There are fast ferry services connecting Dar es Salaam and Stone Town, Zanzibar, operated mainly by Azam Marine/Kilimanjaro Fast Ferries and ZanFast, with a journey time of approximately 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. The ferries offer a comfortable ride with air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, and different seating classes, including Economy, VIP, and Royal. It was scenic and definitely a time-saving way to travel to Zanzibar compared to a flight with unreliable air carriers blacklisted by the EU. The ferry terminal is a bit chaotic, but still efficient. After paying the 50 USD for the VIP class, we went through the scanner and passport control to the departure lounge. And after a while, we boarded the ZanFast ferry. We got some simple refreshment and enjoyed comfortable seating.
Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous archipelago of Tanzania, and since it handles passport control and stamps our passports, we list it as a separate country. To enter Zanzibar, you are required to have mandatory travel insurance, which can be purchased online or upon arrival at the port, costing $44 USD for adults. It’s simply another way to collect money from tourists, and we consider it a hidden visa fee. The process involves filling out an online form, paying the cost online or by card at the counter, and presenting the digital receipt at immigration, where we got our arrival stamp.
