Hiring a car in Zanzibar
Book ahead only if you actually want to drive yourself. For most visitors a car with a driver at fifty to ninety dollars a day is better value than self drive once the permit, the fuel and the unlit roads after dark are counted.
Compare hire cars at the airport
Pick up at Abeid Amani Karume rather than in town, and remember that a Zanzibar permit is required on top of your own licence. The rental company arranges it for about ten dollars.
See hire carsPartner link. The price is the same for you.
Getting around in four lines
- Agree every fare before you get in. There are no meters anywhere on this island, and a price discussed at the destination is not a price.
- A driver for the day is the best value here. Fifty to ninety dollars, and it turns three separate taxi negotiations into one.
- You need a Zanzibar permit to drive. On top of your own licence, for cars and scooters, and the police on the main roads check.
- Nothing is as close as the map suggests. Ten kilometres is thirty minutes. Two beaches that look adjacent are separate holidays.
What each way of getting around costs
Six ways to move, with what each actually costs and who it suits. Prices are for the whole car rather than per person unless stated.
| How | Cost | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Taxi, agreed in advance | $6 to $60 depending on distance | The default. Always agree the fare before getting in, because there are no meters. |
| Private transfer, booked | $30 to $60 airport to coast | Fixed price, a name on a board, and no negotiation after a long flight. |
| Dala dala | $0.40 to $1.20 a ride | Converted minibuses and pickups on fixed routes. Slow, hot, cheap, and how the island travels. |
| Scooter hire | $15 to $25 a day | Plus a Zanzibar permit. Freedom, and the police on the main roads do check. |
| Car hire with a driver | $50 to $90 a day | The best value on this island if you want to see more than one thing in a day. |
| Self drive car hire | $35 to $60 a day | Left hand drive, unlit roads at night, and a permit required. Fine by day, poor after dark. |
Nothing is more than ninety minutes from the airport, and yet the transfer is the line most people forget to budget. Fixed rates by beach are in the airport transfer guide.
Six ways to move, and who each one suits
There is no public transport worth planning around and no ride hailing app. What you have is taxis, a local minibus network, and the option of driving yourself if you are prepared to do the paperwork.
Taxi, agreed in advance
$15 to $60 a journeyThe default for almost every visitor. Prices are per vehicle and set by negotiation, so agree the number before you get in. Your hotel will have a driver it trusts, and using the same one all week gets you a better rate and someone who knows where you are staying.
Suits: Everyone, most of the time
A driver for the day
$50 to $90The same taxi, kept for eight hours or so. It stops making sense for one trip and starts making sense the moment you want three stops, which is exactly what a spice farm, Jozani and a beach afternoon amount to.
Suits: Anyone doing more than one thing in a day
Dala dala
Under a dollarConverted trucks with benches down each side, running fixed routes between villages. Cheap, slow, crowded, and genuinely the way the island moves. Not workable with luggage, and not running reliably after dark.
Suits: Short hops, and anyone curious
Hire car
$30 to $70 a dayNeeds an international permit plus a Zanzibar permit bought locally, and the police do check. Rentals are mostly small four wheel drives, insurance is thin, and the deposit is often cash. Useful for a long stay, overkill for a week.
Suits: Long stays, and people who want the north and the east in one trip
Scooter
$10 to $18 a dayCheap and pleasant on the coast roads, and the same permit rules apply with a motorcycle category. Consider what your travel insurance says about two wheels before you take one, because a lot of policies exclude it.
Suits: Confident riders on short coastal runs
Flying to Pemba
$70 to $120 each wayTwenty five minutes in a small propeller aircraft rather than two hours on a ferry that gets cancelled. Baggage allowances are strict and the aircraft are little. It is the only sensible way to reach the sister island.
Suits: Anyone going to Pemba
The permit nobody mentions until you are stopped
Driving yourself in Zanzibar needs two documents. An international driving permit, which you get at home, and a Zanzibar driving permit, which costs about ten dollars and is issued locally. Neither replaces the other.
Hire companies normally arrange the local permit as part of the rental, and a company that shrugs when you ask about it is telling you something about the rest of its paperwork. Police checkpoints are routine on the main roads and asking for the permit is the first thing they do.
Insurance is the other thing to read carefully. Local cover is thin, excesses are large, and the deposit is frequently cash. Check what your own travel policy says about driving abroad, and about motorcycles specifically, because most exclude them by default.
What the roads are actually like
The main routes out of Stone Town are tarmac and in reasonable condition. It is the last few kilometres that change: the tracks down to isolated hotels on the east coast and out towards Michamvi are sand and rutted, and they are what four wheel drive is for.
Two habits matter more than the surface. Speed bumps appear without warning at every village, and after dark the roads fill with pedestrians and cyclists who have no lights. Driving at night here is the single thing most visitors regret trying.
The permit, and other things that catch people out
Four things that are not obvious and that all cost money when they go wrong.
- You need a Zanzibar driving permit. On top of your own licence, for cars and scooters alike, bought through the rental company for around $10. Police on the main roads do check.
- Agree every fare before you get in. There are no meters. A fare agreed at the door is final, a fare discussed at the destination is not.
- Nothing is as close as it looks. Ten kilometres is thirty minutes here, and two beaches that look adjacent are separate holidays. Where everything actually is has the drive times.
- Avoid driving after dark. Unlit roads, pedestrians, and scooters without lights. If a day trip is running late, that is what a driver is for.
Questions people ask
Do I need a special licence to drive in Zanzibar?
Yes, and this catches people out. An international driving permit is not enough on its own: you also need a Zanzibar permit, bought locally for around ten dollars, which the hire company will usually arrange. Police checkpoints do ask for it, and driving without it means a fine paid on the spot.
Is there Uber in Zanzibar?
No. No ride hailing app works reliably on the island. Taxis are arranged by phone, through your hotel, or by walking up to one and agreeing a price.
How long does it take to cross Zanzibar?
About ninety minutes from the airport to Nungwi in the north, an hour to Paje on the east coast, and twenty minutes to Stone Town. The island is small but the roads run through villages with speed bumps, so it always takes longer than the distance suggests.
Which side of the road do they drive on in Zanzibar?
The left, as in the rest of Tanzania. Hire cars are usually right hand drive, and the combination of unfamiliar side, unlit roads and pedestrians after dark is why most visitors end up with a driver instead.