Small car
$30 to $45 a day
4x4
$45 to $70 a day
Permit
Zanzibar permit, about $10, on top of your licence
Driving
On the left, right hand drive cars
Deposit
$100 to $300, often in cash
Minimum age
Usually 23, with one or two years' licence
Car, 4x4, scooter or a driver: what each costs
Rental prices in Zanzibar are per vehicle, in dollars, and they come down sharply by the week. Pick an option to see the price, the permit it needs and how it copes with the island's roads.
Small car (Suzuki Alto, Toyota Vitz and similar)
$30 to $45 a dayPer day
$30 to $45
Per week
$180 to $280
Permit needed
Your licence plus the Zanzibar permit
On the island's roads
Fine on the tarmac from Stone Town to Nungwi, Kiwengwa or Paje. It runs out of clearance on the sand tracks down to some beach hotels, and on the flooded stretches in April and May.
For
- Air conditioning and a roof when it rains
- Cheap by the week
- Easy to park
Against
- Low clearance on tracks
- Small boot
Suits
Couples and small families staying on the main roads.
Prices seen in 2026, deposit not included. Weekly rates come down, and local companies negotiate.
Do you actually need a car in Zanzibar?
Most visitors don't, and the ones who do know who they are. A car sitting in a resort car park costs the same as one on the road, so what decides it is how many days you will spend driving. Enter your trip and compare it with a driver on the days you go out.
I'm staying nights near , and I want 2 days out exploring.
Hire a 4x4
$358
Check today's rates on DiscoverCars, partner link
Driver and taxis
$270
Keep the money and use a driver.
A driver saves about $88, and a hire car would spend 5 of your 7 days parked at the hotel. Book the days out as you go, through your hotel or a driver you trust.
Based on 2026 prices: weekly and monthly hire rates, fuel at about $1.20 a litre, the fixed airport fares on this site, and a driver at $70 a day. The deposit is not counted because you get it back.
A week in one resort: use a driver. Two weeks or more, or a trip split between the north and the east coast: rent a car, a 4x4 if you are staying east. Somewhere in between: it comes down to whether you enjoy driving on the left through villages.
The Zanzibar driving permit
Zanzibar has its own driving permit, and most visitors only find out about it at the rental counter. Your home licence is not valid on its own, and neither is an International Driving Permit. You need three documents in the glovebox.
Your own driving licence
The full licence from home, not a provisional one, held for at least a year or two depending on the company. Bring the plastic card itself. A photo on your phone will not do at a checkpoint.
An International Driving Permit
Not enough on its own in Zanzibar, but some rental companies and some checkpoints ask for it, and it costs very little at home (from AAA in the United States, or your national motoring association elsewhere). Get one if there is time before you fly.
The Zanzibar driving permit
The document that matters. It is issued by the traffic police in Stone Town, costs about $10 at the counter, and covers a normal holiday. Almost every rental company arranges it for you from a copy of your passport and licence, and some add a handling fee that brings it to $20 or $30.
Send the company your documents when you book, not the evening before, and the permit will be waiting with the car. If a company can't explain how it gets the permit, don't expect its insurance papers to be any clearer.
At a police checkpoint
Checkpoints are routine on the main roads, especially towards Nungwi and Paje. The officer asks for the Zanzibar permit first, then the car's papers. Stay polite and keep everything in the glovebox. The standard on the spot fine in Tanzania is 30,000 shillings, about $12, and it comes with an official receipt. A demand for $50 or $100 with no receipt is not a fine. Ask for the receipt, and call your rental company if it goes on.
Local companies or a booking platform
Almost every hire car on the island belongs to a local company, even when you find it through an international site. What changes is the contract you sign and who you call when something goes wrong.
Booked directly with a local company, by WhatsApp or at a beach agency, you get the most room to negotiate, a weekly rate and scooters. You also get the weak points: a cash deposit of $100 to $300, insurance that often covers third parties only or carries a $1,000 excess, and a fleet of older RAV4s whose tyres and air conditioning vary a lot.
Booked through a comparison site, you see the local and international firms at once, the price is fixed before you fly, the deposit is usually a card hold, and you can add full cover that pays back the excess, in writing. That is worth having here, because the local insurance is the weakest part of the deal.
Before you drive away
- Film the whole car, including the tyres, the windscreen and underneath the bumpers.
- Ask what the insurance covers in writing, and what the excess is.
- Check the spare wheel and the jack are actually there.
- Get a receipt for the deposit, and agree how it comes back.
Compare hire cars in Zanzibar
Local and international companies at the airport and in Stone Town, with the price fixed when you book and optional full cover that refunds the excess.
See prices for your datesPartner link. The price is the same for you.
Airport pickup or Stone Town
The car hire desks at Abeid Amani Karume airport sit at the exit of Terminal 3, but most local companies don't have one: they meet you in arrivals with a name board and hand the car over in the car park, permit and paperwork included. For a flight that lands after dark, think twice: the drive to the east or north coast is exactly the kind you should not do on your first night.
If your first nights are in Stone Town, don't take the car at the airport at all. You won't need it in the old town, where the lanes are too narrow to drive and parking is a daily negotiation. Take a fixed price transfer into town and have the car delivered to your hotel on the morning you leave for the coast. Most companies do it for free or a few dollars.
Driving in Zanzibar: the roads, the rules, the night
The main roads out of Stone Town are tarmac and in fair condition. What makes them slow is everything else on them. Drive times from the airport:
| To | Drive | Road | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Town | 15 to 20 min | Tarmac, heavy traffic at rush hour | Park outside the old town. Its lanes are too narrow to drive. |
| Jozani forest | 40 to 45 min | Tarmac all the way | The main road south east runs past the entrance. |
| Paje and Jambiani | 50 min to 1 h | Tarmac, sand tracks to some hotels | Checkpoints are common on this road. |
| Michamvi | 1 h 10 to 1 h 20 | Tarmac, then narrower and broken | The last stretch is where a 4x4 earns its price. |
| Kiwengwa and Matemwe | 1 h to 1 h 15 | Tarmac, sand tracks to the beach | Hotel access roads can flood in the long rains. |
| Nungwi and Kendwa | 1 h 15 to 1 h 30 | Tarmac, busy through the villages | The road where speed traps are most often reported. |
Every village has speed bumps, and most are high, unpainted and unsigned. Speed limits are low, 50 km/h through villages, and police with radar guns wait on the roads north and south. Dala dalas stop wherever a passenger waves, goats and children cross without looking, and near the coast there is sand on the tarmac. The map of the island shows how far apart the coasts really are.
Fill up in Stone Town or on the main road before heading to the far east or south, where petrol stations thin out. Google Maps works, but the signal drops between villages, so download the island for offline use and keep data running with an eSIM such as Airalo (partner link).
Don't drive after dark
Night falls around 6.30pm all year. After that the roads fill with pedestrians, cyclists and scooters without lights, and the speed bumps vanish. Nearly every bad story about driving here starts after dark. If a day out runs late, leave the car and take a taxi back.
Scooters: the real risk
A scooter at $10 to $18 a day looks like the obvious way to get around a beach village, and for short hops it is. It is also where most tourist road accidents on the island happen: sand on a bend, a speed bump seen too late, a dala dala pulling out.
The paperwork matters more than on four wheels. You need a motorcycle category on your home licence as well as the Zanzibar permit, and most travel policies only pay out for a scooter accident if you were licensed to ride it and wearing a helmet. Check your cover before you ride, not after. Our travel insurance guide explains what the compulsory local policy leaves out.
If you do ride, bring your own helmet or insist on a full face one, stay off the main roads, and never ride after dark.
The verdict
- A week in a resort: don't rent. A driver on your two or three days out costs less and comes without the permit or the deposit.
- Two weeks or more: rent, ideally by the week, and pick the car up the day you leave Stone Town.
- A loop of the coasts: rent a 4x4. It is the only way to reach the beaches the excursions skip.
- A family: rent if you want your own timetable, and bring child seats, because local companies rarely have them.
Hire costs are only one line of a trip. For the rest, see what a week in Zanzibar costs and the other options in getting around the island.
Questions people ask
Is it a good idea to rent a car in Zanzibar?
It depends on how much you will use it. For a week in one resort with two or three excursions, a driver on those days costs less, and you never touch the permit or the deposit. For two weeks or more, or a trip that moves between the north and the east coast, a car starts to pay for itself. The calculator on this page puts both options side by side for your own dates.
How much does it cost to rent a car in Zanzibar?
About $30 to $45 a day for a small car and $45 to $70 for a 4x4, less by the week. Add the Zanzibar driving permit at around $10, fuel at about $1.20 a litre, and a deposit of $100 to $300 that you get back when you return the car.
Is it safe to drive in Zanzibar?
By day on the main roads, yes, for a confident driver used to driving on the left or willing to learn. The dangers are specific: unmarked speed bumps, pedestrians and bicycles without lights, dala dalas that stop anywhere, and sand on the road near the coast. Almost every serious problem visitors report happens after dark, so plan every drive to end before sunset.
Can you get Uber in Zanzibar?
No. No ride hailing app works reliably on the island. You use taxis agreed in advance, a driver arranged through your hotel, or a hire car.
Is it cheaper to rent a car at Zanzibar airport or online?
Booking online is usually cheaper and more predictable than walking up to the few desks in Terminal 3, and in high season the 4x4s go early. Local companies meet you in arrivals with the car either way. A comparison site shows the local and international firms side by side, with the price fixed before you land.
Can I rent a car in Zanzibar with no deposit?
Some local companies waive the deposit on small cars if you leave a copy of your passport and pay in full upfront, and online bookings usually take a card hold rather than cash. Treat a no deposit offer as a reason to read the insurance terms more carefully, not less.
Is an International Driving Permit enough to drive in Zanzibar?
No. You need the Zanzibar driving permit as well, which is issued locally for about $10 and usually arranged by the rental company. Your home licence and the IDP support the application. The local permit is what the police ask to see.
Which side of the road do they drive on in Zanzibar?
The left, as in the rest of Tanzania, the UK and Kenya. Hire cars are right hand drive, and most are automatics, so the adjustment is mostly about roundabouts and turning right across traffic.
How much is a car with a driver in Zanzibar?
Between $50 and $90 for a full day, depending on the distance and the car. It is a fixed price per vehicle, not per person, and it includes fuel. Your hotel will know a driver, and keeping the same one for the whole trip usually gets you a better rate.