Zambia

Best Time To Visit Zambia

The Best Time To Visit Zambia is during the dry season between June and November. The skies are cobalt blue, the days are hot, and the nights are cool. Temperatures can sit anywhere from 23°C to 36°C across the country. Wildlife-spotting opportunities are plentiful during this time too.

• Cool drying time: May – August
• Hot dry season: September – November
• Rainy season: December – April (South) / October – April (North)

The rains in Zambia come mostly in December, January, February and March though the further north you are, the earlier the rains arrive and the later they leave. Eastern areas and higher areas generally receive more rain than western and lowland areas. This is Zambia's 'Emerald Season' – when most camps close and many unsurfaced roads in Zambia become impassable.

By April and May most of the rain has faded away, leaving a landscape that's still green, but starting to dry out. Night-time temperatures start to drop, especially in higher and more southerly locations.

In June, July and August the nights have become much cooler, but the days are clear and warm. Make sure you bring warm clothes to wrap up if you're out at night, as some nights get very cold! Most of Zambia's small 'walking bushcamps' open at the start of June, when the roads have dried out sufficiently to allow access. This is the start of the 'peak season' for these countries – with often cloudless days and continually increasing game sightings.

Into September and October the temperatures climb: the lower-lying rift valleys – Lower Zambezi, Mana Pools and Luangwa Valley – can get very hot in October. However, you'll see some superb game as the animals concentrate around the limited water sources.

November is variable; it can be hot and dry like October, or it can see the season's first downpours. Often it's a very interesting month as you can see both patterns on successive days.

Get the Best Month To Visit Zambia for climate charts on the best wildlife-viewing times.

Flights & Getting To & Around Zambia

There are good international connections to Livingstone and Lusaka, and frequent scheduled Zambia Flights between these two major gateways. Generally, however, travel to the game parks is undertaken by private or scheduled charter.

Flights To Zambia are favoured among nature lovers who value destinations where wild beauty has the space to shine.

Scheduled Flights

There are good international connections to Livingstone and Lusaka, and frequent scheduled flights between these two major gateways. Generally, however, travel to the game parks is undertaken by private or scheduled charter.

Charter Flights

A number of charter companies run regular flights from Lusaka and Livingstone to major destinations. Charter flights are the most viable means of getting to the main Zambia National Parks, such as Kafue, South Luangwa and the Lower Zambezi. The frequency of such flights is dependent upon the season.

Most visitors to Zambia will either arrive in Lusaka or Livingstone. Being the capital, Lusaka is served by a number of international airlines, with many travellers flying here directly from Johannesburg (South Africa), Nairobi (Kenya) or Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). South African Airways, Air Namibia, Air Zimbabwe, Air Malawi, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines all fly directly to Lusaka. The airport is about 30km from the city centre and we can organise your transfers.

Flights from America can be arranged with either British Airways or South African Airways, via London or Johannesburg respectively. From the UK, there are four flights a week direct from Gatwick Airport to Lusaka and from Australia, Qantas flies to Harare in Zimbabwe and Johannesburg in South Africa, with connecting flights available to Lusaka. European airlines such as KLM, Air France and Lufthansa also fly to Lusaka, via either Harare or Johannesburg.

Daily flights operate between Johannesburg Airport and Livingstone Airport. The flight is about 90 minutes in duration and Livingstone Airport is about 20 minutes’ drive from the Falls Resort.

What To Pack For Zambia Safari

You’ve researched all the activities on offer, drooled over the camps and finally booked your flights, but now comes the tricky bit – What To Pack For Zambia and your impending safari? Once you arrive, there’s not much opportunity to buy forgotten essentials so a little bit of forward-planning when it comes to packing is worth it. Our top tips on What To Pack For Zambia Safari should be all you need and, if you remember to pack your adventurer’s cap too, you’ll be ready for the Zambia Safari Packages of a lifetime.

When on Zambia Safari, light layers of clothing in neutral safari colours of green, khaki and beige are the best items to bring with you, as well as a warmer jacket or fleece for the colder evenings. A hat is also a must have! Bright and dark colours like yellow, red and purple are discouraged, or sometimes not allowed (on a bush walk) if you are going on safari.

You’ve delayed months for your Zambia Safari Tours to finally come around. And now you have to decide What To Pack For Zambia Safari. Falcon Safaris is here to help.

The most practical items to pack for your Zambia Safari are:

• Clothes in khaki, green, beige and neutral colours
• Long-sleeved shirts that offer protection from the sun and mosquitoes
• T-shirts
• Shorts or a light skirt
• Jeans or safari trousers for evenings and cooler days
• Jackets and sweaters for early morning and late afternoon game drives
• A lightweight waterproof jacket in case of rain
• Swim and beachwear
• Comfortable walking shoes
• Sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, insect repellent, moisturiser and lip salve
• Binoculars and camera equipment

Visa & Passport Requirements For Zambia

Foreigners who want to travel to Zambia may have to apply for a Zambia Visa beforehand, depending on their nationality.

A Zambia Visa requires a valid passport with at least 6 month validity remaining, a return flight ticket, proof of accommodation, information page scan of the passport, and a digital passport-sized photo.

If you are from one of the countries which are eligible for a Zambia Visa On Arrival, the processing time is three days. If you are from a country that is not eligible for a Zambia Visa On Arrival, the visa processing time is five days.

Upon arrival for a Zambia Safari, visitors need to present a passport valid for 6 months beyond stay and at least one blank visa page for entering and exiting stamps.

Tourist visas are valid for 3 months at the discretion of the consulate. Those travelling to Zambia for tourism purposes need to provide a flight or tour itinerary and/ or copy of air ticket. Emergency visas may be obtained at an additional fee.

Proof of Yellow Fever vaccinations only need to be presented by travellers coming from countries that are at risk.

Tourists should be issued with visas at any port of entry to Zambia except for those referred visas.

Zambia Wildlife

Like many countries in southern Africa, Zambia has a wealth of wildlife found both in and outside the parks and reserves set up to protect them. Bordered by Angola to the west, Namibia, Zimbabwe and a tiny bit of Botswana to the south, Mozambique to the southeast, Malawi to the east, and Tanzania to the northeast, it shares with them animals such as those called the Big Five: lions, elephants, buffalos, leopards, and rhinoceros, though the rhinoceros is in danger of going extinct in many areas. Zambia also has many species of birds, reptiles, and primates.

Zambia is abundant in all kinds of unique wildlife. Zambia Wildlife include primates such as vervet monkeys, bushbabies, and baboons. There are carnivores such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and wildcats such as the caracal, the serval, and the common genet. There are also eight kinds of mongoose, otters, and honey badgers. Zebra are found in great numbers in Zambia, as are African buffalo. There are many types of antelopes, including the roan and sable antelopes, the oribi, the waterbuck, and the lechwe. There are also rock hyrax, small mammals that look like guinea pigs but are closely related to elephants.

Snakes include dangerous venomous snakes such as the boomslang, the spitting cobra, and the gaboon viper, and many species of birds include wading birds such as flamingos, hammerkops and storks, gulls, pelicans, cranes, ducks and geese, and the ostrich, the world's biggest bird.

National parks in Zambia include Blue Lagoon National Park which is small but famous for its birds; Kafue National Park; the privately operated Kasanka National Park; the Lower Zambezi National Park; Sioma Ngwezi National Park, which is home to herds of beasts such as elephants and wildebeests who migrate to and from parks in Namibia and Botswana; and the world-famous South Luangwa National Park, which offers walking safaris.

Is Zambia Safe?

Is Zambia Safe? Zambia is, actually, generally safe to visit. It is one of the few African safe countries where crime levels are similar to those in a European country.

On the whole, Zambia is a safe country and locals are generally very welcoming and friendly towards visitors.

Follow these general rules to avoid becoming an obvious target:

• Don’t carry expensive items out in the open (cameras, mobile phones etc.) and avoid excessive, flashy jewellery
• If you’re carrying cash, keep a small, daily amount separate. Don’t pull out your entire wad of notes for every small payment
• Avoid walking alone in touristy areas, and never walk alone at night
• Move with confidence and don’t act lost – even if you are! Head for somewhere that looks reputable and ask for directions
• If you have a vehicle, don’t leave valuables visible on the seats and don’t leave it unattended at all if you have equipment strapped to the outside
• Don’t park at night on urban streets – always find safe, secure parking when you’re within city limits

Zambia Currency

The Zambian Currency is known as kwacha and is not generally available for purchase outside Zambia. The most useful currency to bring is US dollars, although South Afri-can Rand, Euro, and GB Pounds will also be acceptable.

Zambia’s currency is available at airports, hotels, ATMs and exchange offices. Larger shops, hotels, restaurants and tour operators increasingly accept major credit cards. Use ATMs or banks and bureaux de change to exchange money. It may not be possible to exchange Scottish or Northern Irish bank notes.

Most tourist businesses and some other businesses in Livingstone will accept these other currencies. With US dollars, make sure you bring new notes – the ones with “big heads”. Zambian banks don’t accept the old notes with small heads or notes that are damaged, torn or written on and so you’ll find that you can’t spend them anywhere.

There are several banks here with ATMs which issue Zambian kwacha only. Some but not all businesses accept credit cards, the most popular being Visa and MasterCard. Amex and travellers cheques are not widely accepted and some debit cards don’t work. Some businesses add an additional charge for using credit cards. US Dollars can sometimes be obtained from the local bureaux de change but it is unwise to rely on this.

Zambia Culture

Zambia Culture is a blend of values, norms, material and spiritual traditions of more than 70 ethnically diverse people. Most of the tribes of Zambia moved into the area in a series of migratory waves a few centuries ago. The main tribes in Zambia are Bemba, Nagoni, Lozi, Chewa, Chokwe, Lunda, Luvale, Tonga, and Tumbuka.

Before the colonial period, the region now known as Zambia was the home of a number of Free states. Each having comprehensive economic links with each other and the outside world along trade routes to the east and west coast of Africa. The main exports were copper, ivory and slaves in exchange for textiles, jewellery, salt and hardware.

During the colonial period, the process of industrialisation and urbanisation saw ethnically different people brought together by economic interests. This, as well as the very definite influence of western standards, generated a new culture without conscious effort of politically determined guidelines.

Many of the rural inhabitants however, have retained their indigenous and traditional customs and values. After Independence in 1964, the government recognised the role culture was to play in the overall development of a new nation and began to explore the question of a National identity.

Institutions to protect and promote Zambia’s culture were created, including the National Heritage Conservation Commission. Private museums were also founded and cultural villages were established to promote the expression of artistic talents.

Zambia Travel Insurance

Zambia offers many natural wonders to explore, and the country has good services for tourists—including many high-end hotels coming up in the recent past. A Vacation In Zambia will lend some insight into traditional African life on the one hand as you enjoy the perks of modern amenities on the other. And as you’re planning your trip, remember to buy Zambia Travel Insurance.

Comprehensive medical insurance is essential for Holidays To Zambia. It should include cover for emergency evacuation and private hospitalisation within Zambia, transfers for specialist treatment in neighbouring countries and, ultimately, repatriation. Make sure you’re covered for Zambia Safari Activities and close wildlife encounters, and any other adventure activities you plan on doing. Walking and canoeing safaris usually require special cover. Bungee jumping and white water rafting almost certainly will.

Before you travel, check with your insurance provider on how their claims process works. They may pay medical costs upfront or expect you to pay the initial costs and seek reimbursement later. Familiarise yourself with the exact documents they require from hospitals and emergency services and, if you’re expected to pay initial costs, then carry a credit card with sufficient funds.

Zambia Safari Cost

Your Zambia Safari Cost is determined by the park entry fees, accommodation choices and the duration and game drives on your itinerary. Our Zambia Safari Packages have all these inclusive of the cost.

There are many accommodation options to choose from in Zambia, but as a guide, itineraries range from around $5,500 per person up to $15,000 per person for around a week on safari. This is including internal flights. The former would be staying in more rustic accommodation visiting both the South Luangwa and the Lower Zambezi. The latter is a supreme luxury round trip covering the best lodges in Livingstone, the Victoria Falls, Kafue, South Luangwa and the Lower Zambezi. Zambia really does provide for a huge variety of budgets and groups.