Zambia Travel Guide

Most Western visitors no longer need a visa to enter Zambia. Visa-free entry is also possible for some nationalities, including Malaysia, Singapore, Zimbabwe and South Africa. See the immigration department's web-site for the full list of visa-exempt nationalities. Current visa prices for anyone that needs a visa are US$50 for a single-entry and US$80 for a multiple-entry visa for all nationalities and is valid for 3 months;

The currency of Zambia is the kwacha – meaning "sunrise," so-named to celebrate Zambia's independence – denoted by the symbol ZK (ISO code: ZMW). The currency was re-denominated (dropping the last three zeros) in 2013, but you can occasionally receive change in both the new re-based currency and the old currency.

Zambia is large and distances long, so budget plenty of time for getting around.

By plane

Domestic flights on Proflight connect Zambia's major cities and tourist destinations. While undoubtedly the fastest and most comfortable way of getting around, they are quite expensive with an hour-long flight (say, Lusaka-Mfuwe) typically costing around US$150 one-way. Also note that planes are small and schedules sparse, but if you can rustle up enough people you can also charter planes for not much more.

Thanks to its former colonial status, English is Zambia's official language and the language most often spoken in schools, on the radio, in government offices, etc. However, there are over 70 different Bantu languages (including dialects) spoken throughout the country, the most important of which are:

Women should avoid going to bars alone. Furthermore, men should avoid purchasing drinks for Zambian women they meet casually in bars; this is an invitation to spend the night. There is a 10PM curfew throughout most of the country. Avoid being found on the street after 10PM or risk being arrested.

Drinking tap water in the cities is potentially risky, unless either (a) you have a strong stomach, or (b) you are at a restaurant or hotel that caters to foreigners. If neither of these conditions apply to you, you should probably stick with the bottled stuff, boiled water or chlorine tablets. Check bottles of water to make sure that they are sealed, as some local "bottled" water could be simply tap water poured into a used bottle.

By mail

The Zambian mail service is slow and a little flaky (especially outside Lusaka), but not completely hopeless. Using a private courier service is still recommended if sending something important.

Zambians follow a strict patriarchal society – men are afforded more respect than women, and older men are respected more than younger men. However, you might find that a white person, of either gender and any age, is granted the most respect of all. A holdover from colonial times, this might make a traveller uncomfortable, but this is largely a Zambian's way of being courteous. Accept their hospitality.