Zambia - Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi - page 102

The humble international airport has slim pickings as far as services are concerned.
There's a coffee stand in the main hall, or if you have time on your hands, make your way
upstairs to the Copper Chimney Restaurant or the Nsonga Walala Cocktail Lounge. Once
through security for international flights the only eating option is a very basic bar selling
reheated burgers, hot dogs and pies (ZMW25); a couple of shops sell a poor selection of
over-priced curios. Several ATMs, a bureau de change, Europcar and Avis rental car of-
fices and Airtel and MTN mobile-phone company offices are in the hallway immediately
outside the arrivals area.
AIRPORT ADVICE
Queues for immigration at Lusaka's international airport can be long whatever your arrival time; however, they can
be exceptionally long and frustratingly slow late at night and early in the morning when few officers are on hand.
With that in mind, it's best to use the bathroom before disembarking from the plane, and do your best to get as close
to the front of the line as possible and join the much shorter queues earmarked for Zambian residents and SADC
card holders or the one for diplomats. Be polite when feigning ignorance and you'll likely have no problems. Insure
that you have US$50 in cash for the entry visa - change is sometimes not available. Somewhat incongruously, a fin-
gerprint scanner is used to identify visitors.
Bus & Minibus
Domestic From in front of the massive and chaotic Lusaka City Market Bus Station
Offline map Google map (Lumumba Rd) buses and minibuses leave for nearby towns such as
Kafue (ZMW25, one hour, 10 to 15 daily), Chirundu (ZMW30, 2½ hours, five to seven
daily), Siavonga (ZMW70, three hours, three to five daily) and Luangwa Bridge
(ZMW85, four hours, one or two daily) and destinations are more or less signposted.
Public transport, especially minibuses, to nearby towns also leaves from the Soweto
Market Bus Station Offline map Google map (Los Angeles Rd) , but here nothing is sign-
posted and you're better off avoiding it.
To add to the confusion, minibuses to places not far south of Lusaka also leave from the
City Bus Station Offline map Google map (off Chachacha Rd) , also called the Kulima
Towers Station. So it's possible to get to Kafue, Chirundu and Siavonga from here too.
Minibuses heading to the north (eg the Manda Hill Shopping Centre) depart from the Mil-
lennium Bus Station Offline map Google map (Malasha Rd) .