Senga Bay is also a great spot on the lake...and it's closer to Lilongwe than Nkhata Bay.

Malawi is a beautiful country and offers an array of fabulous weekend or holiday destinations to PCVs and visitors. The lake is probably the most obvious place to go, and is lined with great beaches and beautiful baobab trees. Many volunteers try to get away to a few places at the lake which are favorites. In the north, Nkhata Bay is the spot to go for a relaxed atmosphere, meeting other travelers, and the cheapest SCUBA certification course around. The gorgeous campsites and pristine sand beaches of Senga Bay in Salima are only 2 hours away from the capitol city Lilongwe in the central region. And the Palm Beach resort in Mangochi in the south offers great discounts to PCVs. Another favorite is Likoma Island, in the middle of the lake. Likoma is one of the places that everyone who goes to recommends to everyone else—a beautiful, undeveloped island that can be reached by a leisurely (8-15 hours) boat ride overnight from either Salima or Nkhata Bay.

There are a few hostels in the main town on the island, and on its northern tip there is one expensive luxury resort that is connected to a beautiful campsite with a great bar under a huge mango tree.

The lakeshore is warm to hot all year long and can be a great break in June or July from the cold season felt elsewhere.

If you enjoy hiking, check out Mt. Mulanji. It's stunning in the dry season.

If the beach is not your thing, have no fear! For nature lovers there is the lush Liwonde National Park in the southern region, through which runs the Shire River, and which contains many big game animals and is a bird watcher’s paradise (averaging 80 species in a weekend). Other parks, protected areas, and game reserves are scattered throughout the country.

Nyika Plateau in the north is a beautiful area of rolling grass hills where zebra and other herbivores still roam, and which can be crossed in a leisurely 4 day hike to end up in the historic town of Livingstonia on the lakeshore.

Another favorite is Mulanje Mountain in the south, about 2 hours from Blantyre, which is the third highest peak in Africa.

It can be hiked to find stunning waterfalls and natural swimming pools, or traversed anywhere from 3 to 7 days. The best time to go is probably between September and November, before the rains and after the cold season…it can snow on top in June!