Practical questions
Kafue National Park: frequently asked questions
The questions first-time Kafue visitors ask, answered plainly and with the most current figures anyone can verify.
How much does it cost to enter Kafue?
International visitors pay $20 per person per day, SADC nationals and Zambian residents $15, and children under five enter free with ages five to thirteen at half price. A foreign-registered vehicle under three tonnes adds $15 a day. The blogs quoting around $40 a day are conflating the entry fee with an old combined entry-plus-bed-levy figure. Note that no 2026 tariff has been published; the best-sourced table is headed 2025, so verify at the gate.
Do self-drivers pay a higher fee, like in South Luangwa?
No, and this is the most repeated error about Kafue. Zambia splits its parks into Category A and Category B, and the higher self-driver tier exists only in Category A parks such as South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi, where self-drivers pay $30. Kafue is Category B: self-drivers pay the same $20 as everyone else. For a couple on a week's self-drive, that is a real saving.
Can I self-drive in Kafue?
Yes, and African Parks actively encourages it, with re-graded roads and listed self-drive campsites. An ordinary car reaches Mukambi on tar; everything beyond the M9 corridor needs a high-clearance 4x4, and the interior is effectively closed to vehicles from December to April when black-cotton soil traps them. Carry your own fuel margin, offline maps and ideally satellite comms: no in-park fuel could be confirmed and parts of the park have no phone signal at all.
When can I visit the Busanga Plains?
Roughly early July to early November, depending on water levels; some camps only open on 15 July. The plains flood from December to June and every camp there is dismantled outside the season. Ignore itineraries promising June access: it happens rarely and cannot be planned on. The south and centre of the park run much longer seasons, with several camps open year-round.
Are night drives allowed?
Yes. Zambia permits night drives in its national parks and Kafue's camps run them routinely, using red-filtered spotlights. That makes Kafue a place to look for serval, civet, genet and even aardvark. Book through your camp; because the gate-fee day ends at 18:00, night drives run under camp and concession arrangements.
Is Kafue good for a budget trip?
Better than almost any park of its calibre. Entry is $20 with no self-drive surcharge, the DNPW camping fee is $5, and operator campsites run $25 to $45 a night at Musungwa, Mapunga and Kasabushi. Musungwa's lake-view rooms start at $100 bed and breakfast, and Hippo Lodge offers self-catering inside the park. A self-sufficient couple can do Kafue for a fraction of a Busanga fly-in.
How do I get there from Lusaka or Livingstone?
From Lusaka, the tar M9 reaches the Kafue River crossing at Hook Bridge in about three and a half to five hours, around 270 to 280 km. From Livingstone, Dundumwezi Gate in the south is 204 km, about two and a half hours via Kalomo, which puts southern Kafue closer to Victoria Falls than most people assume. There are no scheduled flights; charters reach Chunga from Lusaka in about 1 hour 15 minutes.
How do I pay park fees, and can I use a card?
Pay at the gate and assume cash only: the park operators association states that no gate has card facilities or a nearby ATM, despite what some guides claim. Carry US dollars and kwacha, with dollar notes in good condition from recent series. Transit along the M9 or the Ngoma to Dundumwezi road is free, and staying in an east-bank GMA lodge such as KaingU incurs no daily park fee unless you cross into the park.
Will I see giraffes in Kafue?
No. Giraffe have never occurred in Kafue, which surprises many first-timers. What you get instead is Africa's deepest antelope list, 21 species by African Parks' count, including animals that are rarities elsewhere: roan, sable, oribi, red lechwe in their thousands and, for the lucky, sitatunga in the papyrus.
Is it safe, and do I need malaria tablets?
Kafue is a well-established destination with professional camps, and under African Parks management its ranger presence has grown substantially. Standard bush rules apply: stay in the vehicle, never walk without an armed escort, be back in camp by 18:00 unless you are on an organised night drive. Zambia is a malaria area, so take prophylaxis and use repellent, and remember much of the park has no phone signal.
Can I camp in southern Kafue?
No, and this catches out almost everyone who plans a self-drive down the Dundumwezi side. There is no campsite in the southern sector of the park. Nanzhila Plains Camp used to take campers and no longer does, which is why you will still find the old advice in forum posts and printed guides.
If you are coming up from Livingstone with a rooftop tent, the first camping you reach is at Lake Itezhi-Tezhi: Musungwa Safari Lodge on the lakeshore at the park boundary, $25 for an international visitor and $20 for SADC on its published 2026 tariff. North of there the options are Kasabushi at about $35 in the central sector and Mapunga at $45 in the north. Mayukuyuku, which used to be the cheap one in the middle, closed on 1 December 2025 for renovation and has not announced a reopening.
So the southern sector is a drive-through or a stay-in-a-camp proposition, not a camping one. Nanzhila Plains Camp itself is the southern sector's only real bed, from $275 per person, and it runs a short season from mid-June to mid-October. Remember the DNPW camping fee of $5 per person per night comes on top of whatever the campsite operator charges.