Mtoni Palace Ruins

Not a lot to see in honesty. The guide (paid for as part of the admission) did his best to entertain and bring things alive, he was a lovely well intended guy but the obvious lack of depth of the subject matter says it all really. Added to the palace walk, to pad things out, is a guided walk around an adjacent boatyard too with an equally lacking subject matter from the guide. Here you're expected to make donations if taking photos as the people here are trying to eek a living out however they can, so all should understand this.

Had a lovely experience here, use a tut tut for 7,000 to 10,000 shillings to get here. (No more) The guide entrance Fee was 12,000 shillings or $5 each. The guide was very welcoming and his passion for the place and history was amazing, he knew everything about the place right down to all the names and dates, he took his time with us and explained every room in detail. Probably spent nearly an hour here as the guide always very thorough with his tails of history. Definitely worth a visit and you can also walk round after on your own to get some nice photos.

Interesting spot, much like most places near Stone Town, they might be listed for free, but someone will charge you 12000 Shillling to get in and then of course you'll need a guide since this tourist destination has nearly no information posted. Small price to pay.

Fascinating ruins and history especially about Princess Salame who was born in 1844 and was favoured daughter of Said bin Sultan, the first sultan of Zanzibar (and also ruled as Sultan of Oman which is where he came from). The ruins are now in a poor state but enough remains to imagine the scene with the sultans large harem of consorts using the multiple baths, heated pools and sauna. Princess Salame before she died in Germany wrote extensively about the palace. Entrance is good value (note year 2024) at around 12000tsh for adults and 5000tsh for children. Nice team running the site who tell me that there are negotiations between Oman and Tanzanian governments about renovating the palace to it's original glory. Would be amazing to see if they ever manage to move ahead with that.

This is a short tour around the ruins of the Mtoni Palace, overlooking the western beach, just north of Stone Town. Built in 1828, it housed the Sultan's only legal wife, very many secondary wives (maybe 98) and 120 children. You can see the aqueduct, bathing areas and passport size hole toilets. Clearly full of engineering feats, built before electrification. Would benefit from a small takeaway pamphlet being available, but a book could be purchased for about 35USD apparently. Reasonably small cost for tour, but best to pre-book so you don't have to negotiate this.

After the Maruhubi Historical Sites, the guide took me to this place on foot. It took around 10 minutes. At the entrance I paid 12,000tsh and the other guide showed me around. This ruin is not big and spetial but story is interesting.

It's the first place made by Sultan Said bin sayyid the first Sultan of Zanzibar and Oman in 1828,it's good and sometimes doing celebration of Taarab Music or food celebrate

Fantastic place with the best guide, he took us inside and explained to us all the history of the site. Very helpful, explanatory, and friendly person. Definitely worth visiting, the entrance fee is cheap as well, just 5 dollars or 12000tsh. Highly recommended