Livingstone Transportation

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There are a lot of Taxis in Livingstone. You can see the blue taxis in Livinstone downtown or at the Victoria Falls border post to Zimbabwe.

I took a taxi from the border to Livingstone and paid 50000 Kwacha (10 USD) for the trip.

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Livingstone can by reached by road in several ways.

-If you are coming from Botswana, cross the border at Kazungula by ferry and continue east for about 60 km.

-If you are coming from Namibia, cross the border at Katima Mulilo and continue east.

-If you are coming from Lusaka, take the southbound Kafue Road out of Lusaka. Just after the Kafue River Bridge, turn right towards Mazabuka. This road leads straight to Livingstone. Lusaka to Livingstone is 470 km.

-I came from Zimbabwe and crossed the border at Victoria Falls bridge. The distance between the border and Livingstone city is 11 km.

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- From Victoria Falls you can take the ferry train across the bridge to Livingstone (two trains daily).

- From Livingstone to Lusaka you can take the ”Zambezi Express” three days a week.

- Livingstone to Kitwe through Kapiri, Mposhi and Ndola is also three days a week.

(The trains are slower than the bus).

Both British Air and South African Airlines offer direct flights to Livingstone from Johannesburg. The flights are about 2-hours long. There is no Zambian airline anymore - it went bankrupt a while ago.

Livingstone's airport is small, but in pretty good shape. The only complaint that everyone had was about the line at passport control upon entering the terminal. It took them 1 hour to process the people on our flight, since they don't have the ability to staff up to deal with peak arrival volumes (two flights arrived within an hour of each other). The people working the desk were courteous and fair, but were overwhelmed by the number of people arriving all at one time. Do't plan to get to your hotel until at least 60 minutes after your flight lands, (it took us 90 minutes).

Taxis are the easiest way to get around the Livingstone area, including going to and from the airport and Victoria Falls. They are all light blue in color, and are generally in decent shape. You must negotiate your price with the driver before the ride starts, since meters are generally not used.

We got a good deal by hiring a taxi for 1/2 day. We told him what places we wanted to visit, then we negotiated a flat price. The driver helped us figure out a rough itinerary and then waited for us at each stop. It worked well and was worth the price - our driver was friendly and was always waiting for us when we got finished sightseeing. We also learned a lot about Zambia by talking with him throughout the day.

We took one of the Blue taxis from the Park to Livingstone Town. It is about 10 km and takes only 10 minutes.
There are some very good views on the way, so do ask the driver to stop along the way.

A one way trip was about 4 US $.

The word ‘Station’ conjures up pictures of a building. Forget that. The mini-bus station is beside the main market. These shared taxis are a cheap way to get to short and medium distances. Speak to the conductors to find out if they go where you want to go. Much cheaper than the small taxis.

There are long distance busses here that go onto other cities in Zambia and Botswana

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Bus services between Livingstone and Lusaka are really good, thanks to Mazhandu Family Bus Services. There are other companies, but I'd recommend this one. The service was great!

They even provide a snack -- a soda and some kind of crackers or cookies -- which we thought was cute!

They have busses leaving at several times throughout the day. If I remember correctly, it was something like 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 and 13:00. But the schedule is posted on their booth.

The trip to Lusaka takes about 7 hours, and the cost was about $12.50 in U.S. dollars.

Go a day in advance and pay for your ticket then. They'll give you a receipt, and that will ensure you a seat on the bus. They fill up quickly!

Their booth is located next to the Hungry Lion fast food place on the main road.

A tip for the ladies: there are no bathroom stops in the western sense. The women just got off the bus like the men and squatted on the side of the road (they all wore some kind of long, flowing skirt or dress). Just something to think about. Maybe don't drink that soda on the bus!