The mystery of Visas

I need to get a Visa for entry into Zambia and I think maybe Zimbabwe too, but Zambia for sure. However, I kept trying to find out how to get this exactly and it was a bit difficult. What I read in the travel books I have and other info I found just said that I needed a Visa, and seemed to assume I knew what the hell I had to do to get it. I of course resorted to Google which is the answer to most of my questions but when I looked into the government's website that came up I just got more confused. I e-mailed the info e-mail on the Government of Canada's website that was posted on the page that was linked to the Visas info page and their response was that they do not normally reply to those kinds of inquiries but they suggested contacting the representatives of the country I was visiting - which by the way was the contact info I had requested. This made me feel like a complete idiot and was also completely not helpful. I found another information site but I put off looking into it more. I then finally went to the Zambian tourism website and that was a bit more specific but there was an option to pay at the 'port of entry' or in advance and there was a 1 day option, a travel option, and a long term option so I didn't know which was correct anyways. I finally just e-mailed Wild Wings Safaris back and asked if they knew exactly what I had to do. As usual, they were super helpful so I really just should have asked them right away instead of depending on the web but live and learn.

This is their very helpful explanation of how it works:

You can purchase a single & double entry visa at the port of entry for Zambia.  Since you are staying one night in Zambia, and then travelling to Zimbabwe, and flying back to Johannesburg from Zimbabwe, you only need a single entry visa.  You would have needed a double entry visa if you were going back to Zambia for either a flight out or an additional activity. 

For Zimbabwe you will also need a single entry visa – as you enter the country only one, for your night at the Kingdom Hotel, before flying back to Johannesburg from Victoria Falls Airport.  All visa fees are payable in cash at the port of entry.

The transit visas are necessary if you simply travel through the country to your next destination without actually sleeping over somewhere – that is no applicable to you.  I hope this makes sense & helps.

The costs (as we have them on record at the moment) are:

Zambia (single entry): USD 50 per person

Zimbabwe (single entry): USD 30 per person

Please note that since you are visiting Zambia you will also need to receive a Yellow Fever vaccination from your local travel clinic before leaving for this trip (preferably 2 weeks prior to travel).  This is a new law that has been put in place for travellers from Zambia into South Africa.