Hallo zusammen,
heute vor einer Woche sind wir nach Sambia als Touristen eingereist und sitzen gerade am Luangwa als Selbstfahrer. Hier unsere Tipps in Englisch, damit ihr sie weiterleiten könnt.
As of August, 11 - August, 17, 2020
• Sambia has opened their boarder for Tourists again
• What you need is
o A negative COVID test (see below)
o Visum can be done on arrival at the airport like in former times (at least in Lusaka)
Our Experiences:
• COVID Test
o Recommended to do it at the airport (
www.centogene.com/co...ankfurt-airport.html)
o Do the registration BEFORE you go to the airport. This will save you time.
o Just register for the normal test and invest the 9 Euro for the identification. The attest of a doctor is not necessary (this will come with extra cost and time). So the price is 68 Euro per person
o We went their 1 day prior to the flight. There was not waiting time at all at 10 am
o We received the result a couple of hours later and printed it in English (you can select the language in the app). You can even include it into your wallet app. We heard you can print in at the airport in Addis as well in case you do it the same time you fly.
• Flight
o Ethiopian airlines goes every day via Addis Abeba. Every second day the flight is longer since they stop on Harare.
o There were not a lot of passengers in the plane. In case you want to have real distance: Book an economy flight and take the offer to bit for a business class seat which comes with our ticket confirmation. Is is around a 25% discount if you offer the lowest price compared to the standard business ticket price. I did it and they accepted the minimum.
o We booked via Ehtiopian airlines directly to be on the save side in case the flight has to be changed. At present they offer all flight bookings as flexible bookings.
o If you book with American Express credit card, you can ask for a refund in case the flight gets cancelled by the airline, even if the refuse to refund. AE takes care about it. We used this option for our flights we booked with Namibian Airlines (via Mytrip), and made very good experience
• Immigration
o Done in 5 minutes . Your temperature is measured from distance and immediately shown on a screen and you can pass….. It is very professional.
o Whoever picks you from the airport is not allowed to come into the building: Stay in contact with him/her via WhatsApp
o In the airplane you get a short questionnaire were you have to fill in your contact data in Sambia. Also very easy.
• Being in the country
o We will inform you later about our experience with the Carnet etc.
It was easy to get the new Carnet stamped. We went to the Lusaka Customs Port Office in the Dedan Kimathi Road. They stamped the new Carnet (without any charge), but not the old one, which according to the ADAC is fine under those circumstances. The officer was very friendly when we showed him the mail with the instructions and names we received from the officer from Livingstone. The text I showed him was:
“The office is on Dedan Kimathi Road near Inter- City Bus Terminals: precisely between Road Transport & Safety Agency and the Auditor General’s Office training Centre. It is called Lusaka Port office or Lusaka Customs House with a bill board for Zambia Revenue Authority.”
The people to see are Mrs. Mukuka Sichula (Assistant Commissioner) or Mrs. Beauty Musonda (Station Manager).
He wanted to see the car and just checked the plate number. It took us 45 minutes.
So, our recommendation:
• Contact the Port Office in writing as early as possible and explain your case
• Make sure you have a new Carnet which is valid before the old expires
o We heard that that the national parks are open, empty and waiting for tourists…. : And indeed: They are open and there are even a few tourists: Mainly Sambians on the campsites and obviously tourists from the Arabic countries in the Safari cars (probably Lodge guests)
• Miscs
o Buy FFP2 masks in a pharmacy in Germany: They are almost 6 Euro per piece but you can do a disinfection after each use (we bought some spray)
• Where to stay
o We are staying here in Leopards Hill Retreat Center were our car is. The Wild Dogs Lodge was also very helpful and supportive and is happy to welcome you as well . And finally a big thank you to Michael Riffel from the Luambe Lodge you motivated us to try to come to Sambia now and shared tipps and tricks with us before we left since he just came back from Sambia. The Luambe Lodge is a perfect place to relax if you are tired of your car and want to sleep in a real bed and enjoy organized Safaris in the Luambe national park.
