Getting in and visas for Zambia

Elephants crossing the Luangwa River, South Luangwa National Park

Visas

Zambian visa policy is best summarized as confusing: there is a bewildering thicket of rules on who needs visas, whether they can get them on arrival and how much they pay, and local border posts also apply their own interpretations. The upside is that once they've figured out what category you're in, actually obtaining the visa is rarely a problem and a rule of thumb was that most Western visitors could get visas on arrival (bring along a copy of your passport's main page and two photos). Due to recent political turbulence in Zimbabwe, however, Zambia has been cashing in on its unexpected boon in the tourism industry. As a result, visas fees have been hiked, only cash accepted and paid on arrival at the immigration kiosks. Current visa prices

• United Kingdom passport holders: £75 for single entry and £240 for double or multiple entry, valid for 3 months
• United States of America passport holders: US$135 for multiple (single and double not available to US citizens), valid for 3 years
• Other nationalities: US$50 for single entry, US$80 for double entry and US$160 for multiple entry, valid for 3 months
• A day entry visa is available to all nationalities at US$10, valid 24 hours
• Transit visas carry the same cost as a single entry visa, valid 7 days

Do check with the nearest Zambian embassy for the latest information; the Zambian Embassy to the US has some information on their homepage, and getting the visa before arrival will reduce the uncertainty factor.

By plane

Zambia's main international gateway is Lusaka, which has direct flights to London on British Airways and good regional connections. For access to the eastern parts of the country (eg. Chipata), it will be faster to fly into Lilongwe in neighboring Malawi, and cross the border (which is quite straightforward by African standards). Also, Livingstone, near spectacular Victoria Falls, and Mfuwe, near South Luangwa National Park, have small international airports serving regional destinations.

By train

TAZARA trains run between Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. According to the schedule the trip takes 38 hours, but these trains break down regularly. If you are on a tight schedule, a train might not be your best option. On the other hand, a train ride between Dar es Salaam and Zambia is a beautiful way to see the countryside and is very economical (under $10). Several important things to note about this trip, however:

• Bring water.
• Immigration officials stamp passports as soon as the train crosses the border — probably in the middle of the night. Naturally, this is also when thieves work. If you are riding in a first- or second-class cabin, be very careful when opening your door.
• If you miss the immigration official, they will either: turn you around and send you back to the border; or, arrange for a stamp, pending payment of a "special tax."
• Immediately upon crossing the border, the crew no longer accepts the currency of the country you just exited. In other words, if you are traveling from Lusaka to Dar es Salaam, the moment you cross the border, your Kwacha is no longer legal tender; you must use Shillings. It is, therefore, a good idea to exchange money before the journey — blackmarketeers along the railroad offer poor exchange rates.
• Do not leave valuables near windows, especially at stops.

Via Zimbabwe/Victoria Falls: trains in Zimbabwe run from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls. You can take a taxi or hike 13 km across the border at the Victoria Falls Bridge to Livingstone station in Zambia and catch a Zambia Railways train to Lusaka and the Copperbelt connecting with the Tazara railway in Kapiri Mposhi.

By car

Vehicles drive on the left side of the road in Zambia. There are many ways to get into Zambia by car, but the most popular include:

• through Livingstone (in the south) from Zimbabwe
• via the Chirundu Bridge (in the south) from Zimbabwe
• via the Kariba Dam (in the south) from Zimbabwe
• through Chipata (in the east) from Malawi
• through Chingola (in the Copperbelt) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• via the Katima Mulilo Bridge from Namibia
• via the Kazungula Ferry from Botswana
• through Tunduma and Nakonde from Tanzania

Crossing international borders by car will incur a tax.

By bus

International bus routes exist. You can take a bus across the border into Malawi, Zimbabwe, or Tanzania. Immigration might be painstaking, considering the large number of people requiring simultaneous processing .

By boat

Zambia is landlocked but borders on Tanzania's Lake Tanganyika, and there are regular international ferry services across the lake a few times a week. Also, if you enter Zambia through Namibia's Caprivi Strip, you will have to cross the Zambezi River. You will have 2 options:

You may ride on a ferry (for a dollar); or,

You may hire a local boy with a dug-out canoe to carry you across (for 50 cents).