BY AIR, ,BY
BUS, BY ROAD, BY TRAIN,
By Air
Zambian Airways flies to Ndola, Kitwe, Livingstone, Mfuwe, Victoria
Falls and any charter flights
Proflight flies to Mfuwe
(South Luangwa) and Livingstone and charters. Avocet has various routes as well.
Various air charter companies will fly to any of the many airstrips
around the country and most of the areas worth visiting are accessible
by air.
There are daily flights Mfuwe/Lusaka/Livingstone and Livingstone/Lusaka/Mfuwe
from April 1 - 15 November 2003. Then 3 times a week 16 November -
31 December 2003.
Airwaves Airlink are flying Mfuwe/Lusaka return daily (1 April -
31 May USD 200 gross, 1 June to 15 Nov USD160
Migration Air are flying Livingstone/Lusaka return daily (USD 200)
Nationwide are flying Joburg/Livingstone/Lusaka return 3 times a
week, also connecting to the Airwaves Airlink flights to/from Mfuwe.
Nationwide are giving excellent net STO rates.
There will be some connection waiting time in Lusaka on most days.
Airwaves Airlink will be providing a comfortable lounge area with
entertainment and refreshments. There will be a full meet and greet
service at Lusaka airport for all the clients using Airwaves Airlink.
Airwaves Airlink. Seat rates Lusaka/Lower Zambezi are available,
USD 90 per seat, min 2. Seat rates Mfuwe/Lilongwe are available USD
200, min ...
By Bus
Long range Buses frequently leave from Lusaka to all the main towns.
CR Coach will take you to Chipata, Livingstone, Ndola, and Mongu.
Go to the bus station behind Shoprite, Cairo Rd and enquire as to
the current times. You won't have to wait too long. The busses are
clean and the people who ride in them are well groomed so make sure
you are.
Amazing reports on how much better the bus system is in Zambia nowadays.
An easy ride from Chipata to Livingstone in one day!!
Lusaka to Livingstone buses leave from ShopRite in Cairo rd early
in the morning - and again at noon. Book early at the station.
Minibuses and taxis, local transport - now all newly painted blue
- can be jumped on at pretty much any juncture. They're not expensive
and you can always find a minibus that won't cost too much to buy
all the seats in it to get your own private minibus to wherever you
want to go but you'll have to negotiate so be sharp about the value
of money.
By Road
Zambia has 38 763kms of roads, 8200 kms of which are tarred and another
8000 kms all weather gravel road. The rest range from reasonable to
bad dirt roads.
If you've come into Zambia without a vehicle, you can hire a chauffeur
driven vehicle to get around town or around the country. See Car Hire
Companies
Once you cross into Zambia from the South, be prepared
for a radical change in road conditions. It's improving all the time
but certain sections of the main roads become potholes strung together
with strips of tar, so be really careful, especially if travelling
at night for road markings are usually non existent. There is much
road rehabilitation finally being done so perhaps this won’t
be as bad in the near future. Do watch out for animals in the road,
vehicles without lights pedestrians, unannounced roadworks, bad drivers
and broken down trucks with no warning triangles. If you see a branch
in the road, slow down immediately - these are improvised warning
triangles and there’s bound to be a truck or car in the middle
of the road up ahead. Never leave a car with anything visible in it
in Lusaka, if possible make sure you have an alarm system or steering
wheel locking device. Car theft is rife here, but avoidable if you’re
careful.
Sections of the major routes to the north, south, east and west are
nearly always undergoing pothole repairs.
The gravel roads on the minor routes are fine to drive without a
four by four, but if you’re doing a long trip around the country
there are wonderful remote places to go to that would require 4x4
durability.
Petrol is available at most of the major towns, but gets more expensive
as one gets further from the railway line. If travelling in the more
remote areas be sure to take extra supplies as availability is not
always guaranteed. If it’s an emergency, try the local markets.
They sometime have bottles of petrol for sale.
Be sure to have all your vehicle papers on hand as you’re bound
to encounter a few roadblocks and if you ever need to stop, pull well
off the road.
By Train
Zambia has three main internal train lines, one from Livingstone
to Lusaka, from Lusaka to the Copperbelt, and from Kapiri Mposhi to
the Northern border with Tanzania. The main train station is in Dedan
Kamathi Rd. in central Lusaka, one road east of Cairo Rd. Across
The Kitwe-Lusaka-Livingstone (The Day Train ) line runs daily, leaving
Kitwe at 20h00 arriving in Lusaka at 7h35, leaving for Livingstone
at 8h05 and arriving there 18h00. This is called the ordinary train
and stops at every station along the way. It leaves Livingstone everyday
at 09h00, arriving in Lusaka at 20h10, leaves Lusaka at 21h10 and
arrives in Kitwe and 8h50.
There is also an express train (The Zambezi Express) leaving Livingstone
on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 14h30, arriving in Lusaka at
11h00 the next morning! Yes, 18 hours to travel 570kms - but although
this sounds like wasted time - it's actually a great option because
everyone else will be catching the bus so you'll probably have the
whole of first and for around $10 you have a bed for the night and
can see a bit of real Zambia along the way. It leaves Lusaka on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays at 19h30 and arrives in Livingstone at 6h10.
Fares are very reasonable and although the trains are a little shabby
and unkept, the linen is clean and they are and reliable give or take
an hour. Make sure you book a family compartment, first class, although
they’re not much better than second class, and bring all your
own food as well as drinking and washing water. Seats can be prebooked
at the station or by phoning 228023 in Lusaka, 321001 in Livingstone
and 224027 in Kabwe.
The Tazara Line from Kapiri Mposhi to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania leaves
every Tuesday and Friday at 13h45 and takes 2 days. On Mondays, Thursdays
and Saturdays, a train leaves from Kapiri Mposhi to the border town
of Nakonde and back, stopping at all main towns along the way. Bookings
for the Tazara line must be done a week in advance at Tazara house,
opposite the market in Independence Ave on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
To be safe, ask the station police to escort you to a taxi.