Flight +
nights stay in a
star hotel / double room, is
Note
These values represent only an estimate of costs for travels from London, bought in
2015-01-16 with departure date in
2015-05-05 and return date in 2015-05-17 . These values refer the best quality and price according to parameters of selection set by Bananatrips. Prices may have changed since date of publication and will also depend on the specific date of reservation. The success in obtaining good prices is to make reservations in advance. For specific values in other dates please REQUEST A SEARCH BEFORE MAKING YOUR RESERVATION.
Lilongwe is the capital of Malawi. Lilongwe has a population of circa 902,388. It's a very green city, to the extent that sometimes you wonder if there is a city centre at all as buildings in the new town at least are divided by patches of grassy land and trees.
Orientation
Lilongwe is divided into the Old Town (to the South) and the New Town (to the North) with the Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary between the two. The Old Town is built around the former village of Lilongwe, while the New Town (also called City Centre or Capital City) sprung up after first president Dr. Hastings Banda moved the capital from Zomba to Lilongwe. The quality of the roads is excellent compared to countries like Kenya and traffic doesn't tend to be too much of a problem at all.
How to Get in
By plane
Lilongwe's Kamuzu International Airport (LLW) fields regular flights to Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Nairobi and domestic services to Blantyre on Air Malawi and Swiftair operates domestic schedules on Boeing 737 between Lilongwe and Blantyre and Regional flights to Johannesburg.
For neighboring Zambia, there are flights both to capital Lusaka and safari destination Mfuwe through the two main Air Charter companies (Nyassa Air Taxi & Executive Air Charters). There is no airport fee. The fee is apparently now included in the airline ticket.
The airport is about a 30/40 minute drive north of town and the taxis charge around K4500 (US$20) for the journey from Old Town (presuming you're staying in one of the lodges). This can decrease if you get the taxi from Capital City.
By train
By car
Lilongwe is about 110 kilometers from Mchinji on the Zambian border. Taxis are expensive (around $50, depending on your bargaining skills), but you can use a minibus or open back truck (matola) for MK500/600.
By bus
From Dar Es Salaam
There are two bus companies serve Dar-Es Salaam-Lilongwe direction twice a week. The buses usually lack maintenance which makes the time schedule unreliable.Malawi should improve its transport.
From Lusaka
Kob's Coach runs from Lusaka in Zambia to Lilongwe twice a week, departing Su/W 05:00.
From Mzuzu
AXA runs a daily express bus (4hr30min, K5,000), leaving Mzuzu at 07:00. Other services take 7-9hr, including a night bus by AXA, leaving Mzuzu at 18:00 and arriving at 03:00.
By boat
How to Get around
The town is very spread out so getting around can be a bit of a chore. You can pick up taxis from the Lilongwe Hotel (in the Old Town) and the Capital Hotel (in the Capital City). If you're feeling adventurous, you can take a minibus. It's very cheap, but you will be getting very familiar with your fellow passengers. There are several routes you can take, including one that goes from the large blue bank in the new town and drops you off in the heart of the old town, next to Shoprite surpermarket.
