Eswatini

Currency budget Eswatini

The lilangeni is pegged one to one to the South African rand, and rand are accepted everywhere in Eswatini at par, so there is no need to change money if you arrive from South Africa. It does not work the other way: emalangeni are not taken in South Africa, so spend them or swap them for rand before you leave. Cards work at the lodges, the malls and the fuel stations; the craft markets and the parks’ smaller gates want cash.

ATMs & cards

Standard Bank, FNB and Nedbank have machines in Mbabane, Manzini and the Ezulwini valley malls. They pay out emalangeni; if you are going on to South Africa, ask a bank or a shop for your change in rand.

Rand are accepted at par everywhere, so South African cash needs no changing.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety all of Eswatini

The UK FCDO does not advise against travel to any part of Eswatini. It does say to avoid walking in downtown Mbabane and Manzini after dark, that theft and occasional muggings happen at the edges of towns and at night, and that crime rises before Christmas. Political protests happen and have been policed with force; keep away from them. Rural roads at night are the bigger risk — cattle, goats and unlit vehicles — so drive in daylight. Malaria is a low, seasonal risk in the eastern lowveld around Hlane and Mkhaya and not a concern in the Ezulwini valley.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa Eswatini visa rules

Health & emergencies all of Eswatini

Required to enter

• Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present

Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Braai — grilled meat over a wood fire — is how most of the country eats out, with pap and chakalaka, as in South Africa next door. Sishwala, a thick maize porridge, is the local staple. The Ezulwini valley has the restaurants; Malkerns, just south, has the farm stalls and the craft workshops.

Getting around

• Hire car — the way to see the country, picked up at the airport or driven in from Johannesburg; the main roads are good, and the rural ones carry cattle
• Minibus — the kombis run between Mbabane, Ezulwini and Manzini all day and are cheap; they thin out by evening
• Taxi — private cars from the ranks in Mbabane and Manzini, or called by your lodge; agree the fare first
• On foot or by bike — inside Mlilwane, among the zebra and antelope, which is the rare thing here
• Airport: King Mswati III (SHO), 1h 15m to the Ezulwini valley

eSIM

A data eSIM for Eswatini, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:Works hereWorks here

Must-see

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

siSwati

• Hello (to one person)Sawubonasa-woo-BO-na
• Hello (to several)Sanibonanisa-nee-bo-NA-nee
• How are you?Unjani?oon-JA-nee
• I am fineNgikhonangee-KO-na

siSwati and English are both official, and every Swazi speaks the first; it is close to Zulu, so a Zulu greeting is understood. Greetings are formal and come before anything else. Sawubona is to one person, sanibonani to several, and the answer to unjani is yebo, ngikhona — yes, I am here.

Religion

Christian, with Swazi tradition at the centre of national life

Most people are Christian, many in Zionist and other African independent churches, and the monarchy’s ceremonies sit beside the church rather than beneath it. Incwala, the kingship ceremony around the December solstice, is sacred and photography is restricted on some of its days; Umhlanga, the reed dance in late August or September, is public and visitors may watch.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Greet with sawubona and wait for the reply; Swazi courtesy is formal and greetings come first
• Give and receive with both hands, or with the right hand and the left touching the forearm
• Follow the photography rules at Incwala and Umhlanga exactly, and ask a guide which days are restricted
• Dress modestly in villages and at royal ceremonies
• Buy crafts directly from the makers at the markets and cooperatives; it is where the money reaches people

Don't

• Do not criticise the king or the royal family in public; it is an absolute monarchy and the subject is sensitive
• Do not photograph royal residences, police, soldiers or government buildings
• Do not drive after dark, when cattle and goats are on unlit roads
• Do not show public affection; same-sex relationships are criminalised
• Do not swim in rivers and dams, where bilharzia is present