A Passport for a Domestic Trip: The Zanzibar Ferry — Epoche A2
The ferry from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar takes about two hours, and although both places are in Tanzania, you will show a passport or an identity card when you arrive. Here is why, and what to bring. Is Zanzibar a different country? No. Zanzibar is part of Tanzania. But the country was formed by a union of two states, and Zanzibar kept some of its own government, including its own immigration desk. So do I need a visa? Not a second one. If your Tanzanian visa is valid, it is valid in Zanzibar too. What you need is the document itself, in your hand, not in a bag below deck. What will they ask for? A passport, for visitors. An identity card, for Tanzanians. A short arrival card: name, where you are staying, how long. Why are there two prices? Residents and non-residents pay different fares, and non-resident tickets are usually priced in US dollars. Buy at the office, not from the men on the pavement. Does it feel like a border? A little. You queue, you show your papers, you walk out into Stone Town. Old people here say the sea joins more than it divides. The desk at the end of the pier is a reminder that a country can be one thing and two things at the same time.