Tanzania · cars
Car rentals in Zanzibar
Rent a car at Zanzibar's airports and city pick-up points. Expedia Cars compares rates across every major rental company. Full insurance options at the counter.
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What first-timers get wrong in Zanzibar
Zanzibar levies its own infrastructure charge per night on top of the room rate, payable at the hotel and often in cash, and arriving visitors are separately charged for mandatory insurance through the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation. Dala dala minibuses are cheap and slow, and the coast is an hour or more from town. Modest dress matters in Stone Town, where swimwear off the beach causes real offence.
What's actually worth your time in Zanzibar
Stone Town's real draw is the maze itself, its carved Indian and Omani doors and its dead ends. The House of Wonders, the seafront palace that had electricity and a lift before anywhere else in East Africa, partly collapsed on Christmas Day 2020 and stays closed behind hoarding. The former slave market beneath the Anglican cathedral is the one nobody should skip. Prison Island's giant tortoises are a short boat ride out.
What things cost in Zanzibar
Tanzanian shillings work in markets and dala dalas while hotels and tour operators quote US dollars, so carry both. A Forodhani plate of grilled seafood runs a few thousand shillings and a Zanzibar pizza less. Dala dala rides across the island cost around 2,000 shillings. Entry to the slave market site and cathedral is charged in dollars, as are spice tours and the Prison Island boat.
Zanzibar with kids, realistically
Small children fare better on the beaches than in Stone Town, whose alleys have no pavements and take motorbikes at speed, and a pushchair there is close to useless. Prison Island's tortoises, some over a century old, hold most ages for an hour. The east coast at Paje and Jambiani has tides that retreat several hundred metres, leaving warm shallow pools and no swimming at low water.
When the weather turns in Zanzibar
The long rains fall through April and May, and the masika downpours are heavy enough to shut beach activity for hours. Stone Town takes them better than the coast: the cathedral and slave-market chambers, the Palace Museum, the Old Fort's covered arcades. Spice farm tours around Kizimbani carry on in rain under the trees. Rooftop restaurants such as Emerson Spice keep serving beneath cover.
When to go to Zanzibar
| Best months for cars-in | Avg daily high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| June | 28°C / 82°F | 16 days |
| July | 28°C / 82°F | 17 days |
| May | 28°C / 82°F | 18 days |
The month to avoid is March — around 32°C (90°F) with roughly 18 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: June is the sweet spot, March the month most people skip.
Pack for peak season: Summer clothes, plus one light layer for air-con and evenings, High-SPF sunscreen, sunglasses, and a refillable water bottle, Rain gear is non-negotiable — expect rain on roughly 16 days, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.