dar–Zanzibar hop.
Route 3: Zanzibar ↔ Pemba (the one most tourists don’t know exists)
Zanzibar is actually the main island of an archipelago, and Pemba — the second major island, known for its diving rather than its beaches — is a short domestic hop away: about 25–35 minutes in the air, run by Coastal Aviation (2 flights most days) and Auric Air (3 flights most days), with Air Tanzania adding a few flights a week. This route is worth knowing about if you’re extending a trip to Pemba’s reefs, but it’s genuinely easy to overlook since almost no general Zanzibar travel content mentions it — most people assume “Zanzibar” and “Pemba” require a return to the mainland in between, when they don’t.
Flying In Directly vs. Connecting Through Dar
Here’s a decision a lot of travelers don’t realize they’re making: Dar es Salaam has far more international connections than Zanzibar does, so depending on where you’re flying from, it’s sometimes cheaper, faster, or simply the only option to fly internationally into Dar and take the short domestic hop over, rather than looking for a direct international flight into Zanzibar itself. Direct international service into Zanzibar does exist — from parts of Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere in Africa — but the route network is thinner than Dar’s, so it’s worth comparing both options rather than assuming a direct flight into Zanzibar will be the better deal. If your itinerary includes mainland time anyway (a safari, a Dar es Salaam stopover), routing through Dar first often makes more sense regardless of price.
What You’ll Actually Deal With at Zanzibar’s Airport
Zanzibar’s Abeid Amani Karume International Airport runs two separate terminals: Terminal 2 handles domestic arrivals (your flight if you’re connecting from Dar, Arusha, or Pemba), and Terminal 3, which opened in 2021 with capacity for 1.5 million passengers a year, handles international flights. The airport sits about 5 km south of Stone Town — a short transfer either way — and runs 24 hours. It’s a relatively small airport for the volume it handles, which means real congestion during peak tourist season at check-in, immigration, and baggage claim; building in extra buffer time around a connecting flight here is a reasonable precaution, not overcaution.
Quick Reference
| Route | Flight Time | Typical Price | Frequency | Main Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dar es Salaam ↔ Zanzibar | ~15 min | From ~€67–75 | 21–34 flights/day | Air Tanzania, Precision Air, Auric Air, Flightlink |
| Arusha/Kilimanjaro ↔ Zanzibar | ~1 hour | Quoted per safari itinerary | Several daily | Coastal Aviation, Auric Air, ZanAir, Safari Air Link |
| Zanzibar ↔ Pemba | ~25–35 min | Varies, often $100+ | ~5 flights/day combined | Coastal Aviation, Auric Air, Air Tanzania (weekly) |
Prices and frequencies checked October 2026 and change with season, fuel costs, and schedule updates — treat this as a planning baseline, not a live timetable.
FAQ
Is it cheaper to fly directly into Zanzibar or connect through Dar es Salaam?
It depends entirely on your origin — Dar has a much larger international network, so for many routes, flying into Dar and taking the 15-minute domestic hop works out cheaper or simply more available than hunting for a direct Zanzibar flight.
Do I need to go through immigration again when flying from Dar to Zanzibar?
Generally no additional visa is needed since a single-entry Tanzania e-visa covers both the mainland and Zanzibar, though you should still expect a baggage and security process on arrival — see our Zanzibar + Serengeti combo guide for the current entry-requirement specifics, since they apply to any mainland-to-Zanzibar connection.
Can I fly from Zanzibar directly to Pemba without going back to the mainland?
Yes — it’s a direct 25–35 minute hop with Coastal Aviation and Auric Air running several flights most days, and most travelers don’t realize this route exists.
Which terminal do I arrive at in Zanzibar?
Terminal 3 if you’re on a direct international flight, Terminal 2 if you’re connecting from Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Pemba, or anywhere else domestically.
Should I book the mainland-to-Zanzibar flight separately or with my main ticket?
Either can work, but if your international flight and domestic connection are on separate bookings, build in a generous connection window — Zanzibar’s airport can get congested in peak season, and a missed short hop is far more annoying to fix than a missed long-haul connection with more rebooking options.