Africa: Guidelines for visiting Zambia

Do you have plans of visiting Zambia for the first time? Confused about issues like how to send and receive calls from Zambia, what currency accepted and the types of delicacies being served or the time zone of the Country?

New adventure seekers have numerous questions about Zambia on their initial visit and we have made several in-depth research and gotten the critical information needed by first-time tourists.

Country	Zambia
Continent	Africa
Population	17.09 million (2017)
Language	English, Bemba, Others

Zambian Currency

This is a piece of important information to note because as a tourist, you would surely spend money to carry out your daily activities like eating, shopping or taking bus rides in the country.

Zambian official currency is the Kwacha and its abbreviation is ZMW. At the time of writing this article, the official Kwacha to US-Dollar ($) conversion rate is 13.32 ZMW = $1 so a $100 would give you about 1332 ZMW (June 2019). We advise you to refer to Google’s currency converter or other credible currency converting service to get the latest conversion rates as they fall and rise regularly.

Although Kwacha is the predominant currency, Dollars ($) and Pounds (£) are accepted at tourist’s camps. Also, ATMs, online banking, and credit cards are also available and accepted. There are several ways to exchange foreign currency to Kwacha in Zambia and we advice to you see guidance from your host Camp before proceeding.

Zambian Time Zone

Zambia operates on a Greenwich Mean Time of 2 Hours (GMT +2), and they don’t have daylight savings so there is no time difference between Spring and Winter Months.

Making Calls In Zambia

Communication is an important aspect and you should carefully pay attention to this, as it might prove to be useful.

Calling to Zambia: If you want to call a number in Zambia, firstly you should input the Zambian International dialing code +260, then the area code of the recipient (suppose you intend calling Lusaka the Capital City, the area code is 21), and finally the recipient cell number.  

Example of a Complete Zambian number is +260(21)864128 – Note this is not a real number but an illustration.

Calling Out Of Zambia: making calls out of Zambia is similar to the steps explained above, you need the International dialing code of the country you want to call and the recipient’s cell number. For example, you want to call a friend in Nigeria from Zambia, and the cell number is 08032164075 you should remove the first “0” and replace it with +234 which is the dialing code for Nigeria and the number should look like this +2348032164075.

They are numerous call service providers in Zambia so we can’t give you the fixed price for calling International or local numbers but Zamtel (the biggest Cell Providers in Zambia have their call rates at $0.83/min).

Food In Zambia

The most common dish in Zambia is called “Nshima” which is a cooked porridge prepared using Maize flour (corn) and garnished with savory meat or roasted fish.

Alcoholic beverages are allowed in Zambia but prohibited to people under the age of +18, they are several lager beers in Zambia but the popular ones are Mansion, Rhino, and Mosi and there are other imported Alcohols. Soda can be found in almost all stores and restaurants.

Zambian Language

Due to previous colonial rule, Zambia is an English-speaking country, but they are over 70 traditional languages spoken in Zambia and Bemba is the most popular one used in public organizations and local businesses

Health Care In Zambia

As a tropical nation, tourists are advised to get vaccinated for protection against (Polio, Lockjaw, Hepatitis A, B, Typhoid and also Meningitis outbreak). Mosquitoes are found in Zambia so Anti-malarial drugs should be taken and mosquito nets should be used when sleeping. Seek further, advise from your Physician for help and administration.

There are high cases of HIV, this isn’t an issue for tourists but we are placing it for awareness purposes and take the necessary precautions when the need arises. When taking blood transfusion, the blood should be extensively examined by the health Laboratory or Clinic Specialists before receiving it.

Zambian Climate Condition

Located in the tropical region of Africa, Zambia has two major atmospheric seasons (Wet and Dry season).