Just a note: Saiga Tours doesn’t currently offer trips to Southern Africa, however when we have good travel advice we want to share it, so enjoy!
There is one bus daily from Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and this is a step-by-step guide to catching it. You can also catch a series of shorter buses, complete part of the journey via private transport or a share taxi, however at the time of writing this, this was the only direct bus between the two capitals.
Catching a bus from Lilongwe to Lusaka (Malawi to Zambia)
1. Buying a ticket
![Devil Street Lilongwe,Ticket office, catching a bus from Lilongwe to Lusaka (Malawi to Zambia)]()
In order to buy a ticket, you will need to head to Devil Street in the centre of Lilongwe. Devil Street isn’t the official name, but every local apparently knows it as Devil Street and the official name was never uttered or seen anywhere.
The one company that runs the direct bus is called Kobs Transporters.
You will need to go at least the day before you wish to travel as the tickets sell out.
The ticket at time of writing is 70,000 Malawian Kwacha (roughly $35 USD) per person.
Devil street is the only part of Lilongwe which has any reputation for theft and pickpocketing, so it’s the only part of the city where you really need to be careful. Having said that, although yes, it’s a bit grungy, it’s still really not that bad!
Try and ask shop owners where the bus to Lusaka leaves from as they will just point you in the right direction. Assume that anyone approaching you to ask where you are going wants to put you on a different bus or at least just wants a payment for providing the information. It is also possible just to find the ticket office yourself, since after reading this blog you’ll know what you’re looking for! (See photo of the ticket office here.)
2. Catching the bus
The bus leaves at 6am every morning from the same place you purchased your ticket. There are no allocated seats so if you get there earlier you are more likely to be able to choose the seats you want. The sun will be on the right-hand side meaning its less hot if you sit on the left. That being said the bus configuration is 2 seats on the left and 3 seats on the right, and they’re pretty small seats, so if you take the 3 seats with a travel companion you’ll likely manage to get 3 seats for the 2 of you. So you just need to decide whether having the sun on you is price you’re willing to pay for the possibility of the extra space.
3. The ride
The trip starts with a small Christian service and bible reading which lasts roughly 20 minutes. The pastor will then come around and bless each person travelling. Some people will give him some money but there is no pressure to donate. After he has finished his sermon, get ready for 12 hours of obnoxiously loud Malawian gospel music!
4. Crossing the Malawian-Zambian border
The bus will drop you off right outside the entrance to the border facility. It is a single immigration hall for leaving Malawi and entering Zambia. You do not need to take any possessions off the bus, all you need is your passport. The bus takes a list of everyone on it and does wait for everyone crossing the border to finish their formalities.
At the border, roughly a third to half of all passengers get off and don’t get back on, meaning you might have a bit more space to spread out. However, you will then start picking up new passengers throughout Zambia, so the extra space might be short-lived.
5. The continuing journey through Zambia
Your first stop will be Chipata where you will spend almost an hour waiting. Lots of salespeople and money changers will get on the bus. Make sure you have the current exchange rate as the money changers were offering horrible rates to unsuspecting individuals. Despite the relative distance left to Lusaka at this point (roughly 570km) and the very reasonable quality roads, it will still take 10 hours as there are lots of stops along the way.
6. Arriving in Lusaka
You will arrive at the Central Bus station in Lusaka. Despite Lusaka being a safe, comfortable and cosmopolitan city, the main bus station leaves a lot to be desired. It is seemingly ruled by groups of aggressive bloodshot eyed touts trying to get you onto a bus you didn’t want for a price you didn’t want. Begging and asking for cigarettes, these unruly young males will surround you. It’s also not because you’re a foreigner, as locals seem to have just as bad a time, if not in fact worse. The best way to deal with them is to laugh and joke and keep smiling. Once you’re out of the bus station they don’t continue to follow you or annoy you.
7. Catching the bus from Lusaka to Lilongwe
In order to catch the bus in the reverse you need to go to the central bus station in Lusaka at least one day before the trip. The bus leaves at 4am from Lusaka and follows the exact same route but in reverse.
You will need to go to the Kobs office and purchase your ticket. Prices are the same both ways.
Likewise you will need to cross out of Zambia and into Malawi and then you’ll arrive in the early evening at Devil Street in Lilongwe.
You will have the opportunity to change money (at a bad rate) and buy a simcard before crossing the border, however if you can it’s best to wait until you arrive in Lilongwe.
