Zanzibar has its own international airport, Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ), on the outskirts of Stone Town. Direct flights connect Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam (25 minutes, multiple daily), Nairobi, Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, and several European hubs, with seasonal charters from the UK and Germany. Tanzanian budget carrier Precision Air and Kenyan Airways both serve the route from Nairobi. Flying is the easiest way to combine Zanzibar with a northern Tanzania safari — Arusha has direct connections, making it simple to follow Serengeti or Ngorongoro with a few days on the island.
By ferry from Dar es Salaam: several fast catamaran services make the crossing in about 1.5–2 hours. The main operators are Azam Marine and SeaBus. The slower overnight cargo ferries carry vehicles and backpackers willing to endure longer crossings; these are cheap but can be rough in bad weather. Ferry tickets should be bought from official counters at the terminal — touts outside the port will try to charge double.
Visas for Tanzania (which covers Zanzibar) are available on arrival for most nationalities, or in advance online. Zanzibar occasionally checks visas separately at its own immigration desks, especially by sea. Citizens from East African Community countries travel freely; most Western passport holders pay around USD 50 for a tourist visa on arrival.