Game drive vehicle on the Zambia and Malawi road trip
Safari & Wildlife · Lake & Beach · Mountain & Hiking · Group & Overland

21 Day Zambia & Malawi Road Trip — Falls, Luangwa & Lake

Duration21 days
From$4,250
DepartsLusaka / Lilongwe
GroupPrivate

Three weeks overland from Lusaka to Lake Malawi — Victoria Falls, the night drives of South Luangwa, then across at Mchinji for Mulanje, Liwonde, Cape Maclear and the northern lakeshore up to Livingstonia. Built for groups, in three segments you can join or leave.

  • Victoria Falls from the Zambian side
  • Night drive and walking safari in South Luangwa
  • Mulanje, Liwonde and Cape Maclear
  • The escarpment road up to Livingstonia
  • Join or leave at three points

Three segments — join or leave along the way

Lilongwe is the hinge of this trip — it sits in the middle of the route and takes international flights, so most people join or leave there. Everything below is a scheduled handover with a transfer included; nobody is left to find their own way.

1

Zambia — Victoria Falls & South Luangwa

Days 1–9 · 8 nights
From $2,250 per person

Lusaka · Victoria Falls · Mosi-oa-Tunya · South Luangwa · Mchinji border

The Zambian half on its own. Two full days at the falls, the drive east, and three nights in the Luangwa with a night drive and a walking safari. Ends with the border crossing into Lilongwe, or fly out of Mfuwe on Day 9 if you would rather not cross.

Join
Lusaka (LUN), Day 1
Leave
Mfuwe (MFU) or Lilongwe (LLW), Day 9
Enquire about this segment →
2

Southern Malawi — Mountain, River & Lake

Days 9–16 · 7 nights
From $1,390 per person

Lilongwe · Mulanje · Liwonde · Cape Maclear

The classic southern loop. A day on Mulanje, two nights at Liwonde with a boat safari and a walking safari, and two nights at Cape Maclear. Ends with a transfer from Salima back to Lilongwe on Day 16.

Join
Lilongwe (LLW), Day 9
Leave
Lilongwe (LLW), Day 16
Enquire about this segment →
3

The Northern Lakeshore

Days 16–21 · 5 nights
From $950 per person

Senga Bay · Nkhata Bay · Livingstonia · Nkhotakota

The quiet end of the country, and the part most itineraries skip. The long lakeshore drive north, two nights at Nkhata Bay, and the escarpment road up to the mission at Livingstonia.

Join
Senga Bay, Day 16 — transfer from Lilongwe (LLW) included
Leave
Lilongwe (LLW), Day 21
Enquire about this segment →

Where you can join

  • Day 1 Lusaka, Zambia Kenneth Kaunda International (LUN) The start of the whole road trip.
  • Day 9 Lilongwe, Malawi Kamuzu International (LLW) Join the group the evening they cross the border, for all of Malawi — twelve nights.
  • Day 16 Senga Bay, Malawi Fly to Lilongwe (LLW); transfer included Meet the group on the lakeshore for the northern run.

Where you can leave

  • Day 9 Mfuwe or Lilongwe Mfuwe (MFU) or Kamuzu International (LLW) Leave after South Luangwa. Fly Mfuwe–Lusaka that morning, or cross with the group and fly out of Lilongwe on Day 10.
  • Day 16 Lilongwe, Malawi Kamuzu International (LLW) Leave after Cape Maclear. We drop you at the airport from Salima the same afternoon.
  • Day 21 Lilongwe, Malawi Kamuzu International (LLW) The end of the tour, around midday.

Blantyre (Chileka, BLZ) also works as an exit on Day 12, on the way from Mulanje to Liwonde — ask when you enquire.

Day by day

DAY 1 Arrive in Lusaka
Met at Kenneth Kaunda International and driven into town. An afternoon to recover, then a group briefing over dinner — the route, the vehicle, the border, and what to pack where.
DAY 2 Lusaka to Livingstone
An early start south on the T1 through the cane fields at Mazabuka and on past Choma. Around seven hours with stops, into Livingstone in the afternoon.
DAY 3 Victoria Falls
The Zambian side on foot: the Knife-Edge Bridge, the eastern cataract, and the path down to the Boiling Pot. Between February and June you will be soaked and the noise is extraordinary; by October you can see the rock face. A Zambezi sunset cruise closes the day.
DAY 4 Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park
A morning game drive in the park on the river above the falls, including white rhino tracked on foot with the scouts. The afternoon is free for what Livingstone is known for — microlight flight, rafting below the gorge, or Devil’s Pool in the low-water months.
DAY 5 Back to Lusaka
The return drive north up the T1, reaching Lusaka in the late afternoon. An early night before the long day east.
DAY 6 The Great East Road
The big drive: around 700 km east across the Luangwa Bridge, up through Petauke and Chipata and north into the valley at Mfuwe. We leave before dawn and are in camp before dark.
DAY 7 South Luangwa
A dawn game drive while the valley is cool and moving, the middle of the day out of the heat, then an evening drive that carries on after dark under a spotlight. The night drive was invented here, and leopard are seen more reliably in the Luangwa than almost anywhere in Africa.
DAY 8 Walking safari
A morning on foot with a guide and an armed scout — tracks, dung, birds and the small things you drive past — then a last afternoon drive along the river as the hippo come out.
DAY 9 Into Malawi at Mchinji
West to Chipata and through the border — Mwami on the Zambian side, Mchinji on the Malawian — with our team handling the vehicle paperwork, then on to Lilongwe for the night. The Zambia segment ends here.
DAY 10 South to Mulanje
Down the M1 through Ntcheu and Dedza, past Blantyre and out through the tea estates to the foot of the massif. Around six hours with a lunch stop.
DAY 11 Mulanje
A full day walking up onto the Chambe Plateau with a licensed mountain guide, or a gentler tea-estate and waterfall walk for anyone who would rather not climb. Sapitwa, at 3,002 metres, is the highest point in Central Africa.
DAY 12 Mulanje to Liwonde
North through Zomba to the Shire River, arriving in time for an afternoon boat safari — elephant coming down through the borassus palms to drink, hippo pods in the shallows, crocodile along the sandbanks.
DAY 13 Liwonde National Park
A dawn game drive and a walking safari with an armed guide. Black rhino are here, and cheetah and lion have been back since African Parks took the park over in 2015.
DAY 14 To Cape Maclear
North to the Nankumba Peninsula and Lake Malawi National Park — the first freshwater national park created anywhere in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.
DAY 15 Cape Maclear
Out by boat to Thumbi West Island to snorkel over the mbuna cichlid beds, with fish eagles dropping to take fish off the surface a few metres from the boat. The afternoon on the beach.
DAY 16 Along the lake to Senga Bay
The lakeshore road north through Monkey Bay and Salima. Anyone leaving the tour here turns off at Salima for Lilongwe; anyone joining meets the group at Senga Bay in the afternoon.
DAY 17 North to Nkhata Bay
A long lakeshore day through Nkhotakota and the rubber estates at Kande, ending at the deep natural harbour of Nkhata Bay, where the hills come straight down into the water.
DAY 18 Nkhata Bay
A free day. Kayaks, snorkelling off the rocks, the fish market at the harbour, or nothing at all — after ten days on the road most groups take the last option.
DAY 19 Up to Livingstonia
North to Chitimba and then the Gorode road: fifteen kilometres and twenty hairpin bends up the escarpment to the mission on the plateau, with the lake 900 metres below and Tanzania on the far shore.
DAY 20 Livingstonia, then south
The Stone House museum, the mission church with its Livingstone window, and the walk to Manchewe Falls. Then down the escarpment and south along the lake to Nkhotakota for the last night.
DAY 21 Return to Lilongwe
Inland to the capital, arriving around midday. Airport drop-offs, and the end of the road trip.

What it costs by group size

Per person sharing, in US dollars. A road trip splits its fixed costs — vehicle, fuel, guide, border fees — across everyone in it, so the price falls as the group grows. These are the three tiers we quote from.

Group size Whole 21 daysZambia (Days 1–9)Southern Malawi (Days 9–16)Northern lakeshore (Days 16–21)
12 or more $4,250$2,250$1,390$950
8 to 11 $4,690$2,480$1,530$1,045
4 to 7 $5,380$2,850$1,760$1,200

Taking two segments together is cheaper than booking them separately — tell us which two and we will quote it. Smaller than four, or a private departure for your group alone, is quoted on request.

Included

  • All accommodation, twin or double share — 20 nights
  • All meals on tour: breakfast every day, lunch and dinner as shown
  • Private overland vehicle and a Malawian driver-guide throughout, with a Zambian guide in South Luangwa
  • Park and reserve fees in both countries — Mosi-oa-Tunya, Victoria Falls, South Luangwa, Liwonde and Lake Malawi National Park
  • Game drives, the night drive and the walking safari in South Luangwa
  • Zambezi sunset cruise and a boat safari on the Shire
  • Cape Maclear island boat trip and snorkelling gear
  • Mulanje day walk with a licensed mountain guide
  • Help with the paperwork at the Mwami–Mchinji border
  • Airport transfers at every joining and exit point, including Lilongwe to Senga Bay

Not included

  • International flights, and the Mfuwe–Lusaka flight if you exit on Day 9
  • Zambian and Malawian visas — budget around $50 each, and check the current rules before you fly
  • Travel insurance, which is compulsory on this tour
  • Optional Livingstone activities — microlight, rafting, helicopter, Devil’s Pool
  • Single room supplement
  • Drinks and personal spending
  • Gratuities for guides, scouts and lodge staff

Where this trip goes

Liwonde National Park Elephant, hippo and black rhino along the Shire River Cape Maclear Snorkelling the cichlid beds of a UNESCO World Heritage lake Mulanje Massif Sapitwa Peak, 3,002m — the highest point in Central Africa Senga Bay The closest stretch of Lake Malawi to Lilongwe South Luangwa National Park Where the walking safari was invented, and leopards are ordinary Victoria Falls — Mosi-oa-Tunya The smoke that thunders — a curtain of water 1.7 kilometres wide Nkhata Bay A deep natural harbour where the hills drop straight into the lake Livingstonia A Scottish mission on an escarpment, nine hundred metres above the lake

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