First, get yourselves to Africa! There are daily flights from Lusaka and Livingstone to Mfuwe with Proflight Zambia. Please contact Jess for up-to-date information on schedules, availability, last-minute specials and to make your flight bookings as she is a booking agent for the airline.

Full fares are as follows but cheaper fares are also sometimes to be found!:

• LUN-MFU $250 pp
• LVI-MFU $400 pp
• LVI-LUN $230 pp

During the “green season” (before May and after October) there are slightly fewer flights but these aim to connect with incoming BA, SAA and KQ flights from London, Jo’burg and Nairobi respectively.

Nyassa Air Taxis provide a “seat in charter” rate for flights between Lilongwe and Mfuwe for $320 pp for a minimum of 2 passengers.

Airport Departure Taxes

Not included in your ticket price is domestic airport departure taxes. For domestic flights, tax is $8 per person payable in US dollars or Zambian kwacha. Most international airlines now include international departure tax in their ticket cost, but Zambezi Airlines is one exception. International departure tax is $25 per person, payable in US dollars, cash only. Out of Lilongwe to Mfuwe, international departure tax is $30 per person, payable in US dollars cash only.

Travelling by Road

By road Lusaka to Chipata will take you 6-7 hours, Chipata to Flatdogs from 2 1/2 to 3 hrs. Please do not drive at night in Zambia, it is very unsafe due to the high proportion of vehicles and bicycles with no lights, aimless unfenced animals and drunks sleeping it off on the warm tarmac!

Directions for Driving to Flatdogs

Flatdogs Camp is the closest camp to the Mfuwe main gate. Our access road starts just before the park gate and we are five minutes drive from there. Please drive very slowly into and out of the camp; animals have the right of way!

From Lusaka, take the Great East Road to Chipata. You can get fuel in Petauke and Chipata on the way. Best to fill up before you head here, as fuel here in Mfuwe is much more expensive due to the monopoly BP has here.

The directions here are:

1. Turn left to Mfuwe just before the independence arch across the road.  If you go into the town of Chipata, then you’ll need to head back along the Great East Road heading west (back towards Lusaka), then turn right 50m after the independence arch.
2. Continue on the tarmac for +/- 8 km until road turns to dirt.
3. Follow the dirt for further +/- 60 km. There is one stretch of tar road over the escarpment, but I’m afraid it doesn’t last long! Turn left at the sharp corner where there are signs for Mfuwe including one for Flatdogs! It looks as though the road continues straight on, but this is just because it has been graded better in the past; in fact the straight on road takes you to Luambe. There are a couple of blind sharp corners on this road, so take it easy where you can’t see what’s ahead of you as some of the NGO vehicles and cotton trucks take the road at about 100 km/hr with no sense of self preservation!
4. Carry on through Jumbe, where you will see the council offices (and a flag) on your right, past Kamoto Hospital on your left, over a small bridge which was slightly washed away at the edges, then over a second stretch of tarmac on Mphata Hill.
5. Carry on for a further 4 km and you will see a large green sign on the left for the Zambian Wildlife Authority. You can either turn left here down a much smaller dirt road which takes you to the airport (bank and post office) and brings you onto the (relatively) good tar road earlier. Or, you can also continue straight on on the main dirt road as this will just bring you out on the same tar road around 5 km closer to Mfuwe.
6. Turn right onto the tar road whether you are at the airport or at the T-junction opposite the Zesco (electricity) sub-station. Please drive slowly past schools and bicycles. If you see some green branches lying in the road, this either means that there is a vehicle with a breakdown or that there is a funeral in progress. If it is the latter, please go dead slow in first gear (you will notice that even cyclists dismount) until you come to more branches. Proceed on tarmac for +/- 25 km and you will pass a fuel station on your left and a sign for the South Luangwa Conservation Society on your right. Continue straight on, you will pass a sign for Flatdogs, then after a further kilometre or so, you will see our entrance ramp on your LEFT. Please engage a low gear and drive down the ramp very slowly, then follow the road for another +/- 750 m and you will arrive at reception.

If you are coming to Flatdogs via public transport, please email us for the latest information.

Visa to Enter Zambia

Most nationalities can buy visas at the border of entry into Zambia. The cost for most foreign nationals (including UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and most European countries) is US$50 per person.

If you are unsure of whether your nationality is able to buy a visa on entry then please contact us and we will let you know.