Zanzibar Culture & Etiquette: A Local Guide

Religion and the rhythm of the day

Zanzibar is approximately 99% Muslim, and that is the single most useful thing to understand before you arrive. Islam is central to daily life: five prayer calls a day, the main Jumu’ah prayer around midday on Fridays, and a month of fasting during Ramadan. You are not expected to take part — only to be aware.

During Ramadan, which falls earlier each year, local staff may be fasting through daylight hours, and some village restaurants and shops cut their hours. The kitchen at Boutique Hotel Matlai runs as normal, so your meals are unaffected, but it is polite to eat and drink out of direct view of anyone who is fasting. The discretion is noticed, and appreciated.

What to wear in Zanzibar

The rule is simple: relaxed at the hotel, covered up everywhere else. At the hotel, swimwear at the pool and on the beach is completely fine, and most guests just add a light cover-up for dinner on the Zatiny terrace.

Away from the resort, cover your shoulders and knees. Swimwear is not worn in the villages, so walking through Michamvi village in a bikini causes real discomfort rather than just stares — lightweight linen or resort wear is right. Stone Town asks for a little more again: a sarong or shawl over shoulders and knees for women, and awareness near mosques for everyone. Men in shorts above the knee are not breaking any rule, but tend to feel more comfortable in something longer in town.

Greetings, photos and the right hand

Three small habits cover almost all of Zanzibari etiquette: greet first, ask before you photograph, and use your right hand. Greetings come before business here — a simple “Habari” (how are you) or “Jambo” (hello), an “Asante” (thank you) and “Karibu” (welcome) carry you a long way, and even a few words of Swahili are met warmly. Going straight to a question without the greeting reads as abrupt.

Always ask before photographing people. Many Zanzibaris are glad to be photographed, but the consent matters, and mosques or prayer gatherings should not be photographed without clear permission. One more habit worth keeping: the left hand is considered unclean, so give, receive, eat and greet with your right hand.

Tipping: who, how much, which currency

Tipping is appreciated but never obligatory, and small US-dollar notes are the easiest way to do it. As a rough guide: $1–2 for bags or daily housekeeping, $5–10 for a driver on a full-day trip, and around 10% in restaurants if service is not already included. At Matlai many guests prefer to tip the whole team together at checkout, which is common practice and shared fairly.

US dollars are widely accepted and generally preferred, though Tanzanian Shillings are fine; you do not need Euros. Bring small bills — $1, $5 and $10 notes are far more useful than coins, which nobody can change.

Local life: seaweed, boats, food and history

Some of the most memorable parts of Zanzibar are simply everyday life. At low tide along the coast you will see women tending rows of seaweed (mwani) — one of the main sources of income in the coastal villages, and a livelihood that has made Zanzibar a significant global producer. It is striking to watch, and easy to photograph respectfully from a distance.

On the water, two traditional boats define the coast: the ngalawa, a slim outrigger canoe, and the larger dhow, a wooden sailing vessel — both still worked by local fishermen as well as used for excursions. The ngalawa is not a dhow; they are different boats, and locals will gently correct you.

Swahili food carries Arab, Indian, African and Portuguese influences — pilau rice, biryani, chapati, coconut fish curry, octopus curry. The best place to eat it is the Forodhani Gardens night market in Stone Town. The island’s past runs deep and difficult, too: Zanzibar was a hub of both the spice trade and the East African slave trade, and the Slave Market Memorial in Stone Town is a sobering, important visit. Zanzibar was a British Protectorate until 1963, then joined Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964.

A little Swahili goes a long way

Swahili (Kiswahili) is the official language of Zanzibar and Tanzania, and the Zanzibar dialect, KiUnguja, is considered the standard form. English is spoken in hotels, restaurants and tourist areas, and Arabic in some communities. Our team at Matlai speaks English and Swahili, with some Arabic and other languages between them.

You do not need the language to travel here. But a handful of words — Habari, Asante, Karibu — change the temperature of every interaction, and people light up when a visitor tries.