Things to do in Lusaka
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Lusaka
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Cool dry sweet spot, days around 25 to 28C, cool nights, wildlife viewing improving month by month.
Hot dry season, days to 31 to 33C, peak safari viewing and peak booking pressure, plus October festivals.
Wet season shoulders and end, city lush and birding superb, with April a canny cheaper month as rain tapers.
Worst months for a first visit, peak rain and humidity, muddy dirt roads and mosquitoes.
What's on
- Stanbic Music Festival Usually early October
Zambia premier music festival at Polo Field A, Lusaka Showgrounds, gates from midday.
- R&G Oktoberfest Usually mid October
Lusaka institution at R&G Arena on Ngwerere Road, with food vendors and multiple bars, 18 plus.
- Zambia Agricultural & Commercial Show Late July to early August each year
National show at the Lusaka Showgrounds, part trade fair and part fairground, with full hotels that week.
- Agritech Expo April
Big agribusiness expo at Chisamba, just north of Lusaka, filling Lusaka hotels on expo days.
- Independence Day 24 October
National holiday centred on Lusaka, with closures, parades, atmosphere and disrupted logistics.
- Kuomboka Usually March or April, set by the flood; check dates
Lozi king flood season barge procession at Mongu, not Lusaka. A separate trip routed through Lusaka.
Best things to do in Lusaka
Wildlife Discovery Centre
Orphaned elephant calves are bottle fed at midday at this conservation centre inside Lusaka National Park.
37D Gallery
Leafy Kabulonga gallery showing and selling work by living Zambian painters, sculptors and ceramicists.
Kabwata Cultural Village
Cluster of artisan stalls selling Zambian carving, baskets, textiles and jewellery, with makers on site.
Chilenje House
The modest house where Kenneth Kaunda lived in the independence era, preserved as a small museum.
Lusaka National Museum
Useful first morning primer on Zambian peoples and independence history before heading out on safari.
Sunday Craft Market
Weekend market of carvings, baskets, chitenge, paintings and jewellery that residents treat as a Sunday outing.
Soweto Market
One of Zambia largest markets for produce, kapenta, chitenge and food stalls, best visited with a local guide.
City Market
Dense central market of produce, clothes and food stalls that shows everyday Lusaka at full intensity.
Where to stay in Lusaka
Kabulonga
first trip, all-round base
Leafy eastern suburb with the restaurant and cafe cluster, galleries, embassies and good guesthouses.
Rhodes Park / Longacres
business and institutions base
Embassies and ministries east of the CBD, slightly closer to downtown sights and the museum.
Woodlands / Roma
longer stays and visiting friends or family
Quiet north eastern residential suburbs with malls and cafes of their own and more local life.
Bonanza / Ngwerere Road
golf, spa and first or last nights
Resort escape on the north east edge with golf on the doorstep, 20 to 30 minutes from the airport.
Lilayi / Chilanga
bush lodge bookend
Game drives and bush calm south of the city, perfect as a bookend but a poor base for city sights.
Think twice about
- CBD / Cairo Road core
Congested and noisy by day and empties and turns sketchy at night, with petty theft and bag snatching warnings.
- Kamwala and the market and terminus fringe
Dense trading districts fine to pass through with a driver by day, not a place to find lodging on foot with luggage.
- The compounds: Chibolya, Kanyama, Matero and George
High poverty informal settlements that are not visitor areas. Go only on a properly organised, community led visit.
- Great East Road roadside motels far east of the city
Anonymous, noisy truck route properties. You spend the saving on taxis and sleep badly.
Best restaurants in Lusaka
Botanica
Zambian French tasting menu built from local ingredients, widely rated the best restaurant in Lusaka.
Chuma Grill & Bar
Polished setting for Zambian dishes like bream with nshima, plus a renowned all you can eat weekend braai.
Marlin Restaurant
Long running Lusaka institution with a vast menu, generous portions and the cited pepper steak signature.
Mint Lounge
Stylish all day Kabulonga cafe bistro for breakfasts, Buddha bowls, vegan wraps, coffee and brunch.
3 Trees
Garden cafe under trees in Rhodes Park, loved locally for long, slow breakfasts and an eclectic world menu.
The Royal Dil
The Indian restaurant to pick first in Lusaka, with classic curries and a Zambian menu for mixed tables.
Musubi Japanese Restaurant
Small, highly rated Japanese restaurant, a precise change of pace after weeks of safari camp menus.
Sugarbush Café
Farm cafe in a thatched barn with handmade shops and lawn picnic tables, worth the drive for a long lunch.
Outdoor things to do in Lusaka
Lusaka National Park
Compact park 15 km from the centre with giraffe, zebra and a guided walking safari to protected white rhino.
Chaminuka Nature Reserve
Private reserve day out stacking game drives, a lake boat trip, bush walks and a cheese and wine tasting.
Lilayi Lodge
Gentle guided game drives in a private reserve, paired with a lodge restaurant and pool afternoon.
Bonanza Golf Course
Championship 18 hole course ranked the best in Zambia, with wildlife on the course and bentgrass greens.
Lusaka Golf Club
Historic in town club course minutes from the main hotel belt, local and clubby rather than manicured.
Kalimba Reptile Park
Crocodile farm and snake park with fishing ponds, a pool, picnic lawns and the famous crocodile burger.
Munda Wanga Environmental Park
Extensive botanical gardens that make the best picnic and wander green space near Lusaka, plus a wildlife sanctuary.
Lower Zambezi National Park
Canoeing and boat safaris past hippos and elephants, best as a two to four night stay, never a day trip.
Best hotels in Lusaka
Latitude 15 Degrees
Boutique Kabulonga benchmark with characterful rooms, two pools, two restaurants and live music bar nights.
Ciêla Resort & Spa
Resort option with large rooms, spa, pools and Bonanza golf next door, ideal for first or last nights.
Lilayi Lodge
Bush lodge bookend south of the city with game drives and calm, best as a lodge stay not a city base.
InterContinental Lusaka
Classic grande dame business hotel by the Mulungushi centre, for events and old school full service.
Southern Sun Ridgeway
Established, modernised hotel with a good pool and garden setting near embassies, strong value to reliability.
Best Western Plus Paramount Hotel
Modern, well run hotel handy for the airport side of town and East Park Mall, more efficiency than charm.
Radisson Blu Hotel, Lusaka
Large, dependable Great East Road conference hotel, a pick for conferences rather than character.
The Quorum
Members club style Kabulonga hotel whose location makes it a smarter leisure base than its styling suggests.
Is Lusaka expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ZMW 1,400 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ZMW 5,000 a person |
| Splurge | ZMW 9,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Soweto Market: a few days ahead
- City Market: a few days ahead
- My Guide Zambia: a few days ahead
- Lusaka National Park: a few days ahead
- Chaminuka Nature Reserve: a few days ahead
- Lilayi Lodge: a few days ahead
- Bonanza Golf Course: a few days ahead
- Lusaka Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Book Botanica always, and Ciela or Latitude 15 in conference and festival weeks.
- Book Chaminuka packages and Lilayi drives on weekends. Be at the elephant nursery by 11:15am.
- Lower Zambezi and South Luangwa camps sell out months ahead in the July to October peak.
Is Lusaka safe?
- Base in the eastern suburbs, ride hail after dark and do not walk at night.
- In markets and the CBD keep valuables out of sight, your phone away and a local guide with you.
- Same sex relations are illegal in Zambia and attitudes are conservative, so discretion is essential.
- Malaria risk is low in Lusaka but higher in low safari areas. Drink bottled or sealed water.
Lusaka travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Victoria Falls and the Lower Zambezi are not day trips from Lusaka. Both need an overnight or a flight.
- The big malls are fine and forgettable. Do not let a Lusaka day leak away in one.
- Munda Wanga as a zoo day and the National Museum as a standalone pilgrimage are both oversold.
- Do not photograph government, military or police sites, and ask before photographing people in markets.
Getting around Lusaka: public transport and more
- Use ride hailing apps Yango and GO, and download and register before you land.
- Hire a hotel arranged driver for excursion and market days, agreeing price, hours and stops before setting off.
- Kenneth Kaunda International Airport is 30 to 45 minutes from the centre. Pre book a transfer or agree the fare.
- Walk only inside Kabulonga and Rhodes Park pockets by day. Everything else is 15 to 30 minutes by car.
Who Lusaka suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Lusaka your trip
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