The guiding fee needs to be paid when signing up with us, either in full or as a deposit and after confirmation in full.

The guiding fee includes

• guiding services for the whole duration of the expedition in your language
• planning and organizing a basic itinerary for the trip
• assistance and help with preparations before the trip and during the expedition
• full knowledge and experience of your guides
• 5% of this goes to a selected wildife protection project in the country

The guiding fee doesn´t include

(prices are in USD)

• expenses for transport – flights can be between 550 to 700 USD, if you book them well in advance you can get a good price.
• visa to Zambia – 50 USD for a single entry (free of charge at the moment).
• expenses for rental car – the price per person for a full car is 800 USD (3 weeks)
• fuel costs – maximum 180 USD
• food costs – depending on how we do it (cooking, restaurants) – max 250 USD
• accommodation costs – camps – max 300 USD
• entry to national parks – 200 USD
• alternative activities – 860 USD (helicopter flight Vic Falls, bungee jumping, flying fox, skydive, house boat kariba, canoe Zambezi etc)
• personal expenses – that depends on you, if you buy souvenirs, chips, sweets etc. – 200 USD

The above mentioned expenses are counted on a maximum basis, according to our experience with these kinds of expeditions and according to price lists for activities. Prices for fuel, food and accommodation depend on the exact itinerary, camping possibilities and driven kilometers.

We always check prices for different services and update them. The detailed expenses will be sent to each team member after signing up, together with our itinerary, a map and more info.

All services will be ordered on the spot, some expenses (like camping) will be paid directly by the traveller to the service provider. Since our first expedition with a group through Africa we have always used a simple system for group related expenses – a “group kitty” (expedition fund) – where every participant puts in a certain amount at the beginning of the trip and that money is used to pay for all group-related expenses (like fuel, fees, food etc.) Every expense is meticulously written down. Any other, not group-related expenses have to be paid for by the participant alone.

You can find more information about prices and expenses in Africa below, in our „IN AFRICA“ section and also in + RECOMMENDED ACTIVITIES where you can find out what else to do during the trip and get an idea, what costs what.

Have you decided on becoming an expedition member to explore the unknown?

Fill in your sign up with us, that is your first step into the adventure. This is where the preparations start.

Information about the itinerary

The detailed info about each expedition containing info about the car, equipment, what to take with you, what not to bring and much more will be sent out to you in our “information for team members”.

Visa

For Zambia you will get a single entry visa for 30 days which normally costs 50 USD (but which is for free at the moment), we will get this at the border. 

Personal meeting

After signing up of all team members we would like to have a personal meeting with the whole group, where we can get to know each other a bit and where we talk about the itinerary (you can have your say in this also!) If a personal meeting is not possible, we can organize an online meeting (skype, zoom) and we can talk about any questions you may have.

Consulting and advice

While you are preparing for your trip, we are at your disposition with hints, advice and recommendations.

You will receive an information pack after your sign up.

What and how to pack

Travel light and comfortable. Best is to have collapsible bags, not a suitcase. It should be resilient to dust and general traveling. What proved ideal is a normal backpack and a small day pack. Weight wise it should not be more than 18kg plus tent. You won´t need too many clothes, just the basics, light but also a sweater. If you bring a bigger, heavier piece of luggage with you, you may need to repack and your luggage will be put onto the roof. 

More info will be sent out to you after your sign up.

Passport

will have to be valid for at least 6 months after the trip.

Vaccination

it is not in our competence to recommend you vaccinations or to make a plan for you, you will need to talk to professionals about it. Your GP is your first point, otherwise some health or travel medical centres will be able to help you. What we can recommend is that we think it´s a good idea to be vaccinated against some of the major diseases. It may happen that you will be asked to prove a yellow fever vaccination upon arrival. What we can also do is telling you what WE are vaccinated against and what is written in our international vaccination pass:

• Hepathitis A, B
• Meningitis
• Typhoid
• Tetanus
• Yellow fever
• Rabies

Travel insurance

travel insurance is something very important and a must-have. If you want to join one of our expeditions, you MUST have a travel insurance. This protects yourself and us.

In general – some countries, that you need visas for will ask about a travel insurance as well, for example Namibia for Czech citizens.

Main points of our itinerary we shouldn´t miss in Zambia

• Victoria Falls – kwho doesn´t know Mosi-oa-Tunya (The smoke that thunders) and who wouldn´t want to visit them. It is one of the 7 natural wonders of the Earth and was already documented by Sir David Livingstone in the 19th century. You don´t only need to look at the water falling down a 140m high cliff, but you can also stroll through the rain forest there, do some bungee jumping into the gorge or fly over in a helicopter. It will be a breathtaking experience.
• Kasanka national park – This is the main reason for us to come to Zambia at this time of year – when the huge fruit bats are swarming into the park to eat different types of ripe fruits off the trees. It will be a very special spectacle that not many people have seen
• South Luangwa national park – a very beautiful park along the Luangwa River, home to a lot of wildlife, including elephants that sometimes roam through the camps as well. We will go on safari here!
• North Luangwa national park – well, actually the park continues along the Luangwa River, although the South is more popular, there is still a good chance for animals in the northern part too. And the road to get there is an adventure in itself.
• Kapishya Hot Springs – not that we really need it at this time of year, but there is a nice natural hot pool there to soak in. This area is also very historical and there is even an old British country estate there – at Shiwa Ngandu.
• Lumangwe Falls – It actually is the biggest waterfall that is entirely in Zambia. This one is part of 3 waterfalls close to each other in Zambia´s Northern part.
• Bangweulu Swamps – what a strange place…those are really swamps, we go there for 1 reason: to look for the shoebill, a mysterious bird that many have heard of but not so many have seen…

Our itinerary is filled with a lot of known and unknown places. Into each expedition we include places, which we discovered by ourselves and all places have been visited by us many times. Here, you will be an explorer and adventurer – so you have something to look forward to

Enrich your trip with some unforgettable outdoor or culture experience.

• Helicopter Flight above Vic Falls – 15 min 165 USD
• Bungee jump into the canyon at Vic Falls – 160 USD
• ZipLine or Flying fox – 77 USD
• Rafting on the Zambezi – 120 USD
• Safari drives South Luangwa (prices tbc)

The start of the expedition is in our city of arrival, in this case Lusaka or Vic Falls. It depends on our team and how we all will get to the meeting point. Just find yourself the right carrier, like Qatar, Turkish, Ethiopians or others. The flight price depends on your departure airport, it is wise to play around with different airports to fly from.

It is not necessary that the whole group is flying together, if someone wants, he/she can fly to Africa individually and extend their stay, either before or after our expedition. Just be reminded that then you are on your own, we just require you to be on our meeting point in time. Mostly, our meeting point will be at the international airport.

On our expeditions, we always choose a 4×4 vehicle, equipped for offroad and camping. Into the desert or bush one shouldn´t go with a different car, often we may be far away from civilization and need to rely on the car. An offroad car in this case is required. There are many different types, we often use a VW Transporter Syncro, which from the financial side and a travel in style we often use. We talk about driving when meeting and preparing for the expedition. You would need an international driver´s license.

What adds to the rental price is the fuel, expenses for fuel will be cheaper than in Europe, mostly a litre of petrol in South Africa, for example, costs around 90 cents, but in neighbouring Zambia it is 1,10 USD already. (it depends on the seller, some petrol stations are closed, sometimes we may have to use the black market…)

The maximum costs for the rent of an offroad vehicle with a full car will roughly come to 800 USD per person (example for a full VW Syncro with 8 pax). Rental price includes all equipment for camping, cooking and offroad driving. Our itinerary will roughly be around 4.000km long, so the maximum fuel price per person should be around 120-140 USD.

We will mostly sleep in tents, which are part of the rental car. You will only need to bring a sleeping bag and a matress. We will mostly have classical ground tents, when we stay anywhere for a few days we don´t need to pack or unpack the tent every day.

We will camp in official camp grounds, sometimes at a lodge and when off the beaten track we will use community camps or villages.

Prices for camping are anything between 5 to 15 USD, depending on the place and the season. In our budget, we count 15 USD per person and per day, this way we have a reserve if we decide to camp in THAT beautiful prime wildlife spot in Kasanka for 35-50 USD per night.

The expenses for our camping should not be more than 300 USD

Mostly we will either cook ourselves or visit local restaurants and snack shops, if possible. On our rough itinerary, we will often be in the bush or little settlements where there are no restaurants. There, we will depend on ourselves and cook together from supplies we bought. If possible, we will cook on an open fire and use local products, antelope steaks etc. In general, meat in Africa is tastier than in Europe, often cattle spends its time outside, not locked up in sheds. When possible, we will always try to get you acquainted with local food culture and specialties for each country.

Vegetarians will be able to go meat free, we can always make a plan together. We have had vegetarians with us in the past and it worked just fine.

Expenses for a full stomach will come to a maximum of 250 USD

Weather

The expedition takes place in the hot African spring time (our beginning of winter), that means that dry season has just finished and we may expect the first rains. It will be nice and warm, most days in their mid to end 20s. Take light clothes and don´t forget a sweater. Best is to layer up. We may expect rain as it´s the beginning of the wet season.

Internet and communication

It may happen that your European sim card doesn´t work in Zambia. Close to borders you may catch a signal from operators across the border. The best way is to buy a local sim card. The prices in Africa are not too expensive, you can get 1GB for about 15 USD, but we have to stress that signal can be very limited.

Safety

Zambia is a safe country. Just be aware, like everywhere else, that there are thieves and opportunists, so use your commonsense and make sure you always watch your belongings, especially on markets. We have been travelling in Zambia for many years now and have never had any problems, but as the economic situation gets worse, people may become desperate.

The roads are half empty to empty, not much traffic, which makes travelling by car safe. Other than that you just need to follow the local rules and use your head. When it comes to wildlife you need to adhere to safety rules. We will brief you!