The first time I heard about MV Ilala Ferry, it was when I was in Zanzibar. A French traveler told me about her experience in Malawi and told me that if I liked adventure, this was something I should do.
Normally, I talk more about the destination rather than the trip, but this experience was unique and spectacular. When I arrive to Nkhata Bay, I knew that I had to go to the port to look for the ferry tickets because I had to take it on Monday when it was going south. I had decided to take this ferry with Dominiq, a German I met in Livingstonia and in Mayoka we met Joel, a Swiss who was also going to take it so we went to buy the tickets together.
The MV Ilala, is a ferry that began its services in 1951 and to date it has managed to communicate the country carrying both passengers and cargo. It is a way of traveling through Malawi and reaching the islands of Likoma and Chizumulu. There are 4 categories of the ferry: Cabin, 1st class, 2nd class, and economic. I would recommend taking 1st class because you live a little bit the African experience having some space for yourself without the comfort and privacy of a cabin.
If you need to book a Cabin, you should do it with time, apparently they get full very fast. I fount this on the boat that it may help you to book it. I didn’t try calling but apparently this is the way of doing it instead of going to the port. I hope it works for you…..
Ilala Contact: +265(0)1587411 / 309
Email: Mary.zulu@msc.mw
Since I was in Zanzibar I knew I was going to take it so I tried to find out the dates and times of the ferry so I wouldn’t get stuck at a port. After a long search I managed to find this schedule:
* These schedules are not very accurate because it depends on the movement of cargo. Many times they take longer in port than they should.
* These schedules are not very accurate because it depends on the movement of cargo. Many times they take longer in port than they should.This ended up being one of the most beautiful and valuable experiences of my trip through Africa, so if you have the possibility to take it, you will see that you will not regret it. I know that today it is easier to travel the country by car, but you will love this adventure. It’s something completely different and you can learn a lot from different people.
As I told you I took 1st class, and it has nothing as luxury as you would think. This category means that you can sleep on the upper deck with a lot of people but it will still be on the floor (In my case I carried a hammock so I hung it up, Dominiq and Joel bought some “mattresses” before leaving port). We arrived at 7:45 pm since it was supposed to leave port by 8pm, but at the end the ferry started moving around 12:30 am….
The first night the upper deck was full, the next stop is Likoma, an island that can only be reached by ferry so there is a lot of people heading there. The bar was full all night and people celebrated and danced while some tried to sleep. I had my hammock hanging and I tied my big backpack. The small backpack with my computer and passports was always with me as a precaution although the ship is quite safe.
Upon arriving in Likoma, we knew that the ship was going to take a long time so with Joel we decided to get off and go around the island and have breakfast while sailors where doing their things at the port. There is not much to do on this island if you are not staying in a remote hotel so with 1-2 hours we saw the “town”.
When we returned to the ferry we met Tom, a New Zealander with whom we had lunch and decided to enjoy the lake. We started jumping from the roof of the ferry to the lake having fun and making laugh all the other travelers (In Malawi many people do not know how to swim so a lot thought and said that we were very brave to do it).
When the ferry started again heading to the next port we started enjoying the bar, playing cards and resting, there is not much that can be done. We were talking when the sky began to transform, the sunset was turning the sky from blue into red. One of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen in my life.
Being in 1st class or in the cabin, you can enjoy the restaurant where they serve a very varied and very good menu. With Tom we decided that we didn’t want to live this experience. So we decided to go down to economy class and went to eat with them. The restaurant has no menu, they serve you what they have at a super cheap price and everyone smiles at you. It is rare for a tourist to go down to this restaurant (for the next day this was my restaurant for everything with Tom)
After two nights, we were almost arriving at Monkey Bay, the last ferry stop in the south. During the day we tried to get off at each port to get to visit the ports a little bit. We said goodbye to Dominiq as he was getting off at Nkhota Kota while our destination was Cape Maclear, a town very close to Monkey Bay.
Despite the delays in the different ports, we managed to arrive on time at Monkey Bay, talking to the captain, he told me that last week they had arrived at port at 3 am, instead of the scheduled time 8 pm. That was perfect so we could travel easily to our hotel in Cape Maclear: The Funky Cichlid.
