Car Hire inSão Tomé

A local driver can be added to selected vehicle rentals from €35 per day.

This service is primarily intended for business travellers, NGOs, organisations and visitors who need transport between meetings, appointments, projects or other locations and do not want to drive themselves.

If you are visiting São Tomé for sightseeing and want a driver to take you around the island, please see our private tours instead. These include a local driver-guide and are designed specifically for exploring São Tomé's plantations, villages, beaches, viewpoints and other places of interest.

For independent travellers, self-drive car hire is usually the most flexible and economical way to explore the island.

Most visitors to São Tomé arrive without a clear sense of how the car rental market here works. There are no airport rental counters. There are no international brands operating directly. What you see online from the big comparison sites is usually a sub-contracted local operator, and you do not know which one until the keys arrive.

That is why most people end up booking direct.

Daily rates range from around €45 for a basic 4x4 to €140 for a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. The cheap car hire end of the market is dominated by older Suzuki Jimnys and Daihatsu Terios models, which are perfectly fine for the north and the main paved road. If you are heading south or inland, the bigger 4x4s become worth the extra. Renting for more than 15 days? Get in touch and we will work out a longer-term rate.

The best car hire in São Tomé is not really about price. It is about who answers the phone when something goes wrong. Pothole damage, a wrong turn down an unpaved track, a question about whether the south road is open after rain - these are the moments that matter, and they are easier when the operator lives on the same island.

Delivery is free to any hotel in São Tomé city, including the Água Grande district. For Santana, Neves, and other coastal towns we charge €5 less than the standard market rate. Need a baby seat? We carry European-standard seats at €4 a day.

Every vehicle comes with comprehensive insurance and breakdown cover, with the exception of punctures - the roads here would have us out replacing tyres all day if we covered them.

The booking process is straightforward. Pick a vehicle and your dates, get a quote, pay 50% to secure it. The remaining 50% is settled on collection along with a refundable damage deposit (€100 for vehicles under €100 a day, €150 above that) — see our currency and cash guide for what to bring. We hand over the car with a quarter tank and ask for it back the same way. Police checkpoints are routine on São Tomé and they like to stop tourist vehicles, so we give you all the paperwork to keep in the glove box.

Free cancellation if you let us know more than a week before pickup. You will need a valid European or international driving licence, to be at least 18 years old, and to check our visa requirements page before you arrive.

The Chocolate Islands is run by Jack Fitzgerald, who has lived on São Tomé since 2018. The car hire service grew out of the same work as the guided tours: guests kept asking for a vehicle they could trust, from someone who actually knew the island.

That means when you book with us, you are dealing with one person who knows the roads, answers the phone, and can tell you from experience whether the south road is passable after two days of rain.

We are not affiliated with any international rental platform. Every booking is handled directly and every vehicle is one we stand behind.