By Road

The main overland routes from the south to Zambia are;

• via Harare in Zimbabwe through the border at either Kariba or Chirundu;

• via Bulawayo and across the Victoria Falls Bridge;

• via Botswana across the ferry at Kazungula near Livingstone.

• Zambia can be entered from Malawi at the Mchinga/Chipata border, or further north at Nyika Plateau or Chitipa.

• The Tanzanian entry point is through the Tunduma/Nakonde border post onto the Great North road,.

• Access from Congo D.R. is via the Lumbumbashi - Chingola road, but there is no access from Angola as yet.

Road borders all open at 06h00 and close at 18h00 except Victoria falls which closes at 20h00.

To bring a vehicle into Zambia one must obtain a temporary import permit (TIP), at the border, or depending on the country of origin, a carnet de passage. If the driver is not the owner of the vehicle they must have a letter from the owner authorising the use of the vehicle in Zambia. You must also purchase third party insurance at the border. Have your vehicle papers on hand at all times as road blocks are fairly frequent.

The Zambia / Botswana border is crossed by means of a ferry, which operates 7-days a week from 06:30am after the border opens to 06:00pm when the border close. They throughout the day sail to and from Zambia / Botswana shores depending on how quickly they load and fill, there is no strict time schedule.
 
The approximate cost for your motor cycle on the ferry is U$7.00 and all passengers on board pay K2000. For your convenience and future reference, below is a table of the rest of the ferry charges from the Zambian side.

 

Category	Description	In U$	In S.A. Rand	In Bots. Pula	Zambian Vehicles
Light duty Passenger vehicles	Motor cycle	7.00	70	50	14,000
	Mini van/Taxi(corolla size)	21.00	154	140	42,000
	Mini bus 16 sitter/4x4 SUV/2x4 single or twin cab	28.00	224	200	56,000
	Light truck, less than 5tons	35.00	252	240	70,000
Medium duty passenger vehicles	Mini bus 26 sitter/ Agricultural tractor	35.00	252	240	70,000
	Rigid trucks 6-9 tons or Agricultural tractor with small trailer	42.00	294	290	84,000
Heavy duty passenger & commercial vehicles	Horse	49.00	350	340	98,000
	Big bus 65 sitter/ Rigid tractor 10tons & above	63.00	448	430	154,000
	Big bus with trailer/ big bus 76 sitter	77.00	546	530	154,000
	Horse with semi trailer/ Rigid truck 10tons & above with drawbar trailer	84.00	588	580	168,000
	Horse with semi trailer and dangler/ 2 interlinked trailers	98.00	686	670	196,000

 

By Bus

There are buses from Dar es Salaam and Mbeya in Tanzania to the border, where Zambian buses can be caught to the Copperbelt and Lusaka. From Malawi, a private bus company runs the Lilongwe - Lusaka Route.  Booking in advance is essential. (See listings section for Buses)

The Intercape Mainliner  and Translux have services to and from Johannesburg in South Africa. Their combined timetables make possible daily departures.

By Boat

Zambia is one of the five countries bordering Lake Tanganyika and a ferry operates from Burundi to Tanzania to Zambia and back once a week, arriving and leaving the port of Mpulungu every Friday.

By Train

One can catch a train from South Africa to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, then take the ferry train across the bridge to Livingstone (two trains daily) and another train to Lusaka, the Copperbelt or the Northern Province.

From Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, the Tazara line runs through to Kapiri Mposhi, where you can catch another train to Lusaka or Kitwe on the Copperbelt. Customs and immigration are conducted on board.