How to Find Luxury Hotels in Malawi

Malawi is a small country in central Africa known for the third largest lake on the continent, Lake Nyasa, which is also known as Lake Malawi. This body of freshwater spans almost the entire north to south longitude of Malawi, creating a natural border with Mozambique. Tanzania lies to the north, and Zambia to the west. Malawi is full of national parks, wildlife reserves and other nature lover paradises. It is nicknamed the "Warm Heart of Africa" because of the friendly people here. Read on to learn how to find luxury accommodations in Malawi.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Passport
• Computer With Internet Access

Get to Malawi and Get Around

1. Fly into Lilligonwe International Airport for the largest selection of flights and prices. There is also a smaller airport in Blantyre.
2. Put some money aside. You must pay a $30 departure tax when you leave the country from an airport.
3. Rent a car if you plan to cover long distances. The cost is less than $100 a day for a compact car.

Locate Your Luxury Accommodations

4. Plan to stay in one of Malawi's cities. Most luxury accommodations are found in the capital of Liligonwe, or in other cities such as Zomba, Mzuzu and Blantyre. Contact the Malawi Tourism Association by calling 011 (+265) (0) 1 770 010 or by visiting the link below. One place to consider staying is the Kaya Mawa Resort. See Resources below for a link to this property.
5. Find cheap accommodations in local and boutique hotels in large cities in Malawi. Local hospitality, food and social events can make these accommodations quite memorable. And, for half the price of luxury hotels, they can also help you stretch your budget.
6. Stay in rural accommodations with serene lakeside locations. There are many that are also a part of national parks, which keeps costs low.
7. Find luxury rooms in most of Malawi's urban centers at accommodations run by Le Meridien. There are several options here by this chain and each typically offers four-star rooms with updated conference centers, high-speed Internet access and more. Prices are usually well under $300 a night.

Stay Safe in Malawi

8. Respect the local culture. Know that Malawi is a very patriarchal society in which men are treated more respectfully than women.
9. Shake hands with someone you speak to, and always ask how they are before inquiring for information. This is the polite way to interact with people here.
10. Understand that women should dress conservatively. This means no short skirts, shorts, tight-fitting or revealing clothing.

Tips & Warnings

• Put aside the money for your departure tax in U.S. dollars. They won't accept it in local currency.
• Understand that some international hotels will accept Visa and MasterCard credit cards in Malawi, but plan on exchanging U.S. dollars for local currency (kwacha) to get a better rate.
• Don't walk around towns at night here. Crime is low, but many cars don't have headlights.
• Know that you do not need a visa to travel from the United States to Malawi.
• All phone numbers include the United States international prefix "011." When calling internationally outside the United States, substitute that "011" with "00."
• All country codes are within parentheses and begin with a "+" sign.