Malawi

Malawi is about 900 km long and narrow, and the lake takes up a fifth of it. The standard trip is a few days in a park and then a week on the lake, which is the cheapest good beach in the region and is fresh water: no salt, no tides, no jellyfish.

The parks were nearly emptied by poaching by the 1990s. Since 2003 the non-profit African Parks has managed Majete and later Liwonde and Nkhotakota, restocking them and moving hundreds of elephants between reserves. Malawi now offers genuine big-game viewing that did not exist twenty years ago, at lower prices and with far fewer vehicles than Zambia or Botswana.

Be honest about what that means. It is not a first-choice big-game destination measured against Kruger, the Luangwa or the Okavango, and the densities are lower. Come for the combination: a few days of game and then the lake, at a cost that leaves room for both.

When to go

Months	What it is like
May-Aug	Dry and cool. Clear skies, low humidity, chilly nights, and the lake at its clearest for snorkelling. Nyika can drop below freezing at night. The most comfortable months of the year.
Sep-Oct	Hot and dry before the rains. Game viewing is at its best as the Shire River becomes the only water. The lakeshore gets very warm and October is the hardest month for heat at low altitude.
Nov-Dec	The rains start, usually as afternoon storms. Everything greens within weeks, migrant birds arrive and prices drop. Roads are still mostly passable early in this window.
Jan-Mar	Wettest. Dirt roads become difficult, some camps close, and river run-off makes the lake murkier. Nyika's orchids flower. Cyclones that strike Mozambique have brought serious flooding to southern Malawi in recent years.

Before you go

• Most visitors need a visa, available online in advance or on arrival at the main entry points. The process has changed more than once, so check the current one.
• Malaria is present countrywide, including on the lakeshore, all year with a peak in the wet season. Take prophylaxis.
• Bilharzia is present in the lake. The risk varies by site and is lower off rocky shores away from reeds and villages, but it is real. Many travellers swim and then take a treatment course or get tested six to twelve weeks after returning. Decide how you want to handle it with a travel doctor before you go, not on the beach.
• The lake also has hippos and crocodiles in places, particularly near river mouths. Swim where local people swim and ask the lodge rather than the internet.
• Kwacha is the currency and it is largely a cash economy outside the main lodges. ATMs are in Lilongwe, Blantyre and larger towns, and card acceptance is patchy. Bring US dollars to change.
• Distances look short and take longer than they look. Lilongwe to Liwonde is around four hours, Lilongwe to Nyika a full day. The M1 tarred spine is reasonable and the side roads are not. Self-drive is realistic here with a 4×4 and the discipline to stop before dark, which is unusual for the region, though most visitors still use a driver.