Zambia Travel Guide
May to September is the dry season with pleasantly warm days and cool nights. This is a good time for walking safaris and for birdwatching. Things heat up in October-November, becoming increasingly hot, humid and dusty. If you can take the heat, though, it’s a good time for safaris as wildlife clusters around the remaining watering holes and you may see congregations of hippos in the rivers.
December to April is the wet season. Temperatures cool down and, true to the name, there is much rain — sometimes just an hour or two, sometimes for days on end. Unsealed roads become impassable, and many safari lodges close.
However, this has become known as the “emerald” or “green” season, and has its beauty – and some very attractive lodge rates; some offer canoe safaris. It is also when Victoria Falls is at its most magnificent.
**When to Visit**
May to September is the dry season with pleasantly warm days and cool nights. This is a good time for walking safaris and for birdwatching. Things heat up in October-November, becoming increasingly hot, humid and dusty. If you can take the heat, though, it’s a good time for safaris as wildlife clusters around the remaining watering holes and you may see congregations of hippos in the rivers.
December to April is the wet season. Temperatures cool down and, true to the name, there is much rain — sometimes just an hour or two, sometimes for days on end. Unsealed roads become impassable, and many safari lodges close.
However, this has become known as the “emerald” or “green” season, and has its beauty – and some very attractive lodge rates; some offer canoe safaris. It is also when Victoria Falls is at its most magnificent.
**International Airports**
Lusaka (LUN) 26km from the city.
Mfuwe and Livingstone take some international flights from neighbouring countries.
**Getting Around**
There is a good network of internal flights all over Zambia., These flights are not cheap but are useful for time-poor travellers. Proflight is the main carrier to Mfuwe (the Luangwa Valley) and Livingstone (for Victoria Falls and the Lower Zambezi National Park).
Zambia is a large country and roads are poor, so you’ll need time
and patience if going off the beaten track. It is possible to hire a car in the main centres. Intercity buses are fast, clean and good value.
Zambia also has three main internal train lines: from Livingstone to Lusaka, from Lusaka to the Copperbelt, and from Kapiri Mposhi to the northern border with Tanzania. The Zambezi Express leaves Livingstone on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, arriving in Lusaka the next morning.