Zambia travel advice
Simon Mills, from our supplier, Native Escapes, shares his Zambia travel advice, on walking safaris, bringing the kids and what you get for your money:
Tips on walking safaris
“Zambia is unbeatable for walking safaris – they originated in South Luangwa, so it is a huge thing there. The northern part of South Luangwa is quite remote, so there’s some incredible walking to be had – some trips are set up seasonally and you can walk between lodges, and there are other, more wild trips where you have a team of locals with you that unpack and pack your tent each night and day and you walk between sites camping as you go. Safari in a game vehicle is one thing, but safari on foot with a ranger is another thing entirely because all of your senses are heightened. It’s not set up so you stumble into lions, although you can do that, it’s more about noticing the smaller things around your feet – you start to understand so much more about the flora and the fauna. It’s a very special experience.”
Visa advice
“The Victoria Falls really are as incredible as they are made out to be. The Zambian side is on the corner, which is a slight disadvantage to the Zimbabwe side, which is face on, but that said, Zambia have really got their act together with Zimbabwe and they have a UniVisa now, which is brilliant. You used to have to get a different entry visa every time you crossed between the countries even though it’s just a bridge that you can walk across that links them, but the UniVisa allows you numerous entries and exits throughout your stay, which allows people to get great views of the falls from both angles.”Costs & what you get for your money
“I love Zambia, it is one of my favourite places to go on safari. The wildlife is terrific and has such good numbers of elephants, cats and general game. Game drives and walks are often undertaken without seeing another vehicle, so the solitude and silence (especially on walks) is really enjoyable. You can just hear the sounds of the bush and appreciate your surroundings. When all is said and done, Zambia is not a cheap safari destination as internal flights can tot up. It’s cheaper than Botswana, but more expensive than South Africa. That said, given the quality of the wildlife experience, the remoteness of some of the camps and just the fact you can fully appreciate the bush without others around – in my opinion, it is certainly worth it.”
Travelling with kids
“There is a good range of accommodation and kids are welcome at a number of lodges; not the more remote bush camps, but other lodges in the Lower Zambezi for instance and the lodges close to Mfuwe in the South Luangwa. It is considered to be malarial though, so younger families are often put off by that.”Trip planning advice
Dirk Reiche, from our supplier Sunway Safaris, explains why it’s worth getting off the beaten track: “By going to parks other than South Luangwa you get to experience what Zambia is truly about. With African parks now working very hard in lifting the animal populations and anti-poaching campaigns, all of the less known and visited parks are slowly going back to their original pristine selves. For example, I would say that North Luangwa National Park is the top game park in Southern Africa. It has a very small road network and that makes it truly wild! Other parks, like Liuwa Plain, are renowned for their wildebeest populations which come from Angola with the rainy season.If I had to choose a park to visit it would be Bangweulu, a swamp in the Northern part of Zambia. Large herds of black lechwe and sitatunga are found here as well and the infamous shoebill bird. Close by is Kasanka National Park, home to the largest mammal migration on the planet! I guess you thought that was the zebra and wildebeest in Tanzania and Kenya? Nope – it’s Kasanka, with 10 million-plus straw-coloured fruit bats. They migrate from the Congo Basin to a single stand of forest in Kasanka in October and November each year in search of certain trees that come into fruit with the start of the rains.”
HEALTH & SAFETY IN ZAMBIA
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North and south Luangwa exploration, Zambia
Authentic safari in remote wild locations, across Luangwa
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8 days
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Available seasonally between the 15th of June and the 31st of October
Available seasonally between the 15th of June and the 31st of October
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TIPS FROM OUR TRAVELLERS IN ZAMBIA
At Responsible Travel, we think the best people to advise our travellers are often... other travellers. They always return from our tours with packing tips, weather reports, ideas about what to do – and opinions about what not to.
We have selected some of the most useful Zambia travel tips that our guests have provided over the years to help you make the very most of your holiday – and the space inside your suitcase.
We have selected some of the most useful Zambia travel tips that our guests have provided over the years to help you make the very most of your holiday – and the space inside your suitcase.
Take motion sickness tablets for charter flights. They are very small planes and can be quite bumpy! Take more memory then you think you need if you have a digital camera.![]()
- Jean Pierre Kruger
“Don’t delay... Go now before you are too old or sadly the animals are gone! This rates as the top holiday we have done, equal with an Antarctica expedition! Make sure you have a good zoom camera. We bought a new one en route! Try a monocular if you can’t use binoculars. You will be amazed how early you want to go to bed! But DO go to the water holes at night and early morning as it is amazing and you will have missed unforgettable memories otherwise!” – Heather Gratland
“Do it! Especially if you enjoy wild camping – not the kind with running water and generators at each site, but camping in places that are quite remote with few amenities.” – Kelly Towle
“Definitely go to Lower Zambezi: in any brochure or website it’s presented as a second choice to South Luangwa, but it’s a ‘can't-miss’ location.” – Vincenzo Baracciale
“Do it! Especially if you enjoy wild camping – not the kind with running water and generators at each site, but camping in places that are quite remote with few amenities.” – Kelly Towle
“Definitely go to Lower Zambezi: in any brochure or website it’s presented as a second choice to South Luangwa, but it’s a ‘can't-miss’ location.” – Vincenzo Baracciale
Don't worry about the standard of accommodation - it far exceeded our expectations.![]()
- Neil Maddock
“Pack light and bring comfortable shoes. And don’t worry about bringing massive amounts of toothpaste or back-up shampoo. Every few days the group stops at fairly well stocked groceries at which just about anything can be purchased and re-stocking is a breeze.” – Honey Bernstein
“Check what time of year you are going – I found it was very cold camping and I hadn’t packed enough warm clothes. Don’t expect to see every big cat, but you’ll see some amazing animals.” – Anna Downie
“Do it! Money well spent.” – Katrin Nyman
“Definitely recommend doing micro-light over falls – not cheap and can’t use own camera (can buy either video or photos of your flight from wing mounted Gopro) but the experience and views are something else.” – Vince Williams
“Check what time of year you are going – I found it was very cold camping and I hadn’t packed enough warm clothes. Don’t expect to see every big cat, but you’ll see some amazing animals.” – Anna Downie
“Do it! Money well spent.” – Katrin Nyman
“Definitely recommend doing micro-light over falls – not cheap and can’t use own camera (can buy either video or photos of your flight from wing mounted Gopro) but the experience and views are something else.” – Vince Williams
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Zambia's most celebrated park is South Luangwa, a remote, mesmerising wilderness.
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Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, a thundering curtain of water.
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The walking safari was pioneered here and remains one of the essential things to do, but don't miss the game drives.
Zambia’s issues, including elephant poaching and trophy hunting, are complex and dense.
