Official DNPW rates
Kafue National Park entry fees
One thing Kafue gets right for budget travellers: there is no self-drive surcharge. The higher self-driver tier exists only in Category A parks such as South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi. In Kafue, self-drivers pay the same $20 as guests in an operator vehicle.
If you only want the answer
An international visitor pays $20 per person per day, the same whether you drive yourself or a camp drives you, because Kafue sits in Zambia's cheaper Category B. A foreign-registered vehicle adds $15 per day. Fees run per calendar day and the schedule is still the one headed 2025, so confirm at the gate.
Park entry (per person, per day)
| International visitor | $20 | same rate whether guided or self-driving |
|---|---|---|
| Self-driver, any nationality | $20 | no separate tier: Kafue is Category B, unlike South Luangwa |
| SADC national or Zambian resident | $15 | |
| Zambian citizen | K44.80 | an older source still shows K33.60; the fee-unit value was amended in 2024 |
| Child under 5 | Free | ages 5 to 13 pay half; 14 and over pay the full adult rate |
A permit day runs 06:00 to 18:00 and is a calendar day, not a rolling 24 hours, so a multi-night stay inside the park accrues a fee for each day. Several blogs quote around $40 a day for Kafue; that conflates the $20 entry fee with an old combined entry-plus-bed-levy figure.
Updated 26 July 2026
Vehicles, boats and aircraft (per unit, per day)
| Vehicle under 3 tonnes, foreign registered | $15 | Zambian registered: about K34 |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle over 3 tonnes, foreign registered | $30 | Zambian registered: about K56 |
| Boat under 50 hp, foreign registered | $15 | over 50 hp: $30 |
| Aircraft | $50 | covers all days parked in the park; Zambian registered about K222 |
Updated 26 July 2026
Camping and activity fees charged by the park
| Camping, non-resident | $5 | per person per day; citizens and residents about K42 |
|---|---|---|
| Boating | $20 | per person per day, on top of park entry |
| Canoeing or rafting | $20 | parties are limited to three canoes |
| Angling | $30 | largely catch-and-release; national closed season 1 December to 1 March |
| Mooring | $30 | per day |
The DNPW camping fee is a park charge and comes on top of what the campsite operator bills you. Budget both: Kasabushi charges $45 for its campsite, Musungwa about $25 and Mapunga $45 for an international visitor. Mayukuyuku, long the cheap option in the middle of the park, has been closed since December 2025.
Updated 26 July 2026
What camps and operators charge for activities
| Game drives, boat trips, walks | Via your camp | usually bundled into full-board or all-inclusive rates in Kafue |
|---|---|---|
| Night drive | Via your camp | permitted in Kafue and widely offered, with red-filter spotlights |
| Hot-air balloon, Busanga Plains | About $500 | late August to end of October only, booked through the Busanga camps |
| Park-run walking trail, 3 or 6 days | Via visitkafue.org | self-catered wilderness trails introduced under African Parks; no public price list |
Zambia publishes no official price list for guided activities beyond the park charges above. Unverified prices are marked as such.
Updated 26 July 2026
Something this page does not answer?
Fees are the one thing park authorities change without telling anyone, and some of them publish nothing at all.
Ask us. We answer questions about the park itself, and we can usually tell you which camps work on one route and who to write to. If what you want is a trip someone else arranges, we will say so and hand you to an operator we know, and we earn a commission if that becomes a booking.
Nothing on this site sits behind the form. Every figure we have is already on the page.