Two nights in Stone Town is the right number

Most itineraries give Stone Town one night, treating it as an airport stopover on the way to a beach resort. That is a mistake, and three nights is too many.

Day one: arrive, walk without a map, get lost. The old town is small enough that you cannot get badly lost and dense enough that wandering is genuinely the best way to see it.

Evening one: Forodhani Gardens night market. Skip the seafood platters aimed at tourists and eat the Zanzibari pizza.

Day two: a guided walk in the morning — the House of Wonders, the old dispensary, and the former slave market site at the Anglican Cathedral, which is worth the hour it takes and is not a comfortable visit.

Afternoon two: a spice farm tour, which is less naff than it sounds, or a dhow out to Prison Island.

Morning three: leave for the coast.

Any longer and the heat and the hassle start to wear. Any shorter and you have seen a corridor of souvenir shops and concluded that is all there is.