Malawi
Flying time: around 10hrs direct.
Language: English, followed by Chichewa in central and southern Malawi and Chitumbuka in the north.
Temperature: three seasons – November to April, hot and wet (max temperature 26C). May and August, hot and dry (max temperature 21C). September and October, very hot and dry (max temperature 30C).
Currency:the kwacha, divided into 100 tambala. £1 = 70 kwacha, but the rate fluctuates daily.
Time: GMT +2 hrs.
Visa: not necessary for British nationals but a 10-year passport is needed.
Health: some risk of malaria and bilharzia.
Size: 118,484sq km.
Airlines: Air Malawi flies direct from London to Lilongwe once a week. The airline also has domestic flights to the Nyika Plateau, Lake Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, south Luangwa, and Zambia. Other flights are by British Airways (via Harare) and South African Airways (via Johannesburg).
Operators: Abercrombie and Kent, Somak Holidays, SARtravel, Explore Worldwide, Sunvil, Union Castle Travel, Southern Africa Travel, Somak Holidays.