Cover and documents

Insurance and the Zanzibar driving permit

The car is insured, your permit is arranged before you land, and the agreement you sign caps what you can be asked to pay for damage at $500.

Insurance

If the car is damaged

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.

When the $500 ceiling does not protect you

The ceiling is part of the agreement, so it holds only while the agreement is kept. In five situations the cover and the ceiling fall away together, and you are liable for the whole cost of the repair.

The car was driven by someone not named on the agreement
The driver did not hold a valid Zanzibar driving permit
The car was driven on a beach, which the agreement prohibits outright
The car was driven in breach of traffic law
The driver was over the legal blood alcohol limit, or under the influence of drugs

Every rental company applies this list. We publish it because it is the difference between a $500 problem and a several-thousand-dollar one, and it is not the kind of thing to read for the first time on a form at the airport.

What the insurance does, and what it does not

Section 6 of the agreement you sign, in plain words.

Serious damage to the car, total loss and theft are handled through the insurance. Your share stops at the ceiling above
Damage you cause to someone else's property is covered by the car's policy, within its limits
Injury to other people is not covered by the car's policy
You, your passengers and anything left in the car are not covered. Bring your own travel insurance, and check that it covers you while driving

What applies to every rental

Your liability for damage to the car is capped at $500 by the agreement you sign
The car is insured for self-drive hire, and serious damage, total loss and theft go through that insurance
The same terms apply to every rental and every driver, and they are printed in the agreement you sign at handover
What happens after damage is settled in the agreement: photographs with you present at both ends, an itemised invoice for any charge, and a receipt for anything you pay
Every driver on your booking must hold a valid Zanzibar driving permit

Who may drive, and where

Drivers are between 18 and 78 years old and have held a full licence for at least one year
Only drivers named on the agreement drive the car. An additional driver is added to the booking and gets their own permit
The car is never driven on a beach
The car stays on Zanzibar. It does not go on the ferry to the mainland

That is the whole of it. The agreement you sign says the same thing in the same order, and there is no small print beyond it. If something goes wrong on the road, support covers what to do first.

The Zanzibar driving permit

Every visiting driver needs a Zanzibar driving permit. Your home licence on its own is not enough. We arrange the permit with your booking, so it is in your hand at the car rather than on your list for the first morning.

Add a photo of your licence and your passport on your booking pageFor every person who will drive. The page opens once the car is confirmed.
We file the permit with the authority before you arriveOur target is to have this complete 24 hours before you land.
You receive the permit at the handover, with the car papers
Each additional driver needs their own permit

Our fee for the permit, per driver. It is the figure on your written quote, and it is paid with the rental at handover.

Zanzibar driving permitPer driver, not per booking$25

About the International Driving Permit

You do not need one. Any valid national licence is accepted for the Zanzibar permit. If you already hold an International Driving Permit, bring it anyway: it is a translation of your licence and it helps at a checkpoint if your licence is not in English. It does not replace the Zanzibar permit.

The permit explained in full and what happens at a checkpoint go into more detail.

Ask about your dates

Tell us your dates and who will drive. You get the car, the permits and the amount due in writing, and everything on this page applies to it.

Request a car Chat on WhatsAppYou pay at handover and receive a receipt.