A brief Overview of Bagamoyo
This being said there is still much to draw people here with stunning beaches, great service and some truly great little lodges. Bagamoyo itself is certainly worth a few hours to explore and learn about this fascinating town and to realise the important role that it has played in the history of Tanzania.
Originally rising to power as the nearest port to Zanzibar, Bagamoyo figured prominently in the 18th and 19th centuries as the main thoroughfare for slaving and those wishing to travel into the African interior. In its heyday it was thought to process in the region of 50,000 slaves per year and it has had mention in all the journals of the main explorers and missionaries of the day such as Livingstone, Speke, Stanley and Burton amongst others.
With the advent of the abolition off the slave trade by the Sultan of Zanzibar in the late 1800s its fortunes waned. Deemed as too shallow by the Germans, the once flourishing town went into a serious decline from which it has never recovered. Today it is little more than a sleepy fishing port and it survives through subsistence fishing and the meagre revenues it can scrape from tourism.
This is not to say, however, that a trip here is not warranted, for those that are interested in culture and the Omani empire, to wander through the back streets and to visit the ruins of the nearby Kaole is to get a rare look at African heritage.
Do see our best camps & lodges in Bagamoyo picks for 2026/27 on this page.
Best time to visit Bagamoyo
As a coastal town, Bagamoyo is affected by the trade winds, the Kusi and the Kazkazi that blow seasonally. In the main, the town can be visited throughout the year with the dry periods between June and October and again between January and March probably being the easiest.
Do see our interactive best time to visit Bagamoyo guide on this page as well as on our parent guide to tanzania page for more in-depth information on when to go.
Or call us on +44 1525 840 149. That’s what we’re here for.
Need more help?
As much as AI has changed the way we all approach our lives, there is still no substitute for picking up the phone and having a chat through the options with one of us on +44 1525 840 149
This allows us to completely tailor the property choices, costs and itinerary length to your needs…but we also understand that this is not always possible with the busy lives we all lead.
With this in mind, we have also put together a safari finder tool that should help you to narrow down the initial stages at which point we can jump in to “round off the edges” as it were.
Alternatively please feel free to >send us an email with your timings, group size and rough likes and dislikes and we can get the ball rolling.
Get help with a Safari to Bagamoyo
As much as AI has changed the way we all approach our lives, there is still no substitute for picking up the phone and having a chat through the options with one of us on +44 1525 840 149
This allows us to completely tailor the property choices, costs and itinerary length to your needs…but we also understand that this is not always possible with the busy lives we all lead.
With this in mind, we have also put together a safari finder tool that should help you to narrow down the initial stages at which point we can jump in to “round off the edges” as it were.
Alternatively please feel free to >send us an email with your timings, group size and rough likes and dislikes and we can get the ball rolling.
Where is Bagamoyo?
Bagamoyo
