By Air
Proflight flies to Mfuwe (South Luangwa) and Livingstone and charters. Avocet has various routes as well. Sky Trails specialises in Northern Zambia
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.
Domestic departure tax from airports is $8 per person.
By Bus
Long range Buses frequently leave from Lusaka to all the main towns.
The intercity bus terminal can be found one road up from Cairo rd at the station.
Minibuses and taxis, local transport - all 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
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 happens, but avoidable if you’re careful.
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.
Unleaded petrol and diesel 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 cans 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.
Click here for an informative article on driving in Africa, and specifically Zambia
By Train
Zambia has three main internal train lines,
1. Livingstone / Lusaka
2. Lusaka / Copperbelt,
3. 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.
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 16:00 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. Tel: +260 1 220646. To be safe, ask the station police to escort you to a taxi.
Here is a recent account of the Tazara train journey from a group of backpackers. (November 2010 courtesy Danielle Wilson)
" Having spent a great month in friendly Zambia, the next destination along our journey was Tanzania. We decided to take the Tazara Train from Kipiri Mposhe, a three hour bus ride from Lusaka. Luckily we are students and were therefore eligible for a 50% discount on our tickets, bringing the total price down to only K97000 Kwacha each. Since the train takes anywhere from 2-4 days (it sometimes breaks down) $20 was a very affordable price! There were 3 of us travelling so we decided to go first class, which consists of a 4 man private cabin. We had to buy the extra ticket at full price, but it was definitely worth it. We had our privacy and lots of space for our luggage making it a comfortable ride. The cabin was simple, with 4 beds, a small table, a fan and a great view! It was a little dusty, but pretty clean for the most part. Upon our arrival, a very sweet train attendant, Candy, greeted us and brought us soap, toilet paper a bottle of water and a few sweets. The toilet was reasonably sanitary and we often saw Candy on all 4’s scrubbing away! There was a shower available, although the water pressure was very weak. We felt very safe and never had a problem with anyone strange entering our room or trying to climb into the window like we had heard beforehand. The only time we were hassled by vendors was at the Tanzania border, the rest of the trip was quiet and peaceful. Crossing the border was way too easy! We didn’t even have to leave our cabin; the immigration officers came right in and even let us purchase our visas and exchange money (be sure to check the exchange rate before hand because these guys will try to rip you off!) We actually never had to get up for anything. We had an attendant come to our cabin to take our orders for each meal and then bring it to us when it was ready. We would advise anyone taking the train to bring some food of their own. Although it was pretty tasty, chicken /beef and rice is the only item on the menu, which gets very repetitive. We would also advise travelers to bring lots of water. You can purchase soda, beer or water, but we have heard stories of the train running out of water.
All in all, we had a very positive experience on the Tazara. Even though it was quite bumpy at times and it frequently stopped for up to 30 minutes, 52 hours of travelling seemed to wiz by! With good company and a month of wonderful experiences in Zambia to talk about, it’s no wonder that we enjoyed our trip. "
Dani Wilson
