Victoria Falls Zimbabwe: Tips for visiting Victoria Falls

They are one of the most impressive waterfalls in the world – the Victoria Falls in the border area between Zimbabwe and Zambia. On our three-week trip through Namibia and Botswana, we didn’t want to miss this spectacle and made a two-day detour to the Zimbabwean town of Victoria Falls.

In this article, I describe our impressions of the Victoria Falls and give many practical tips about visiting the widest waterfall in the world (measured by the continuous fall area).

Our journey by land from Botswana to Zimbabwe

A trip to Victoria Falls is on the bucket list of many safari travellers in southern Africa. Most of the tourists we met in Victoria Falls either entered or left via Victoria Falls International Airport and thus put their stay in “Vic Falls” at the start or end of their safari.

Since our last stop in Namibia took us to the Zambezi region in the border triangle of Zambia – Zimbabwe – Botswana – Namibia, it was more obvious for us to travel overland than to take a flight. Overland travel is possible both by rental car and by transfer. We had booked our rental car only as far as Katima Mulilo (Namibia) and therefore used the transfer services of two different companies for the onward journey to Victoria Falls. From Katima Mulilo, «Caprivi Adventures» offers transfers to Kasane in Botswana. Kasane is the starting point for safaris in the Chobe National Park as well as a border town with Zambia and Zimbabwe with corresponding border crossings. The transfer from Katima Mulilo across the border to Kasane Airport takes about two hours and costs 1,470 Namibian dollars for 2-4 people (around 100 CHF). We found the border crossing from Namibia to Botswana at Ngoma to be quick. As a Swiss citizen, you need a passport that is valid for at least six months beyond the date of travel to enter Botswana. No visa is required for stays of up to 90 days.

At Kasane airport, we switched from “Caprivi Adventures” to “Wild Horizons”. Wild Horizons is one of the largest tour operators around Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe side) and offers a wide range of other activities in addition to transfers. If you book a transfer with Wild Horizons from Kasane Airport to Victoria Falls, you have to expect that the stage from the airport to the border crossing will be carried out by a partner company in Botswana. This worked perfectly for us – we were just a bit confused at first, because we were logically looking for a Wild Horizons car. Wild Horizons charges 67 US dollars per person for the three-hour transfer from Kasane Airport to Victoria Falls (you pay twice as much for a private transfer).

Entering Zimbabwe: Interesting facts about visas

To enter Zimbabwe, a Swiss citizen needs a valid passport and a visa. Visa formalities are carried out directly at the border, which can lead to longer waiting times depending on the number of border crossers. We were lucky and stood in the queue for just a quarter of an hour. The Single Entry Visa costs $30. The Double Entry Visa costs $45. I recommend that you think about which of the two visas covers your travel wishes before you reach the border. Since the Victoria Falls are located in the border area between Zimbabwe and Zambia, there are beautiful viewpoints on both sides and you can also combine them well with each other. However, we deliberately decided against a detour to Zambia because we lack the yellow fever vaccination and you need proof of vaccination when traveling from Zambia (Livingstone) to Botswana (via Zimbabwe) and to South Africa (not for airport transfers). I suspect many travelers are unaware of this fact. However, we were not checked on the way back to Botswana – so we could have risked it, but it was too unsafe for me!

Important: have the exact amount of the visa costs (US dollars) in cash with you. Cash (and thus change) is scarce in Zimbabwe and, according to our transfer drivers, the card readers often do not work.

Tips for visiting Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls owes its current name to the Scottish missionary and African traveller David Livingstone. In the middle of the 19th century, he was the first European to see the thundering masses of water with his own eyes and named it “Victoria Falls” in honour of the then British Queen. The impressive waterfalls in the border area between Zambia and Zimbabwe already had an honorable name. The locals called it “Mosi-oa-Tunya” – “thundering smoke”. After all, the national park around Victoria Falls now bears the nice-sounding name. Both the national park and the Victoria Falls have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1989 and are therefore one of the main tourist attractions in southern Africa. We were amazed at how many tour groups make a stopover here – but this is partly due to the already mentioned good flight connections.

Around two-thirds of the 1.7-kilometre-long Victoria Falls, including the main falls, are located on the Zimbabwean side. The park entrance is within walking distance (about 1 kilometre) to the city centre of Victoria Falls – just follow the main road towards Zambia. The entrance fee for foreigners is 30 US dollars. Unfortunately, this means that multiple entries are not possible on the same day – if you want to enter again at a later date, you have to buy a new ticket.

At the entrance you can equip yourself with rain ponchos. We had packed our rain jackets and, in view of the bright sunshine, did without the extra layer of protection. But don’t let the sun fool you – on the way to Danger Point (the outermost point on the Zimbabwean side) it rained so hard that we ended up soaking wet.

Local agencies – including Wild Horizons – offer guided tours to the falls as standard. The cost of this is $20 per person in addition to the park entrance fee. We had such a tour but wouldn’t recommend it per se because we didn’t see the added value. Our guide took us to the signposted viewpoints and then stayed in the background. The tour starts at the David Livingstone statue and leads from there to 15 different viewpoints with views of the “Devil’s Cataract” at the western end of the falls, the main falls and the Horseshoe and Rainbow Falls. The entire tour is well signposted and takes a good two hours with many photo stops. If you still feel like it afterwards (and have no concerns about not having the yellow fever vaccination – or already have it), you can cross the Victoria Falls Bridge and look at the cases from the Zambian perspective.

More activities around Victoria Falls

In addition to visiting Victoria Falls, there are plenty of other activities to do around Victoria Falls. Both at the transfer with Wild Horizon and at the hotel, we received price lists for bookable offers, ranging from river rafting to bungee jumping to game drives in the Zambezi National Park. Helicopter flights (15 minutes around 150 US dollars) and sundowner cruises on the Zambezi are particularly popular. With two nights on site, we would have had enough time to try one or the other. But we decided on the leisurely option, walked through the bustling small town and tested our way through some restaurants. We especially liked the River Brewing Company, which has exciting home-brewed beers on offer. In addition, there are burgers, fish & chips or various salads. On the other hand, we were less convinced by The Three Monkeys, which is popular with tourists. Many corners of Victoria Falls can be easily reached on foot. Otherwise, you can also call a taxi from your accommodation or from the restaurant. The cost of travel within the village is between 3 – 5 dollars.

Lovely place to stay in Victoria Falls

The base for our explorations in Victoria Falls was the Batonka Guest Lodge within walking distance of the center. An absolutely recommendable place to stay. We immediately felt at home here and spent the first afternoon “chilling” in the tropical garden. After two weeks in Namibia, we also enjoyed the fast and trouble-free wifi here. All rooms are at ground level facing the garden or pool. Also recommended is the in-house restaurant, which has six different dishes to choose from at lunchtime and serves a 3-course menu in the evening.

Is it worth the trip to Victoria Falls?

If you are like us in the border area of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe anyway, you should not miss the Victoria Falls. And Victoria Falls is a good choice because the town is within walking distance of the falls (this is not the case with Livingstone on the Zambia side) and you can walk the entire width of the falls from here. Whether you want to plan two nights or just one depends on where you are travelling from, when you will be on site on the day of arrival and whether you are interested in other activities on site. For us, it was first and foremost a “taster” of Zimbabwe. In the exchange with the local population, I noticed that we could definitely pay more attention to this country on a next trip – the intact nature makes it a great (and relatively unknown) safari destination.

Practical travel tips for your trip to Victoria Falls

Best time to visit:
With our travel time at the end of April / beginning of May, we were just tapping into the transition phase between the rainier summer months (October – May) and the cooler, drier winter months (May – September). In principle, the Victoria Falls can be visited all year round. At the end of the rainy season, the water masses are usually the most impressive – the disadvantage: sometimes there is so much spray that you can hardly see anything of the waterfalls. The best view of the falls is between July and September.

Entry requirements and visa: For both Zimbabwe and Zambia,
a visa is required in addition to a valid passport. The single entry visa for Zimbabwe costs 30 US dollars and can only be obtained directly at the border. In the case of Zambia, it is possible to apply for an e-visa online in advance. If you travel to both the Zambia and the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls, you can apply for a joint visa for 50 US dollars (valid for 30 days).

Crossing the border to Zambia: When crossing the border into Zambia,
please observe the regulations regarding yellow fever vaccination at the following travel destinations.

Currency: Due to hyperinflation,
the Zimbabwe dollar was replaced by the US dollar as the official currency in 2009. However, cash is in short supply in the economically battered country. It is therefore advisable to bring enough dollars from home. In many places, South African rands, euros or pounds are also accepted as alternative currencies. Alternatively, you can pay by card almost everywhere. However, due to the problem of lack of money, it helps the local economy more if “fresh” dollars are put into circulation.

Note: the currency situation in Zimbabwe is currently opaque. Over the course of 2019, the Zimbabwe dollar was reintroduced as the official currency. As far as I can tell, however, it still makes the most sense to have US dollars with you as a backup (even if in some places it is written – incorrectly – that these were banned in the course of 2019). The visa fee, for example, is still charged in dollars.

Language:
Zimbabwe has 16 national languages as equal official languages since a constitutional amendment. In addition, English is also an official language and we were able to communicate very well with English everywhere.

Security:
Despite the fall of former dictator Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe bears the legacy of years of rule, which led to the country’s impoverishment. The economic and political unstable situation is leading to protest movements in some cases. However, you hardly feel any of this in Victoria Falls. The town is considered “safe” and you can easily move around here on foot. The greatest danger comes from free-roaming wild animals, so it is better to take a taxi at night. As always, when you are traveling in poorer countries, it is advisable not to “peddle” valuables and to only take out cameras, for example, when you take a photo. This is not out of fear of theft, but out of respect for the local population, who cannot afford such expensive gadgets.

Time required:
The tour of the Zimbabwean side of Victoria Falls takes about two – three hours. If you don’t plan any other activities, you can also make the detour to the waterfalls as a day trip from Kasane.

Costs:
With the transfer costs (Kasane round trip), the entrance fees to the Victoria Falls (30 dollars per person) and the overnight stay at the Batonka Guest Lodge, the two-day trip to the Victoria Falls for two cost us around 750 dollars.