Kamuzu International Airport in the capital city Lilongwe is the closest airport. It’s approximately a three to four hours drive from the festival site. Leave plenty of time to travel safely and obey the laws of the road.
We recommend hiring a car, booking a reputable private taxi transfer or booking a space on a shuttle bus service.
More information on these details will be published in due course.
We strongly advise travelling during the daytime hours where possible, leave plenty of time to get there.
The 2024 festival opens at 3pm on Friday afternoon with no access to the site available until then. Live music will start at 5pm. There are other lodges along the central lake-shore so you could consider travelling to the area beforehand and then transferring to the festival on the Friday.
The 2024 festival programming will finish early hours of Monday morning. Guests will be able to camp at Fish Eagle Bay Lodge beyond Monday but will need to organise and pay the lodge separately for this.
The capacity is limited at 3000 so don’t wait too long with purchasing your ticket. Ticket sales in Malawi have begun and online sales will go live end of April, 2024.
Yes, bookings for camping space and glamping options will be made available in May, 2024. More information will be provided in due course.
There will be provision made for camper vans and vehicle campers. More information to follow on this.
The road leading down to the festival will have parking spots designated for festival punters, at a nominal fee. Park at owners risk and controlled and managed by the local community surrounding the festival grounds. No vehicles will be allowed on site.
Children under the age of 16 are able to access the 2024 festival for free with no ticket required, accompanied and supervised by their full paying parent or legal guardian. Children over the age of 16 are required to purchase a full price ticket.
Yes, as long as you have a ticket that allows festival accessibility for that particular day.
There will be a range of festival bars serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. No drinks other than drinking water may be brought onto the event site, there will be water stations available to re-fill water bottles. There will also be a diverse selection of delicious festival food at affordable prices onsite, including some vegetarian / vegan food.
You are not allowed to bring any food or drinks, excluding drinking water, into the campsite and festival, unless required for medical reasons. Bags and body searches may be in operation and any unopened containers will be confiscated.
As part of the Lake of Stars ethos we always strive to bring benefits to the local community in which the festival happens. Some of our past community initiatives include recycling wood from festival stages into desks for schools; organising community outreach progammes with festival goers and artists taking part in sports and cultural activities; organising a clean-up operation to collect rubbish and debris; and hosting a free Ideas Festival for local students the day before the main event. Get in touch if you would like to donate, contribute or participate to these programmes.
The currency used is the Malawi Kwacha and ATMs are fairly widespread in the cities and bigger towns. Check xe.com for rates. Credit cards are not widely accepted although Visa is more popular than Mastercard. All lodges used to international tourists will accept US Dollars although the exchange rate will sometimes vary.
The festival site will be cash (MWK) only.
During August and September when the festival takes place Malawi is experiencing its ‘warm-and-dry’ season. This lasts up until the rains come in November/December. During this time expect temperatures between 22°C and 35°C with the lake warming up to a balmy 28°C! So pack plenty of sunscreen and don’t forget your hat and sunnies. See you on the beach!
Yes vaccinations are strongly recommended for travellers visiting Malawi. Please visit your GP or travel clinic in plenty of time to arrange these. Taking anti-malarial tablets is also highly recommended as Malawi is in a malaria area.
This year's location, Sani Beach, Nkhotakota is a bilharzia free zone.
However, if travelling elsewhere, there is a risk of contracting bilharzia (a dangerous parasite that lives in the gut) if bathing in some parts of Lake Malawi but the risk is small and only present under certain conditions. Medication is available over the counter and can be taken as a precautionary measure after exposure. You can be tested for this 8 weeks after you have swam in the lake.
As with most of Africa, Malawi has relatively high levels of HIV amongst the population and precautions should be taken accordingly.
Generally travelling during the daytime is safe, however it's recommended that visitors avoid driving or being driven for long distances at night as road conditions and driving habits can sometimes be dangerous.