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Last checked: October 2026.
Zanzibar is easier to reach than its reputation suggests. A single connection in the Gulf, Turkey or East Africa gets you from most of Europe to the island in a long day, and the connections are good enough that you can leave London after work and be on the beach by the following afternoon. From North America it is two flights and a night in the air. The choices are which hub, which arrival time, and whether the island is the whole trip or the last chapter of a safari, which changes the answer.
The detail
The five hubs. These five hubs all fly to Zanzibar; the difference is the hour you land and what the hub suits.
| Hub | Airline to ZNZ | Flight time | Typical arrival | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doha | Qatar Airways | about 5½–6 h | early morning | comfort and the widest US feed |
| Dubai | flydubai, daily (Emirates sells it on through tickets) | about 5½ h | morning to mid-afternoon | a daytime arrival on the Emirates network |
| Istanbul | Turkish Airlines, daily | about 7 h 20 | small hours, 01:00–03:00 | fares and wide European feed |
| Addis Ababa | Ethiopian, twice daily | about 2 h 35 | late morning or early evening | adding gorillas or Ethiopia; US east coast |
| Nairobi | Kenya Airways, several daily | about 1 h 30 | through the day | a trip that starts with a Kenya safari |
Nairobi's airport detail and the cross-city transfer are covered on → Nairobi to Zanzibar.
Europe's direct and near-direct flights. KLM links Amsterdam and Zanzibar on a 787 (about 9 hours 50 minutes); on some schedules one leg touches Dar es Salaam, depending on the direction. Condor flies Frankfurt–Zanzibar non-stop four times a week on an A330neo (about 9 hours 10), and Discover Airlines three times a week from the same airport. Neos flies Milan Malpensa–Zanzibar weekly on a 787. TUI flies from Amsterdam twice a week and has announced twice-weekly Gatwick–Zanzibar flights from 3 November 2027. Other UK services are reported for 2027, but none has yet been matched to an airline's own schedule, and at least one reported route stops at Kilimanjaro rather than flying non-stop. Edelweiss flew Zurich–Zanzibar in past winters, and its current schedule is not listed. Polish, Czech and other winter charters come and go. All of these are seasonal in the European sense: strongest from November to March, thinner or absent in the long rains. None of this is a promise that a given flight runs on a given day; it is the shape of the market in October 2026.
From the UK. Until a non-stop starts, most London routings are one-stop: Doha, Istanbul, Addis or Nairobi, or Amsterdam onto KLM. British Airways and Air Tanzania have both reported London services for 2027, but neither has been checked against its own published schedule, so plan on one stop for now. Door to door from Heathrow, allow 15 to 18 hours; the airport-to-airport part alone is about 13 to 15 hours on a tight connection. Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham all have direct flights to Doha and Istanbul, which often makes them easier than London.
From the US. Qatar Airways via Doha; Ethiopian from Washington, Newark, New York, Chicago or Atlanta via Addis; Turkish from more than a dozen US cities via Istanbul; or KLM or Kenya Airways via Amsterdam or Nairobi. Expect 20 to 24 hours of travel and a night in the air. Americans pay more for the Tanzania visa than most nationalities (see below), and the journey is long enough that many US travellers pair the island with a safari.
Separate tickets: what to plan for. The international flight and the safari flights are usually on different tickets, so luggage is not checked through: you collect it at the first Tanzanian airport and check in again. A missed connection on separate tickets is yours to fix, so leave three hours at Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro or Nairobi between unrelated flights, and a night where the safari depends on a morning departure. Travel insurance may not cover a missed connection on separate tickets, so read the policy before you rely on it. The light-aircraft luggage limits on the domestic leg are covered on → Serengeti to Zanzibar.
Arriving late. Several routings, Turkish especially, land in the small hours, which is manageable with a pre-booked transfer with your name on a board, a first night within half an hour of the airport (Stone Town or the south-west coast), and the hotel told your arrival time so the night porter is expecting you. A long drive to the north coast at 3 a.m. after twenty hours of travel is the kind of arrival worth planning out ahead. Dress modestly through the arrivals hall and on the drive, since the island is largely Muslim. → Zanzibar airport walks you through the arrivals hall, and → Zanzibar dress code covers what to wear once you are there.
Visa and insurance, briefly. Most nationalities need a Tanzania visa, which you can apply for online before you fly; US passport holders pay $100 against $50 for most others (→ the Zanzibar visa rules). You need one inbound insurance policy, bought for your first port of entry, meaning the first Tanzanian airport you land at. Land first in Zanzibar and you buy Zanzibar cover, about $44 per adult and $22 per child. Start in Dar es Salaam or at Kilimanjaro and you buy the mainland policy instead, from the National Insurance Corporation, not a second one on top. Your own travel insurance does not replace the Zanzibar policy (→ Zanzibar's mandatory insurance explained). This is general information; check GOV.UK before you travel.
Key facts
Airport: Abeid Amani Karume International (ZNZ). From Europe: one stop via Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, Addis Ababa or Nairobi; KLM from Amsterdam; non-stops from Frankfurt (Condor, Discover) and Milan (Neos); Gatwick (TUI) from Nov 2027. From the US: via Doha, Dubai, Istanbul or Addis Ababa, 20–24 h; no non-stop. Flight times to ZNZ: Doha ~5½–6 h · Dubai ~5½ h · Istanbul ~7 h 20 · Addis ~2 h 35 · Nairobi ~1 h 30 · Amsterdam ~9 h 50 · Frankfurt ~9 h 10. Time zone: GMT+3, no daylight saving. Before arrival: visa ($50; $100 US) and one inbound insurance policy for your first port of entry (Zanzibar cover ~$44 adult, $22 child; mainland cover if you land on the mainland first).
Planning it with Nobu
A travel designer can plan the whole arc, flights included, so the international ticket, the safari flights and the island transfer fit each other rather than being booked in three separate tabs. To start, tell us your dates and your start point at → Plan your journey, and see how the island sits at the end of → Southern Safari and Spice.
Is it right for you?
You want a long-haul holiday with one connection and a clear plan for the arrival; you are pairing the island with a safari and want the flights to serve the order of the trip; or you are coming from the US and want to know honestly that it is two flights and a night in the air. It is not the right page if you are starting from a mainland safari rather than from Europe: the transfer-day pages, → Serengeti to Zanzibar and → Nairobi to Zanzibar, are the ones you need. Nor is a one-stop long haul ideal for a short break from the UK: for four or five nights, the long day each way matters, so choose Dubai for the gentlest daytime arrival. If you are undecided between the island and the Kenyan coast at the end of a Kenya safari, → Zanzibar or Diani weighs it up.
Journeys to consider
- Southern Safari and Spice — Tanzania's south, then the island; the flights designed as one. → See the Southern Safari and Spice journey
- Shores of Zanzibar — the island on its own, for a week by the sea. → See the Shores of Zanzibar journey
- The Great Migration Circuit — the Serengeti first, with Zanzibar as the finish. → See the Great Migration Circuit
