Zanzibar During AFCON 2027: Beach Days Between Matches

Zanzibar drew one of the more relaxed assignments in AFCON 2027 — matches split between Amaan Stadium and the newer Fumba Stadium, both within easy reach of the island's beaches, spice farms and Stone Town's old quarter. If your tickets put you here rather than Dar es Salaam or Arusha, you've landed the host city built for filling gaps between fixtures with something other than another city.

What's realistic in a match-day week

Zanzibar is small enough that you're never more than an hour or two from a stadium, which means the usual either/or between "watch football" and "go on holiday" mostly disappears here:

• A morning spice tour or Stone Town walk on a non-match day.
• An afternoon on Nungwi or Paje's beaches before an evening kickoff.
• A day trip out to Safari Blue for snorkeling if you've got a full rest day.

If you're combining it with the mainland

Zanzibar connects easily to Arusha and the Serengeti by short domestic flight, so if you've got matches in more than one city, it's worth building the trip as mainland-safari-first, island-and-football-second (or the reverse) rather than bouncing back and forth. See our full Zanzibar guide for what else is worth the time.

Book accommodation early — island hotel capacity is finite, and a month-long tournament pulling in fans from three countries will fill it faster than a normal high season. Tell us your match dates and we'll help you plan around them.