Zanzibar car rental questions

Yes. Every visiting driver needs one, and your home licence on its own is not enough. We arrange it with your booking, so you are given it at the car rather than queueing for it on your first morning. Once we confirm the car, your booking page has a slot for a photo of each driver's licence and passport.

How the permit is arranged, and the permit explained in full.

$40 per day for a self-drive RAV4, with unlimited mileage. The same price for any RAV4 in the fleet. The Zanzibar driving permit, $25 per driver, is charged separately and is the only extra for an additional driver. It is written out on the prices page.

Prices, and what is and is not included.

You pay at handover and receive a receipt. Nothing is charged on this website and no card details are stored here. You are told the amount and the currency before you travel, and no prepayment is needed to hold a car.

Payment is in cash, in US dollars, euros or Tanzanian shillings. There is no card machine at the car, so bring the amount with you. You are told the exact figure before you travel.

No. We take no security deposit, so nothing is blocked on your card and there is no held amount to chase afterwards. If the car is damaged, the agreement you sign caps what you can be asked to pay at $500.

Nothing is paid before you collect the car, so cancelling before then costs you nothing and there is no refund to chase. Once the car is handed over, days you do not use are not refunded.

The car is insured for self-drive hire, and serious damage, total loss and theft go through that insurance. You pay for the things every rental company here excludes: tyres, wheels and rims, glass and mirrors, the roof, the undercarriage, the interior, lost keys, and damage from the wrong fuel.

For damage to the car, the most you can be asked to pay is $500. That ceiling is written into the agreement you sign, and it applies to every rental at no extra charge: there is no damage waiver or extra protection to buy. Nothing is charged without an itemised repair invoice, and you get a copy of it. The cover, the ceiling and the exclusions in full.

Drivers are between 18 and 78 years old and have held a full licence for at least one year. Any national licence is accepted, and an International Driving Permit is not required.

You get a Toyota RAV4, and that is the model, not a category that means whatever is on the lot. Our fleet is RAV4s and nothing else, so there is no smaller car to be handed over instead at the airport. Body shape varies between cars and the price does not: if the larger one is free that week, it is yours at the same rate. We confirm the exact car and its registration before you travel.

The car, and what the check covers.

Yes. On this island we would take it. The main roads are tarmac and undemanding, but the last stretch to a great many places to stay is sand or broken track, and after rain that is where a low two-wheel-drive car stops. Tell us where you are staying and we will say plainly what your route needs for your dates. Every RAV4 we supply has it.

Which car suits Zanzibar roads.

No. Mileage within Zanzibar is unlimited, so the price does not change with how far you drive.

Yes. An additional driver is $25, which is their own Zanzibar permit and nothing else. Add a photo of that person's licence and passport on your booking page too.

Yes. A child seat is $5 per seat per day, fitted before the car reaches you. Tell us how many you need, and the children's ages, when you send your dates.

No. The car stays on Zanzibar. Your permit is issued for the island and the cover is written for it, so the car does not go on the ferry. If you are also visiting the mainland, hire a car there.

At the airport. You walk out of arrivals and someone is standing there holding a board with your name on it. Your exact meeting point is sent with your booking confirmation, at the latest 24 hours before you land. Collection and return are both at the airport.

Pickup.

Nothing to do. Your flight is tracked and the handover moves with it, so the person meeting you is there when you actually land rather than when you were scheduled to.

About fifteen minutes at the car: the controls, your permit and papers, the condition record and photographs, payment and the receipt, then the keys. Everything that can be read in advance is sent to you before you travel.

Your passport, your national driving licence for each driver, the amount due in the agreed currency, and your phone with the support thread on it. Your Zanzibar permit is handed to you at the car.

Message the support number. Send your booking reference and registration, your live location, what happened, a photograph including the dashboard, and whether everyone is safe. We tell you whether the car continues or stops. Do not authorise a repair yourself.

Punctures, breakdowns and accidents.

You deal with us throughout: Kusicar confirms the car, checks it against our standard, files your permit, prepares your documents and answers support from the first message to the day the car is back. The car itself belongs to our local partner in Stone Town, Zanzibar, who hands it over, takes payment and issues the receipt. The rental agreement you sign is with them, and you have their name and details before you travel.