Zambia Travel Guide
Zambia Travel Guide
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Livingstone & Vic. Falls
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Communications
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Zambia Travel Guide

Communications



Internet


Internet cafés have cropped up all around town. While rates are low and comparable, the standard of computers, speed and service varies widely. Those listed below seem to be most geared to tourists and offer helpful service, better facilities and more reliable connections, though note that high-speed service has yet to come to Livingstone.

Cyber Post
Mosi-oa-Tunya Rd; tel: 03 321338 or 324440/1; email: cyberpost@zamnet.zm. Just south of the turn-off to Nakatindi Rd, next to the Livingstone Adventure Centre, this was Livingstone's first internet café and has maintained consistently good service. Rates are Kw300 per minute. They also have local and international phone and fax facilities at competitive rates. Open Mon–Fri 7.00–17.00, Sat/Sun 9.00–12.00.

Zulunet
116d Mosi-oa-Tunya Rd; tel: 03 321571; email:zulunet@zamnet.zm; web:www.geocities.com/zulunet_zambia. Conveniently located opposite Finance Bank in the centre of town, Zulunet has six networked computers and also offers technical assistance. Rates are from Kw4,000 for 10 minutes to Kw35,000 for two hours pre-paid; if you book one hour or more, you get a free drink and piece of cake. Alongside is a small gift shop selling a range of Zambian and African souvenirs and crafts, and Zulunet are also booking agents for accommodation, tours and activities, as well as for various express mail services. Open Mon–Fri from 8.30 to 18.00 hours and Saturday from 8.30 to 13.30.

Post and telephone


You can't miss the Livingstone post office (tel: 03 321400) in the centre of town in a sprawling complex of banks and shops, adjacent to the main road. It's open Mon–Fri 08.00–17.00, Sat 08.00–13.00. The post office is also the agent for Western Union.

The best way to send mail quickly within Zambia is via EMS (Expedited Mail Service), a reasonably priced service where letters are hand delivered (no postbox mail). It is also available to overseas destinations and is generally less expensive than a courier company. For express mail services, there are several choices, some of which also offer phone, fax and internet as well. With any you can send letters, parcels and small packets to destinations within Zambia and worldwide. This is costly but reliable. If you need important documents sent from overseas, DHL or FedEx is the quickest way to be assured of them reaching you safely. Packages take about a week from Europe or the USA.

Federal Express
MOT Rd; tel: 03 322742. Opposite the post office next to Mini Market, this is the agent for FedEx and ships documents and parcels worldwide.

PostNet/DHL
Stanley House, 2062 MOT Rd; tel: 03 320044. Located in the centre of town next to the Capital Theatre, PostNet are agents for DHL and offer a convenient packing service for bulky items, though shipping these via DHL is pricey. They also sell stamps, postcards, bubble wrap and stationery, offer phone, fax and internet service (Kw5,000 for 15 minutes), and do photocopying and printing.

Professional Packaging & Freight Services
Tel: 03 322925 or 097 783034; fax: 03 324264. If express mail is too expensive, you can have items packed and sent from here at generally cheaper freight rates.

Zulunet
116d Mosi-oa-Tunya Rd (Opposite Liso House); tel: 03 321571; email:zulunet@zamnet.zm. Zulunet are agents for Mercury Couriers, UPS & Skynet, which deliver worldwide in about a week or so – and claim to be the cheapest.

If you need to make phone calls or send/receive faxes, and can't do so where you are staying, then the obvious choices, open throughout the day, are listed under Internet, above. Each has local and international telephone and fax facilities at competitive prices, though calling overseas is not cheap from anywhere in Zambia.

Alternatively, Zamtel's Public Telecommunications Centre is conveniently next to the post office in a modular trailer. It officially opens Mon–Fri 08.00–13.00 and 14.00–17.30; Sat 08.00–12.30. However, hours can be erratic. Phone calls within Livingstone are about US20¢ per minute, but about US$1.20 per minute to elsewhere in Zambia.

International calls to Europe, USA and Australia average about US$15 for three minutes. They also offer a fax service but this is not always reliable. Strangely, Zamtel has no incoming public telephone line to inquire about faxes or other information, so you need to go there personally. On the other side of the post office, adjacent to the postboxes, is a small office offering international phone and fax. They are open throughout the day, and tend to keep more reliable hours than Zamtel. You will find many such venues dotted around town.


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