Zanzibar's malaria rate is low. The CDC's advice still covers every beach.

Yes, and the ones that matter most start biting at sunset. Zanzibar keeps malaria far lower than mainland Tanzania, yet the CDC recommends malaria prevention medicine for the islands, and a 2023–24 epidemic centered on the Stone Town area. Dengue's day-biting mosquito lives here too, especially in Stone Town.

Malaria: low on the island, still on the CDC's list

Studies co-authored by the Zanzibar Malaria Elimination Programme put malaria prevalence on the islands at around 1% since 2008, far below the mainland. It still flares. From November 2023 to March 2024, an epidemic produced 23,569 confirmed cases, clustered in the urban southwest of Unguja, the main island, around Zanzibar City and Stone Town (Malaria Journal, October 2025).

That low rate gives Zanzibar a reputation as nearly malaria-free. A June 2025 report in Eurosurveillance described six travelers who came home to Italy with falciparum malaria after Zanzibar trips between December 2023 and February 2025. None had taken prevention medicine. Five had severe malaria, and two died. The authors noted that Zanzibar is "often perceived as low risk."

For yellow fever, the CDC says "Vaccine is generally not recommended for travel to Tanzania," and none is required on a direct trip from the US. For arrivals from risk countries, "Vaccine is required for travelers ≥1 year old; this includes >12-hour airport transits or layovers in countries with risk for YF virus transmission." The CDC recommends the vaccine for most of Kenya, so check this if you fly in from a Kenya safari. The CDC's Level 2 Global Polio notice also lists "Tanzania, including Zanzibar," so be up to date on polio vaccine.

Sunset is the hour that matters

At ten sentinel sites run by the islands' malaria program, infected mosquitoes were caught biting outdoors mostly between 6 and 9 p.m., with a smaller indoor peak from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Malaria Journal, 2025). That is sundowner and dinner time on the Nungwi and Kendwa terraces. Put repellent on before the sun goes down, change into long sleeves and long pants for dinner, and sleep under a net or in a screened, air-conditioned room.

Stone Town adds a daytime mosquito. The CDC lists dengue for Tanzania, which isn't on its Global Dengue list as of October 2, 2026. The national dengue bulletins cover only the mainland, so there are no recent island counts. In 2011, about half of 500 blood donors tested in Stone Town had dengue antibodies. Aedes bites by day, with peaks after sunrise and in the late afternoon, so in town the repellent goes on at breakfast too.

Malaria transmits in every month. The long rains, roughly March to May, tend to be the buggiest time, with the short rains around November and December. June to October and January to February are the drier beach months.

Where you're staying

Adding a safari? Our Tanzania briefing covers the Serengeti, Tarangire's tsetse flies and Kilimanjaro.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor threads about Nungwi and linked so you can read them in full. Neither is dated, and the season and your evening habits change the picture.

• Nungwi, Zanzibar

  A poster saw no mosquitoes during a 3.5-day stay in Nungwi but noted that the season may matter. TripAdvisor ↗

• Nungwi, Zanzibar

  A traveler described waking up with about 200 bites after sitting on a balcony at dusk without repellent. TripAdvisor ↗

One rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during or after your trip means a doctor visit and a malaria test, and you tell the doctor you were in Zanzibar. With malaria in the picture, the rule holds for a full year after you get home.

Traveler questions