Lilongwe – Dar es Salaam Buses.

Lilongwe to Dar es Salaam is a great project—it’s one of the most vital (and scenic) transit corridors in East Africa. The route through northern Malawi and the Southern Highlands of Tanzania is breathtakingly beautiful, featuring tea estates and mountain passes

Key facts:

• Distance: 1500 kilometres.
• Travel time: 24 hours.
• Average cost: USD50 one way
• Bus operators: Falcon coaches and Surprise coaches.

Departure and arrival points

Surprise coaches ticket sales and boarding is done at Grand business park. In Dar es Salaam their offices are at Kariakoo area. For Falcon coaches their offices in Dar es Salaam are at Magufuli bus terminal.

Immigration control

The border between Tanzania and Malawi is primarily defined by the Songwe River in the north and the northern portion of Lake Malawi.

Malawi’s exist and entry point is at Songwe border post. Tanzania’s exist and entry point is at Kasumulu border post. Both sides of the borders operate from 06:00 to 18:00 daily.

Most Malawians import goods from Tanzania when travelling from Dar es Salaam the bus is completely offloaded at Songwe border post by the Malawi Revenue Authority officials for customs.

Bus companies & schedule

Falcon coaches: bus from Lilongwe to Dar es Salaam (Mondays and Saturdays). From Dar es Salaam to Lilongwe (Tuesdays and Thursdays). Their contact details in Lilongwe are: +265 999 184 558, Dar es Salaam : +255 655 636 521.

Surprise luxury coach: bus from Lilongwe to Dar es Salaam is available on (Monday, Thursday and Saturday). From Dar es Salaam to Lilongwe (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday). Their contact details in Lilongwe +265 998 89 94 25, In Dar es Salaam +255 783 103 020.

Food and freshments

Only Surprise coaches serves snacks and refreshments on board. For warm meal its strongly recommended that buy along the recess stops or bring from home.

Important notes

• Minimum passport validity of six months and two blank pages.
• Malawi timezone is GMT +2, Tanzania timezone is GMT +3.
• Malawi currency MWK, Tanzania currency is TSH.
• English is the main mode of communication.
• Phone number are subject to change without any prior notice.