Frequently Asked Questions

It costs about $10 per driver. You do not visit a government office — your rental company arranges it before arrival from a photo of your licence and hands you the paper permit with the car keys. It is valid for the length of a normal tourist stay, up to three months.

No. An International Driving Permit, like your home licence, is necessary background but not sufficient by itself. Zanzibar legally requires its own local permit in addition. Carry both your home licence and the local permit, and an IDP too if your licence is not in the Latin alphabet.

Around 50 km/h in towns and villages and 80 km/h on the open trunk roads, dropping to 30–40 km/h in school zones and through Jozani park. In reality, frequent and often unmarked village speed bumps keep your average speed well below the limit.

It is best avoided. Rural roads are unlit, and pedestrians, unlit bicycles and livestock are hard to see after dark. If your flight lands late, take a transfer to your hotel and have the rental car delivered the next morning instead.

Yes. On top of your home driving licence you must hold a local Zanzibar driving permit; a licence or International Driving Permit alone is not legally enough. Reputable rental companies arrange it for you before arrival from a photo of your licence, for about $10, valid for the length of your stay.

Expect roughly $25–35 a day for an economy car, $30–45 for a compact SUV like a Toyota RAV4, and $60–150 for a large 4x4. Local operators usually include insurance and unlimited island mileage; add about $10 for the permit and budget for fuel on top.

It is generally safe in daylight if you drive defensively. Watch for severe village speed bumps, motorbike taxis, pedestrians and the occasional stray goat or cow. Avoid driving at night, when rural roads are unlit and hazards are hard to see.

Zanzibar drives on the left in right-hand-drive cars. If you are used to driving on the right it takes a little adjustment, but most fleets are automatic, speeds are low, and a quiet road for your first few minutes settles the nerves.

An economy car is fine for the paved main roads and Stone Town. Choose a compact SUV or 4x4 if your hotel sits down a sandy access track, or if you travel during the March–May long rains when those tracks turn to mud.

No — both are reached only by boat. Your car gets you to the departure beach or jetty (Matemwe for Mnemba, the Stone Town waterfront for Prison Island), where you park and continue by boat. The same goes for the Nakupenda sandbank and Safari Blue.

You need your passport, your home-country driving licence, and the local Zanzibar permit your operator arranges. An International Driving Permit is recommended for checkpoints, especially if your licence is not in the Latin alphabet, but it does not replace the local permit.

No. Cars rented on Unguja must stay on Unguja — rental terms and insurance do not allow taking the vehicle on the ferry to Pemba or mainland Tanzania. If you are continuing your trip, you arrange a separate rental at the next destination.

Not into the old town itself — its narrow UNESCO lanes are effectively pedestrian and impassable for cars. You park in a guarded lot on the edge, near the port or Forodhani Gardens, and explore on foot. The car is for driving out to the beaches, forest and spice farms.

Use the guarded edge lots near Malindi port, Forodhani Gardens or along the Mizingani seafront. A day typically costs up to around 10,000 TZS (about $4). Attendants may move tightly parked cars, so leaving the key is normal — tip a small amount on collection.

Yes, if you value culture and central access over beachfront. The airport and ferry port are close, most rental offices are here, and day trips to Jozani, the spice farms and both coasts radiate out efficiently — none more than about 90 minutes away.

Almost always. Local operators routinely deliver free to Stone Town hotels, the ferry terminal and the airport, with the driving permit prepared in advance. That means you usually never need to find a rental office in person.

No. The ZNZ arrivals hall has no staffed rental counters. Every operator uses a meet-and-greet handover — a representative meets you at the exit with a name board and hands over the car in the airport car park, so book ahead rather than expecting a walk-up desk.

Nungwi and Kendwa on the north coast are about 60–67 km and 1 hr 15 min – 1 hr 30 min from the airport; Paje and Jambiani on the east coast are around 50 km and roughly an hour. The roads are paved and well-signed; only the last sandy stretch to some beach hotels needs care.

Yes. Local operators routinely deliver free to Stone Town, the ferry port and most beach hotels. Many visitors take a transfer on arrival day and have the car delivered to the hotel the next morning, which avoids a long first drive after a night flight.

For a single resort stay, a return transfer is cheaper. For any trip with multiple journeys, a rental wins: at $25–35 a day with unlimited mileage, a week's compact SUV often costs less than two return taxi runs to Nungwi, and it covers your day trips as well.

The standout drives are Jozani Forest for red colobus monkeys (45 minutes), the Kidichi spice farms (30–40 minutes), the north beaches of Nungwi and Kendwa (1 hr 15 min), the east-coast kitesurf villages of Paje and Jambiani (about an hour), and Kizimkazi in the south for sunrise dolphin trips.

Entry is roughly $10–12 per adult and includes a mandatory park guide. Arrive by about 8:30am to see the monkeys at their most active and to get ahead of the mid-morning tour buses, and head straight to the official gate rather than stopping for roadside touts.

Yes — The Rock sits on the Michamvi peninsula, about 1 hr 30 min from Stone Town or 20 minutes from Paje, with free parking near the beach. At low tide you walk out to it; at high tide a short complimentary boat ferries you across. Reservations are essential.

No. Stone Town's landmark House of Wonders has been closed since a partial collapse in December 2020 and remains under reconstruction with no firm reopening date. You can still view the building from the outside and enjoy the neighbouring Old Fort and Forodhani Gardens.