Zambia.
Where the walking safari was invented, and still where it is done best — at roughly half what Botswana charges.
Ten nights, and you should intend to walk. The walking safari was invented here and is still done best here, at roughly half what Botswana charges — but many camps close from November to April.
- Give it
- 10 nights
- Best months
- May–Oct
- From
- $500 pp/night
- Come for
- Walking, leopard, canoes
The guiding, and the fact that you are on foot
Norman Carr invented the walking safari in the Luangwa valley in the 1950s, and Zambia has never let the tradition slip. Guides here train for years under a licensing regime widely regarded as the strictest in Africa, and walking is not an add-on but the organising principle of most camps. Three days on foot between bush camps, sleeping in a different one each night, is the signature experience.
South Luangwa has the highest leopard density in Africa and among the best night driving anywhere — the spotlight is permitted, and the valley’s leopard hunt in the open. The Lower Zambezi offers canoeing between islands with elephant in the shallows and tigerfish below. Kafue, enormous and barely visited, is where the guides themselves go.
Zambia costs roughly half what Botswana does for a comparable standard, sees a fraction of the visitors, and has Victoria Falls on its northern bank. For a second or third safari, it is the country we recommend most often and the one guests most often come back from converted.
1950s
Walking safari invented here
9,050
km² of South Luangwa
22,400
km² of Kafue — the size of Wales
~50%
Of Botswana’s cost, roughly
- Walking safaris — the best in Africa
- Leopard, and night driving
- Canoeing on the Lower Zambezi
- Value: excellent guiding at moderate cost
Less good for
- Green-season travel — many camps close entirely
- Guests unwilling to walk
- Anyone wanting polished lodge luxury above all
Five regions, and what each is for
South Luangwa
4 nights · leopard and walking
The highest leopard density in Africa, superb night drives, and the walking tradition at its source.
The Lower Zambezi
3 nights · canoes
Canoeing between islands with elephant in the shallows, tigerfish below, and the escarpment behind.
Kafue and the Busanga plains
3 nights · the empty one
22,400 km² and almost nobody. Busanga’s flooded plains hold lion on termite mounds and thousands of lechwe.
North Luangwa
3 nights · walking only
No roads, no day visitors, walking exclusively. Black rhino reintroduced, and among the wildest places we sell.
Victoria Falls (Livingstone)
2 nights · the falls
The Zambian side, where you can walk out onto Knife-Edge Bridge into the spray. Devil’s Pool in low water.
Liuwa Plain
4 nights · the second migration
Africa’s second-largest wildebeest migration, in November, seen by perhaps a few hundred people a year.
Month by month
| Months | Weather | Access & game | Crowds | Our view |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Mar | Emerald season; heavy rain | Most camps closed; boating access only | Very low | For specialists and birders only |
| Apr | Drying; roads reopening | Green and beautiful; camps reopening | Low | Excellent value |
| May – Jul | Cool, dry | Very good; walking begins in earnest | Moderate | Our recommendation |
| Aug – Oct | Hot, very dry | Outstanding; game at the last water | High | Peak, and October is punishingly hot |
| Nov | Building heat, first rains | Good; Liuwa migration | Low | The connoisseur’s month |
| Dec | Wet; camps closing | Limited | Very low | Most of the country is shut |
Flights and entry
Lusaka is the hub, served from Johannesburg, Nairobi, Addis and Dubai; Livingstone serves Victoria Falls directly. Internal flights to Mfuwe for South Luangwa and Jeki or Royal for the Lower Zambezi are short and reliable. Zambia combines easily with Zimbabwe and Botswana across the Kazungula crossing.
What it runs to
Roughly half Botswana for a comparable standard. Camps run USD 500–1,200 per person per night all-inclusive, with bush camps at the lower end. Park fees are USD 25–30 per person per day. A ten-night journey typically lands between USD 7,000 and 12,000 per person including internal flights.
Before you go
Walking safaris require reasonable fitness and a minimum age of twelve at most camps. October heat in the Luangwa regularly exceeds 40°C and should not be underestimated. Malaria prophylaxis throughout. Many camps close entirely from November to April, so dates must be checked before anything else.
Bush camps, and the walk between them
Zambia’s distinctive product is the bush camp: four to six beds, thatch and reed, no electricity beyond solar, and no vehicle access in some cases. You walk in, spend a night or two, and walk on to the next one. It is not luxurious in the Botswanan sense and it is the most engaging way to see Africa on foot.
Most itineraries pair one or two bush camps with a comfortable main camp for the first and last nights, which gives you hot water and a proper bed at either end. That combination is what we build for almost every guest.
The Lower Zambezi and Kafue have a handful of genuinely luxurious camps for guests who want both the guiding and the linen. There are fewer of them than in Botswana, and they are considerably cheaper.
Ten nights, as we would build it
Lusaka or straight through
Arrived via Johannesburg or Nairobi and connected onward the same day where flights allow. A night in Lusaka only if they do not.
To South Luangwa
Flown to Mfuwe and driven into the valley. An afternoon drive, and a night drive after dinner — leopard on the first evening is common.
The valley
A morning on foot with an armed guide and a scout, and an afternoon at the Luangwa oxbows.
Walking out
Walk to a bush camp, four to six beds, no vehicle. Bucket showers, a fire, and the sound of hippo all night.
Bush camp to bush camp
A full day on foot to the next camp, at a conversational pace, with breakfast carried and eaten on a sandbank.
Back to comfort
Walk out to the main camp, a hot bath, and a last night drive in the valley.
To the Lower Zambezi
Flown south-west to the river. An afternoon canoeing between islands with elephant in the shallows.
The Zambezi
Tigerfish in the morning for those who fish, and a long drift downriver in the afternoon.
The Zambezi
A day held open: walking on the escarpment, more canoeing, or nothing at all on a deck above the river.
To Victoria Falls
East to Livingstone. The Knife-Edge Bridge into the spray, and Devil’s Pool if the water is low enough.
Homeward
A morning at the falls, then the flight from Livingstone.
Zambia against the rest
Against Botswana: the closest comparison and the value answer. Zambia walks better, guides at least as well, and costs about half. Botswana has the delta, the elephant numbers and smoother logistics. Guests who have done Botswana and want more come here.
Against Zimbabwe: genuinely similar in guiding quality and price. Zimbabwe has Mana Pools and Hwange; Zambia has the Luangwa and the canoeing. Most guests who love one love the other, and the two combine across the Zambezi.
Against Kenya and Tanzania: Zambia has no migration and fewer species, but far better walking and a fraction of the vehicles. It is a second-safari country, and an outstanding one.
Every country we work in
On Zambia
Is the walking genuinely the best in Africa?
Yes, by common consent within the industry. The tradition began here in the 1950s, the licensing is the strictest on the continent, and the camps are built around walking rather than offering it as an extra. Zimbabwe is the only serious rival.
Do we have to walk?
No — every camp offers conventional game drives and South Luangwa’s night driving is exceptional. But if walking does not appeal at all, you are paying for a strength you will not use, and Kenya or Botswana may suit you better.
When do camps close?
Many close from November to April, when the rains make roads impassable. The emerald season has real charm for birders and photographers, with boating access to camps that stay open, but options are limited and we will be clear about which.
How hot does October get?
Above 40°C in the Luangwa, regularly. It is the best game viewing of the year and it is genuinely punishing. Guests who dislike heat should travel between May and July.
Is it good for a first safari?
It can be, but we usually suggest East Africa first. Zambia rewards a traveller who already knows what they are looking at and wants to be out of the vehicle — which is exactly why so many people come here second.