Getting around
Getting Around Zambia: Long Distances, Short Flights
Zambia is a large country, and its main sights lie far apart: Victoria Falls in the south, South Luangwa in the east, Kafue in the west and Lusaka in the middle. Most visitors therefore fly between the parks, on scheduled flights to the main airports and on light aircraft to the bush airstrips, and use the road only for the shorter legs. Travellers with more time drive the main roads between the towns, where coaches and minibuses also run.
Updated 2026-10-08
Arriving by air or overland
Kenneth Kaunda International Airport outside Lusaka is the main gateway for long-haul flights. Livingstone's Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport, near Victoria Falls, has regional flights, Johannesburg above all, and Ndola's airport serves the Copperbelt. Overland, the Victoria Falls Bridge and Chirundu link Zambia with Zimbabwe, the Kazungula bridge with Botswana, and further border posts lead to Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania and the other neighbours.
Flights and light aircraft
Domestic flights link Lusaka with Livingstone, Mfuwe for South Luangwa, Ndola and other towns, with Lusaka to Mfuwe about an hour. The camps of the Lower Zambezi, the Busanga Plains of Kafue, Liuwa Plain and Bangweulu are reached on light aircraft to their own airstrips, usually arranged with the camp; luggage on these small planes is limited, and soft bags are the rule.
The main roads
Zambia drives on the left. Paved highways run from Lusaka south to Livingstone, east along the Great East Road to Chipata near the Malawi border, and north along the Great North Road to the Copperbelt and Tanzania, and the road west to Mongu crosses Kafue National Park. Distances are long, some stretches are potholed, and lorries and livestock share the road, so journeys take longer than the map suggests and are best made by daylight. Police checkpoints are routine and are passed with patience and the vehicle's papers to hand.
A car with a driver, or a self-drive four-wheel drive
For a road trip, a car with a driver is the easiest choice, and a driver who knows the roads makes the long legs simpler. Self-drive travellers hire a four-wheel drive, which the tracks in the parks and the roads to the remote areas need, and fill the tank and carry cash in the towns, since fuel stations and cash machines thin out beyond them.
Coaches, minibuses and taxis
Long-distance coaches run between Lusaka and the main towns, Livingstone, Chipata and the Copperbelt among them, from the bus stations in each. Minibuses cover shorter routes and the towns themselves, leaving when full. In Lusaka and Livingstone, taxis wait at ranks and hotels, and the fare is agreed before setting off. The TAZARA railway runs north-east from Kapiri Mposhi to Tanzania, but rail is not a practical way to travel between Zambia's sights.
On the water
On Lake Kariba, on the border with Zimbabwe, houseboats leave from Siavonga and Sinazongwe for days on the lake, and boats are the way about on the Zambezi in the Lower Zambezi and above Victoria Falls, arranged through the camps and lodges.