Zanzibar with teenagers

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Last checked: October 2026.

A teenager's beach holiday runs out on day two. Zanzibar's answer is to teach them something. Paje's shallow, sandy lagoon suits a first kitesurf lesson, and the reefs are often shallow and clear, which suits a first dive certificate, and Stone Town after dark — smoke from the Forodhani grills, the waterfront filling up as the light goes — is the kind of city a teenager remembers. This is the island half of the trip; the safari half, with its own age minimums, is on Safari with teenagers.

The detail

Kitesurf lessons at Paje. A beginner course on Paje's shallow, sandy lagoon typically runs over two or three days, and aims to have them riding by the end. The two kite seasons are the kaskazi, roughly December to March, and the kusi, June to early October; November sits between them and is usually light, so check wind statistics for your dates. Check the school's minimum age and weight before you book, and expect lesson times to move with the tide. Full detail is on Kitesurfing in Paje. Base at a Paje or Jambiani property with the school on the beach: the stays data tags Cristal Resort Zanzibar, Dhow Inn Boutique Hotel, Ndame Paje Beach Lodge and Reef & Beach Resort at Paje as family-welcome with kitesurfing, and Sharazad Boutique Hotel and Mwezi Boutique Resort at Jambiani.

A first dive certificate. Junior Open Water is open from 10, with the depth and parent-or-pro limits by age set out in the table below; Junior Advanced follows from 12, and from 15 they certify as adults. Zanzibar's north-coast dive centres at Nungwi and the Matemwe operators working Mnemba's reefs are where a junior course makes sense, with warm water and visibility that varies with season and tide. See Diving in Zanzibar.

The Mnemba snorkel. For a teenager who does not want to commit to a course, a morning snorkelling the Mnemba Atoll from Matemwe or Nungwi is one of the island's best hours in the water: shallow coral, dense fish, and sometimes dolphins seen from the boat, though never guaranteed (seen, not chased). The Mnemba marine conservation fee is US$25 per non-East African adult and US$10 per child aged 5–15, from 1 September 2025 (East African citizens pay less, and other conservation areas such as Menai Bay are lower). Some tour listings show other amounts, so the figure on the tour's own booking page is the one to use. Mnemba snorkelling covers the day.

A dhow day. A day on a wooden dhow — sailing, snorkelling off a sandbank, grilled fish on the sand, a swim before the tide takes the sandbank back — is the one outing that works for the whole family at once. The Menai Bay version from Fumba is the classic. See Dhow sailing & the Swahili coast and Menai Bay sandbank day.

Stone Town at night. Give them one evening in the old town. Forodhani Gardens at dusk is a grill market on the waterfront — skewers, Zanzibar pizza, sugar-cane juice pressed with ginger — and the sea wall at dusk is a show in itself. Choose stalls that are busy and cooking to order, and eat what is hot. Then a rooftop over the harbour. The FCDO advises against walking alone at night and to keep bags close, and incidents have taken place in Stone Town, so head back while the streets are still busy. Dress modestly: shorts or sleeveless tops away from the resorts can cause offence, and fines start at US$700. It is also the place to tell them about the slave market and the cathedral — plainly, before they visit.

Shape of the week. Teenagers do best with one base and two things to learn, not four hotels. One east-coast base, with a night in Stone Town at the start, covers kiting or diving plus Mnemba, the dhow day and the old town. If it follows a safari, the island is where the early starts stop — which they will notice.

A week, in shape:

• Day 1: arrive and spend the first night in Stone Town
• Days 2 to 4: kite or dive lessons on the coast
• A morning snorkelling Mnemba
• A dhow day
• The last day for rest, then the flight home

Key facts

Kitesurf: Paje lagoon; check each school's minimum age and weight; lesson times follow the tide; seasons Dec–Mar (kaskazi) and Jun–early Oct (kusi); November is usually light. Diving: Discover Scuba and Junior Open Water from 10 (12 m and with a parent, guardian or PADI pro to age 11; 18 m to 14); Junior Advanced from 12; adult certification from 15. Mnemba snorkel: from Matemwe or Nungwi; Mnemba conservation fee US$25 non-East African adult / US$10 child 5–15 from 1 Sep 2025 (lower in Menai Bay), as stated on the booking page. Dhow day: whole-family outing; sandbank, snorkel, grilled fish. Stone Town at night: Forodhani Gardens from dusk; busy stalls, hot food, modest dress. Shape: one east-coast base, one Stone Town night.

Planning it with Nobu

A travel designer can start from what your teenagers are into, because the kiter and the diver need different coasts. It can also request lesson slots for your dates, so less of the first morning goes on paperwork. Zanzibar finishes Southern Safari & Spice and is the whole of Shores of Zanzibar; for the bush half, start with Safari with teenagers. Plan your journey.

Is it right for you?

Your children are teenagers, and you have had enough holidays where they came along rather than took part. You would rather they came home with a kite certificate or a dive logbook than a tan, and you are happy for the week to be built around their lessons with your beach time in the gaps. This is right for you if one base and two skills sounds better than four resorts, and if you would trust them with an evening at the Forodhani stalls. It is less right if your group also includes much younger siblings — the age minimums split the family, and Zanzibar with kids is the better start — or if what you really want is a quiet villa, in which case Zanzibar honeymoon describes those coasts.

Journeys to consider

• Southern Safari & Spice — river safari in Nyerere, then Paje or Matemwe: the active bush-and-island shape. → Southern Safari & Spice journey
• Shores of Zanzibar — the island on its own, built around the lessons. → Shores of Zanzibar journey