Blantyre to Lilongwe and vice versa is the most competitive route in Malawi. Its possible to travel early morning and return back in the evening. More than a dozen operators service this route from luxury coaches to small taxi vans. There are two options to travel that is air and road only. Sadly there is a railway line but no passenger rail service is available. The total distance is 315.2 kilometers and takes about four to six hours traveling by bus.
In this article l will mainly focus on the luxury coaches i have used i.e National bus, Sososo and Kwezy coaches. Both of them are direct services. Sososo and Kwezy coaches don’t have washroom facilities on board so there only stop at Ntcheu Bus depot for passengers to ease themselves. National bus has a toilet on board so it doesn’t stop at Ntcheu its a complete express service.
Facilities on board both three coaches have two by two seat arrangements with reclining seats, Entertainment on board, usb charging ports, friendly crew. Kwezy and national coaches offer wifi in some of their buses. Sososo coaches don’t have WiFi onboard.
Timetable and bus terminals
Kwezy, National bus and Sososo coaches both have morning departures at 07:30, 07:00 from Blantyre and arriving in Lilongwe at 12:00. The second bus for Sososo and Kwezy departs at 13:30 and arrives at 17:30. National bus second service departs at 16:30 and arrives at 21:00.
National bus company city mall (Lilongwe) & Opposite Ryalls Hotel (Blantyre).
Kwezy coach Getway mall (Lilongwe) & old shire bus chichiri terminal (Blantyre)
Sososo coaches Game complex (Lilongwe) & Petroda city centre (Blantyre)
Other Bus companies
As mentioned earlier there are more than a dozen bus operators from the main bus depots. Wenela bus depot in Blantyre and Lilongwe Bus depot. The main difference between the local buses and the luxury coaches is time. The local buses usually only depart when there are full while the luxury coaches depart on time regardless of the number of passengers. Below is a list of options for buses that travel from Blantyre to Lilongwe incase you miss the coaches. Post coaches are boarded at the main Post office in Blantyre. Please note that Tam Tam and Post coaches depart on time regardless of passengers on board.
- Tam Tam
- Matours
- Ulemu bus service
- Transmo
- Future tours
- Post bus
Food Served onboard
From my experience kwezy offers a better snack compared to Sososo & National bus. National bus and Sososo snack is a small packet of lays crispy and a 300ml soft drink.
Flights
Malawi airlines offers twice daily flights between Chileka Airport in Blantyre and Kamuzu Airport in Lilongwe. Ther have morning and afternoon flights. The flight duration is only 40 minutes. Average cost of flights is USD60 one way. South African airways operators flights between Blantyre and Lilongwe only for onward passengers. South African airways doesn’t have fifth freedom traffic rights for the local route.
suzgo chingati 