Zanzibar Express Car Hire
Zanzibar Express Car Hire
Zanzibar Express Car Hire
4.5
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Full view
About
We have a fleet of more than 80 cars available to hire in Zanzibar. Our offices are located on the outskirts of StoneTown, about 5 mins from the International Airport. We have more than 15 years experience. We offer 4×4 vehicles for rent on a self drive or chauffeur driven basis. We have a staff of experienced drivers and multilingual guides that speak fluent English.
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Zanzibar Express Car Hire
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
64 reviews
Excellent
49
Very good
9
Average
0
Poor
2
Terrible
4
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Amy
6 contributions
Sept 2021 • Solo
Their services were super efficient and reliable. Hamid was quick responded all my enquiries about hire a car for 3 days in Zanzibar , as well as sorted out my local driving permit before I arrived over there.
They accommodated me to delivery the car to my accommodation in stone town as requested. Abeid delivered the car to me, he was even kindly drove me to covid test Center before he left car to me.
On the returning day, Abeid also arranged pick up time to suit my schedule in stone town. He dropped off me to the airport when he found out I had horrible experience with my pre arrange tour guide on that day. Whereas my pre booked tour was not from his company. I regretted that I didn’t book day tour with this company.
I would definitely highly recommended Abeid for his professional services and willingness to help in Zanzibar.
He can be contact by WhatsApp or phone +255655382336.
They accommodated me to delivery the car to my accommodation in stone town as requested. Abeid delivered the car to me, he was even kindly drove me to covid test Center before he left car to me.
On the returning day, Abeid also arranged pick up time to suit my schedule in stone town. He dropped off me to the airport when he found out I had horrible experience with my pre arrange tour guide on that day. Whereas my pre booked tour was not from his company. I regretted that I didn’t book day tour with this company.
I would definitely highly recommended Abeid for his professional services and willingness to help in Zanzibar.
He can be contact by WhatsApp or phone +255655382336.
Written 6 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kind
2 contributions
Oct 2021 • Couples
Outstanding service and communication. Abeid and his team were in contact from the moment of booking. Met us at the airport to deliver the car, helped with other local information and arranged a local SIM card for us to use google maps. The car was great for what we needed and recommended a 4x4 as the roads are a little bumpy in places once you’re off the main highway.
We left a valuable sentimental item in the car, and they contacted us immediately. They even arranged to go to the airport and give the item to a friend who was traveling later that week, the honesty and going over and above! Very friendly, professional and personal service. communication excellent and value for money! 100% recommend! We will
Be using this company again and recommending to friends too. Thanks very much Abeid and team!
We left a valuable sentimental item in the car, and they contacted us immediately. They even arranged to go to the airport and give the item to a friend who was traveling later that week, the honesty and going over and above! Very friendly, professional and personal service. communication excellent and value for money! 100% recommend! We will
Be using this company again and recommending to friends too. Thanks very much Abeid and team!
Written 30 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bella Galante
Sao Paulo, SP152 contributions
Feb 2024 • Family
I was worried about trusting the company because it was not a well-known company in the car rental market, but my experience proved that they deserve our trust.
Collecting the car left me with a lot of anxiety (I believe this process should be improved), as until an hour before I didn't know the exact location and who I should meet. The time I selected was not honored, as it was necessary to complete the procedure for issuing a driver's license and I was only able to collect the car almost an hour later.
During the rental, I had the very unpleasant situation of two tires on my car being punctured, but the company provided all the necessary assistance, quickly activating partners who met me and resolved the situation without so many headaches. I felt well advised by them.
The return could also be better, as it was done on a public road, handing the car over to a person who introduced himself as from the company, but without any t-shirt or badge that really proved that he worked there, so there was a feeling of insecurity giving the car to a stranger.
Despite this, I would not have closed with any company and if I ever need to again, I will contact them.
Collecting the car left me with a lot of anxiety (I believe this process should be improved), as until an hour before I didn't know the exact location and who I should meet. The time I selected was not honored, as it was necessary to complete the procedure for issuing a driver's license and I was only able to collect the car almost an hour later.
During the rental, I had the very unpleasant situation of two tires on my car being punctured, but the company provided all the necessary assistance, quickly activating partners who met me and resolved the situation without so many headaches. I felt well advised by them.
The return could also be better, as it was done on a public road, handing the car over to a person who introduced himself as from the company, but without any t-shirt or badge that really proved that he worked there, so there was a feeling of insecurity giving the car to a stranger.
Despite this, I would not have closed with any company and if I ever need to again, I will contact them.
Written 18 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jody t
Manchester, UK33 contributions
My wife and I rented an Escudo from Zanzibar Express for 10 days.
There are no large international rental companies in Zanzibar so there was little choice.
I arranged everything via email and didn't have to pay anything until we arrived. They also organised a local driving permit for me. They were always quick to respond to any of my questions.
We arrived and the car was exactly as described. They are fairly old but plenty good enough for what we needed.
The only issue we had was a coolant hose to the radiator broke and we lost all water. But 1 phone call and they had there mechanic drive across the island to fix the issue straight away. I was very impressed with the service.
Would happily recommend.
One thing to note is that you should also bring an international driving licence. Not only the permit that is arranged locally. We were stopped frequently at police check points and they wanted to see both. I was concerned we may have to hand a few dollars out occasionally but this wasn't the case. All check points let us through as soon as they had seen the permit/licence.
There are no large international rental companies in Zanzibar so there was little choice.
I arranged everything via email and didn't have to pay anything until we arrived. They also organised a local driving permit for me. They were always quick to respond to any of my questions.
We arrived and the car was exactly as described. They are fairly old but plenty good enough for what we needed.
The only issue we had was a coolant hose to the radiator broke and we lost all water. But 1 phone call and they had there mechanic drive across the island to fix the issue straight away. I was very impressed with the service.
Would happily recommend.
One thing to note is that you should also bring an international driving licence. Not only the permit that is arranged locally. We were stopped frequently at police check points and they wanted to see both. I was concerned we may have to hand a few dollars out occasionally but this wasn't the case. All check points let us through as soon as they had seen the permit/licence.
Written 12 October 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Allych
7 contributions
Jan 2017 • Friends
Sabry was recommended to me by one of my friends who went to Zanzibar last year and used his services, also, seeing the good reviews on trip advisor, naturally I was confident and had no doubts about using Sabry.
Me and two of my friends had planned two full days of tour with Sabry and I also organised an airport pick up for when we arrived in Zanzibar. Prior to the trip, we communicated through whatsapp, which was fine for most part however, most of the information he gave me about the tour was vague and half the time I felt I had to triple check he understood me and the dates I wanted.
The day of our departure to Zanzibar our flight in Dubai was delayed by over 2hrs (Even when we were still on -ground we knew we would most likely miss our connecting flight from DAR to Zanzibar.) I whatsapp Sabry straight away apologizing that our flight is delayed and that we will miss our connecting flight, therefore, need to rebook once we land in DAR. As we knew also that there will most likely no wifi available in DAR or Zanzibar airport ( Which there is NOT), I told Sabry the situation and that we would have to cancel the airport pick up as we don't know what time we can arrive now, however, if there is wifi in DAR I will contact him right away of our new arrival time in ZAN and he can still pick us up. I apologised as many times as I could and it was obvious we were hopeless too. He read the message right away and did not reply.
After finally arriving in ZAN 8 hours later, Sabry still hadn't replied, I messaged him right away when arriving in the hotel asking about tomorrows tour itinerary. He told me he was in our hotel and for us to come downstairs. We met him and shockingly the first thing out of his mouth was "Let me tell you, this is not how we work here, you cannot cancel the pick up with me!". To be honest, after a long day, a 'welcome to Zanzibar' would have been preferred and nicer.
Instead we were faced with a money-hungry angry tour guide insisting that I was not allowed to cancel the pick up. I explained to him the situation that I could not have gotten in contact with him after we took off in Dubai but he just kept shaking his head and said it was not right. Sabry said also "Now, if my company had charged you money first online, you would not be able to cancel." First of all, if you DID charge the money first then I would willingly give you the money as we would have already been aware of your "terms and conditions" to cancellation ! He was basically demanding us to pay him the $20US for airport pick up even though we did not use the service.
Me and my friends completely understand that it may have caused him inconvenience to cancel the pick up, however, we did not realise in 'terms and conditions' (Which was NOT mentioned to me during our conversations) that if a flight is delayed beyond our control, we would get a whipping for it and still need to pay him. I refused and also immediately cancelled our two full days of tour with him.
His attitude and the way he spoke to us three girls was disgusting, rude and most importantly, unprofessional. As a tour guide, I would think he may have dealt with delays and cancellations before, however, the way he acted, and his lack of understanding or comprehending our hopeless situation (Imagine how irritated and tired we were already for missing our flight and getting no refund on the ticket), and having to be welcomed by this kind of attitude, I would definitely not recommend using his services because God forbid, if your flight is delayed or if your plans change last minute out of your control, he will lose it at you and demand the money anyway.
Not a great welcoming to Zanzibar, fortunately, we went with the hotel tour and it was amazing! So was the rest of our stay! :)
Me and two of my friends had planned two full days of tour with Sabry and I also organised an airport pick up for when we arrived in Zanzibar. Prior to the trip, we communicated through whatsapp, which was fine for most part however, most of the information he gave me about the tour was vague and half the time I felt I had to triple check he understood me and the dates I wanted.
The day of our departure to Zanzibar our flight in Dubai was delayed by over 2hrs (Even when we were still on -ground we knew we would most likely miss our connecting flight from DAR to Zanzibar.) I whatsapp Sabry straight away apologizing that our flight is delayed and that we will miss our connecting flight, therefore, need to rebook once we land in DAR. As we knew also that there will most likely no wifi available in DAR or Zanzibar airport ( Which there is NOT), I told Sabry the situation and that we would have to cancel the airport pick up as we don't know what time we can arrive now, however, if there is wifi in DAR I will contact him right away of our new arrival time in ZAN and he can still pick us up. I apologised as many times as I could and it was obvious we were hopeless too. He read the message right away and did not reply.
After finally arriving in ZAN 8 hours later, Sabry still hadn't replied, I messaged him right away when arriving in the hotel asking about tomorrows tour itinerary. He told me he was in our hotel and for us to come downstairs. We met him and shockingly the first thing out of his mouth was "Let me tell you, this is not how we work here, you cannot cancel the pick up with me!". To be honest, after a long day, a 'welcome to Zanzibar' would have been preferred and nicer.
Instead we were faced with a money-hungry angry tour guide insisting that I was not allowed to cancel the pick up. I explained to him the situation that I could not have gotten in contact with him after we took off in Dubai but he just kept shaking his head and said it was not right. Sabry said also "Now, if my company had charged you money first online, you would not be able to cancel." First of all, if you DID charge the money first then I would willingly give you the money as we would have already been aware of your "terms and conditions" to cancellation ! He was basically demanding us to pay him the $20US for airport pick up even though we did not use the service.
Me and my friends completely understand that it may have caused him inconvenience to cancel the pick up, however, we did not realise in 'terms and conditions' (Which was NOT mentioned to me during our conversations) that if a flight is delayed beyond our control, we would get a whipping for it and still need to pay him. I refused and also immediately cancelled our two full days of tour with him.
His attitude and the way he spoke to us three girls was disgusting, rude and most importantly, unprofessional. As a tour guide, I would think he may have dealt with delays and cancellations before, however, the way he acted, and his lack of understanding or comprehending our hopeless situation (Imagine how irritated and tired we were already for missing our flight and getting no refund on the ticket), and having to be welcomed by this kind of attitude, I would definitely not recommend using his services because God forbid, if your flight is delayed or if your plans change last minute out of your control, he will lose it at you and demand the money anyway.
Not a great welcoming to Zanzibar, fortunately, we went with the hotel tour and it was amazing! So was the rest of our stay! :)
Written 22 January 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
EauxVives2014
Geneva, Switzerland43 contributions
Sept 2015
Thanks to TripAdvisor we contacted Sabry on his WhatsApp. Very fast answer, good level of english. We organised a one-day trip around the island with a car and arranged for a driver (as we did not have an international driving license, were worried about police stops and left-side driving). Very happy with our decision as we saw several accidents in one day. Pick up at hotel at 8am for a long day, scheduled return around 6pm. I recommend the driver as there are few indications on the road and he knows where to get best, fastest and most efficiently finds the right guide etc. One day from Melia in Kiwengwa : Jozani Forest & Monkey, Ruins on the way, Spice Tour (Mr Kato, think about us$ tips), Tour of Stone Town (with local guide friend), Fish Market, Turtle Conservation in Nungwi, Doh fabric in Nungwi, Beach time at Kendwa. Full day hire of car + driver/guide, all entrance fees and fuel etc: 210 US$ / 200 EUR : very reasonable. Would definitely recommend hiring from Sabry (our driver was Mohammed, a great man).
PS: if you happen to go, please bring some soap/tooth brush/hygiene products or some pencils/papers/books or clothes/toys/foot balls and have your driver stop you at some village school. They need it.
PS: if you happen to go, please bring some soap/tooth brush/hygiene products or some pencils/papers/books or clothes/toys/foot balls and have your driver stop you at some village school. They need it.
Written 6 October 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Zeggi K
1 contribution
This company have been very helpful through out our honeymoon stay in Zanzibar by renting us the best car available and our tour guide Sabry +255 786 414 044 you can find him by this phone number he is the Best....
Written 15 December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
carrom
Rome, Italy716 contributions
Feb 2016 • Couples
We booked on line and were met at the airport and all paperwork was quickly dealt with. The car was in good shape we had no problems at all. After 5 days we exchanged it for a vespa. Also perfect. Mr Daud left us his number i
Written 1 March 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Giulio G
1 contribution
Sept 2018 • Couples
I stayed in Zanzibar with my girlfriend for 2 weeks and for the last part of our trip we decided to rent a car.
Looking on TripAdvisor we decided to go for “Zanzibar Car Hire” given the really good reviews, but it would have probably been better to go for a big and known hiring company.
The staff has been unprofessional with us and here as some examples:
1- We booked on the website the car which was supposed to be brought to our hotel in Nungwi at 10am, but after many hours of waiting and calling we received the car at 2:30pm (we decided not to pay the $10 for the pick up at our place).
2- We booked a Suzuki escudo 3 doors but they gave us a bigger car in order to “say sorry” for the delay. The problem was that knowing the madness of the Zanzibarian streets I decided on purpose to hire the smallest car they had.
3- Even if before coming to Zanzibar it has been said to me that we would have gotten the car with $20 of gas, we received it empty.
4- On the website we booked the drop off at 6:30pm. The day before I decided to call them in order to make sure that everything was confirmed, but this member of the staff started to scream at me saying that I’ve just been complaining for everything. This guy told us that they would have came to pick up the car at 4pm, it ended up that we had to waste again the entire afternoon because he arrived .. hours later.
The only positive note was that the car has been perfect as well as all the insurances needed.
Looking on TripAdvisor we decided to go for “Zanzibar Car Hire” given the really good reviews, but it would have probably been better to go for a big and known hiring company.
The staff has been unprofessional with us and here as some examples:
1- We booked on the website the car which was supposed to be brought to our hotel in Nungwi at 10am, but after many hours of waiting and calling we received the car at 2:30pm (we decided not to pay the $10 for the pick up at our place).
2- We booked a Suzuki escudo 3 doors but they gave us a bigger car in order to “say sorry” for the delay. The problem was that knowing the madness of the Zanzibarian streets I decided on purpose to hire the smallest car they had.
3- Even if before coming to Zanzibar it has been said to me that we would have gotten the car with $20 of gas, we received it empty.
4- On the website we booked the drop off at 6:30pm. The day before I decided to call them in order to make sure that everything was confirmed, but this member of the staff started to scream at me saying that I’ve just been complaining for everything. This guy told us that they would have came to pick up the car at 4pm, it ended up that we had to waste again the entire afternoon because he arrived .. hours later.
The only positive note was that the car has been perfect as well as all the insurances needed.
Written 21 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Giulio
We apologise for the bad experience, We have now change the full system in our company including company name, management and staffs, We hope to serve you again in future and see the most changes we have made in our company.
Please contact us again once you visit Zanzibar for the second time.
Written 19 August 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Daryl B
Dubai, United Arab Emirates14 contributions
Jun 2018 • Solo
I booked a car for five days through these guys at $35 per day..reasonable enough. The guys were waiting for me at the airport and drove me a short distance to pick up the Vehicle. The car was a Suzuki Vitara, it was covered in dents and scratches but that was no surprise. After filling out the paperwork I was surprised that the guys did not document any of the damage and went to drive off. When I asked about the damage they just said take a picture. I guessed they were not overly concerned about it but I took several pictures anyway.
I returned the car five days later to the airport and the guys were waiting for me. It was dark at this point and Sabry asked if there was any damage. I confidently replied no and he then asked me if I was sure. I again said very sure and reminded them that I had documented all damage. He then preceded to walk around the car in the dark with no torch. Straight away he exclaimed 'THIS IS NEW' pointing to the side of the car. He was pointing to the indicator light on the passenger door. It was damaged and the cover was missing. I insisted that it was there before but he insisted that it was new.
I was confident that I had not added any damage as I had only driven the car from Stone Town to Nungwi and back. The rest of the time is was securely parked.
After looking through my phone, one of the pictures that I had taken of a large dent on the front passenger side bumper showed the same indicator light that was already damaged in the same state as when I picked the car up.
The picture clearly had the exact time and date that I picked up the car. I could tell that the guys were not happy about this evidence but they reluctantly let me go wishing me a good flight.
This was clearly a stunt to get more cash out of me.
If you use these guys to hire a car (there isn't many other options) make sure that you document every inch of the vehicle!!
I returned the car five days later to the airport and the guys were waiting for me. It was dark at this point and Sabry asked if there was any damage. I confidently replied no and he then asked me if I was sure. I again said very sure and reminded them that I had documented all damage. He then preceded to walk around the car in the dark with no torch. Straight away he exclaimed 'THIS IS NEW' pointing to the side of the car. He was pointing to the indicator light on the passenger door. It was damaged and the cover was missing. I insisted that it was there before but he insisted that it was new.
I was confident that I had not added any damage as I had only driven the car from Stone Town to Nungwi and back. The rest of the time is was securely parked.
After looking through my phone, one of the pictures that I had taken of a large dent on the front passenger side bumper showed the same indicator light that was already damaged in the same state as when I picked the car up.
The picture clearly had the exact time and date that I picked up the car. I could tell that the guys were not happy about this evidence but they reluctantly let me go wishing me a good flight.
This was clearly a stunt to get more cash out of me.
If you use these guys to hire a car (there isn't many other options) make sure that you document every inch of the vehicle!!
Written 8 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I will be in Dar es Salaam for one day on May 16 I’m wondering is it possible to do a tour of Zanzibar that day?
Written 12 May 2018
Correction:
infoATzanzibarcarhire .... continue with a DOT and com
Written 27 June 2016
We are hoping to go to Zanzibar in May 2016 and are looking at Car Hire as we like to explore.
You have recommended Zanzibar Express Car Hire.
Did you do alot of driving around the island and was it easy enough to get around?
Any tips would be most appreciated!!
Regards,
Judelle
Written 12 January 2016
Hi.
Do you rent out motorcycles?
Written 17 September 2015
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