Book cheap flights to Zambia

Zambia experiences a subtropical climate with two distinct wet and dry seasons. If it’s the ultimate African safari you’re after, game viewing is at its best in the dry season, between May and October. Take advantage of the low water levels and kayak along the Zambezi River or take a dip in Devil’s Pool. The rainy season falls between November and April, when tourist crowds die down and the lush, green landscapes are ideal for hiking and exploring the ethnic villages. Towards the end of the rainy season is the perfect time to visit the spectacular Victoria Falls in all its glory. Bear in mind that some lodges and outdoor activities may be closed in the rainy season due to heavy flooding. For the cheapest flights and accommodation, visit Zambia between November and April.

South African passport holders do not need a visa to enter Zambia for a period of up to 90 days. Your passport must be valid for 6 months after you return, and you will need 3 blank pages available for entry stamps.

Click here to see if you qualify for visa exemption.

Zambia is a fairly safe country, but general vigilance and awareness should be exercised at all times, especially at night. Tourists are not advised to walk around after dark. Be aware of pick-pocketing – rather make use of the hotel safe to store extra money and valuables. Aggressive bull elephants in the musth stage have been known to wander along the roads in Livingstone, so rather take a taxi or shuttle from your hotel.

Malaria is highly prevalent throughout Zambia, so consult a doctor on anti-malaria medication which will need to be taken before, during and after your holiday. Vaccines for typhoid and hepatitis A are highly recommended, as you may be exposed to contaminated food and water. Yellow fever vaccinations are not required, however, if you are travelling from a country at risk of yellow fever, the Zambian government may require proof of vaccination.

A comprehensive travel-insurance policy to cover theft and medical expenses is highly recommended.

Accommodation in Zambia ranges from simple national parks camps and budget guesthouses to intimate bush lodges and some of the most celebrated luxury safari camps in all of Africa — and as one of Southern Africa’s most authentic and rewarding wilderness destinations, Zambia offers South African travellers an extraordinary range of genuinely wild, uncrowded and deeply immersive safari experiences at every budget level.

In Lusaka — Zambia’s sprawling capital and the most common entry point for South African travellers — accommodation is concentrated in the leafy residential suburbs of Kabulonga, Rhodespark and Longacres, where a good range of comfortable mid-range hotels, boutique guesthouses and serviced apartments are available within easy reach of the city’s best restaurants, shopping centres and the Munda Wanga Environmental Park. Well-regarded options include the Radisson Blu Hotel Lusaka — the city’s most polished international hotel, set in well-maintained gardens in the Longacres diplomatic area — the Latitude 15° Hotel, a beautifully designed boutique property that has become one of the most celebrated independent hotels in Southern Africa, and the comfortable Protea Hotel by Marriott Lusaka in the city centre. For budget travellers, a range of clean and comfortable guesthouses and backpacker lodges are available in the Kabulonga and Woodlands suburbs.

In Livingstone — Zambia’s tourism capital and the gateway to Victoria Falls — accommodation ranges from lively backpacker lodges and self-catering chalets to world-class luxury camps and lodges set within private concessions along the Zambezi River. The town of Livingstone itself has a warm, unhurried colonial-era charm and a good concentration of mid-range hotels and guesthouses within easy reach of the falls, the Royal Livingstone Museum and the excellent craft markets along the main road. Well-regarded mid-range options include the Zambezi Sun — a colourful, family-friendly resort adjacent to the falls — and the David Livingstone Safari Lodge on the Zambezi riverbank. For luxury, the Royal Livingstone Hotel by Anantara is the most celebrated address in Livingstone — an Edwardian-style luxury hotel set directly on the Zambezi River bank with uninterrupted views of the Victoria Falls spray rising above the gorge, resident zebras grazing on the lawns and a private jetty for sunset cruises. The Tongabezi Lodge, a pioneering and beautifully designed luxury tented camp upstream on the Zambezi, is one of the most romantically situated properties in Southern Africa.

In South Luangwa National Park — widely regarded as one of the finest wildlife destinations in Africa and the birthplace of the walking safari — accommodation ranges from simple national parks camps to some of the most celebrated and intimate bush camps on the continent. The park is renowned for its extraordinary density of leopards, lions, elephants and hippos, and its tradition of small, exclusive bush camps offering genuinely personalised safari experiences. Well-regarded properties include Chinzombo Camp (Norman Carr Safaris), Time Tide Chongwe, the legendary Mfuwe Lodge — famous for the wild elephants that walk through its open lobby each year to reach a fruiting mango tree — and the ultra-exclusive Bilimungwe Bushcamp and Kuyenda Bushcamp, both in private concessions deep within the park offering extraordinary walking safari experiences. The nearby North Luangwa National Park is even more remote and accessible only to walking safari enthusiasts — a true wilderness experience for the most adventurous South African travellers.

In Lower Zambezi National Park — a spectacular wilderness of riverine forest, floodplains and the Zambezi escarpment bordering Zimbabwe across the river — a wonderful selection of intimate bush camps and luxury river lodges offer canoeing safaris, game drives and fishing expeditions in a setting of extraordinary beauty. Well-regarded properties include Anabezi Luxury Tented Camp, Chiawa Camp — one of the oldest and most celebrated camps on the Lower Zambezi — and the ultra-exclusive Sausage Tree Camp, consistently rated among the finest safari camps in Africa.

In Kafue National Park — Zambia’s largest national park and one of the largest in the world — a growing number of excellent bush camps and luxury lodges offer a wonderfully uncrowded alternative to the more visited Luangwa Valley. The remote Busanga Plains in the far north of the park are among the most biodiverse and scenically spectacular wetlands in Southern Africa, home to red lechwe, sitatunga, cheetah and enormous concentrations of buffalo — with just a handful of exclusive camps offering access. Well-regarded properties include Shumba Camp and Lufupa Tented Camp on the Busanga Plains.

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Getting around Zambia requires advance planning and a spirit of genuine African adventure — this is a vast, largely wild country where distances between key destinations are significant, road conditions vary enormously and the most rewarding experiences are often the most logistically challenging to reach. For South African travellers, however, the combination of English as the official language, left-hand driving, broadly familiar road conventions and the exceptional warmth of the Zambian people makes navigating the country considerably more manageable than many first-time visitors expect.

For most South African travellers, the journey to Zambia begins either by flying into Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (LUN) in Lusaka or by road via the Beitbridge and Chirundu border crossings from Zimbabwe, or the Kazungula Bridge border crossing from Botswana. The Kazungula Bridge — opened in 2021 and replacing the old pontoon ferry — now provides a modern, efficient road and rail crossing between Zambia and Botswana at the point where the four countries of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia meet at a single point, making it a popular crossing for South African travellers doing multi-country Southern African itineraries.

Domestic flights are the most practical way to reach Zambia’s remote national parks and safari destinations from Lusaka, and are strongly recommended for time-conscious travellers. Proflight Zambia — Zambia’s most reliable domestic carrier — operates scheduled routes connecting Lusaka (LUN) with Livingstone (LVI), Mfuwe (MFU) in South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi (Royal Airstrip), Kasama, Ndola and Solwezi. Airlink operates direct flights between Johannesburg and Livingstone — one of the most convenient routing options for South African travellers heading straight to Victoria Falls without transiting through Lusaka. Charter flights to remote bush camps and private airstrips within Kafue, North Luangwa and the Bangweulu Wetlands are available through operators including Wilderness Air Zambia and various camp-affiliated charter services — essential for reaching the most remote and exclusive properties.

In Lusaka, taxis and ride-hailing apps are the most practical way to navigate the sprawling capital. Yango and inDrive both operate in Lusaka and offer a more transparent and safer alternative to negotiating with unmarked street taxis. Always agree on a fare before departing with any taxi not using an app. Minibus taxis (minibuses) cover most routes within the city affordably but can be extremely crowded and routes are difficult to navigate for first-time visitors — your hotel or guesthouse is the most reliable source of trusted taxi contacts for airport transfers and city trips.

In Livingstone, the town itself is compact and navigable by taxi or on foot — most of the major attractions, tour operators and restaurants are within a short distance of the accommodation strip along Mosi-oa-Tunya Road. Taxis are readily available throughout the town and most lodges and hotels arrange transfers to the falls, the airport and the Zambia-Zimbabwe border bridge as part of their standard services. The border crossing between Livingstone and Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe is quick and straightforward for South African passport holders — a popular day trip option for travellers wanting to experience the falls from both the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides.

For travelling between Lusaka and Livingstone — a distance of approximately 470km — the road (Great North Road to Kafue, then south on the M9) is tarred and generally in reasonable condition, with the journey taking approximately 5–6 hours. Intercity buses operated by Mazhandu Family Bus Services and Power Tools run daily between Lusaka and Livingstone at affordable fares — a comfortable option for budget travellers. The train service between Lusaka and Livingstone on the TAZARA railway is scenic but slow and infrequent — not recommended for time-sensitive itineraries.

For exploring South Luangwa National Park — approximately 600km northeast of Lusaka via the Great East Road — a 4×4 vehicle is essential for travelling within the park, as all internal roads are unpaved and can be deeply rutted and sandy, particularly during and immediately after the wet season. The approach road from Chipata to Mfuwe Gate is tarred and manageable in a standard vehicle, but once inside the park a high-clearance 4×4 with good ground clearance is non-negotiable. Most visitors fly directly to Mfuwe Airport (MFU) from Lusaka on Proflight Zambia — a 1 hour 10 minute flight that saves the long and tiring road journey. Camp transfers within and between concessions are arranged by the lodges themselves using their own game drive vehicles.

For self-drive travellers exploring Zambia’s main highways — between Lusaka, Livingstone, Kafue National Park and the Copperbelt — a reliable 4×4 is strongly recommended, even on tarred routes. Zambian roads outside the main highways can deteriorate rapidly and without warning — potholes, unmarked speed bumps, pedestrians and livestock on the road require constant vigilance, particularly after the rainy season. Do not drive at night — unlit roads, wandering livestock and the absence of road markings make night driving genuinely hazardous throughout Zambia. Carry sufficient fuel at all times — petrol stations become sparse outside the main cities — and always travel with a comprehensive first-aid kit, a spare tyre, a tow rope and sufficient water for the journey.

Between Zambia and neighbouring countries, the most commonly used border crossings for South African travellers are the Chirundu Bridge crossing into Zimbabwe (en route to Harare or connecting to the Kariba circuit), the Kazungula Bridge crossing into Botswana (connecting to the Chobe National Park circuit), and the Victoria Falls Bridge between Livingstone and Zimbabwe — one of the most spectacular border crossings in the world, with the Zambezi River gorge visible far below and the spray of the falls in the air.

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