Travel Tips for Victoria Falls

Now for those of you interested in traveling to Victoria Falls, I thought I would do a post that is more travel guide oriented in nature. In doing research online, the resources were a bit scarce, so I figure these might help someone; if they do, please be kind to leave a comment.Getting There
You can arrive in Victoria Falls by multiple means. The most common are by flying to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe or Livingstone, Zambia. The flight from Harare to Vic Falls was $200USD, a short one hour flight. You can also get there via Botswana, or Namibia as well, since the falls lies close to the corner of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia.

Staying in Vic Falls
There are many options for accommodation in Vic Falls, ranging from the backpacker end, to the high end.

• The Victoria Falls Hotel is clearly the most high brow place to stay, and must be visited even if you can’t afford to stay there. The only place for royalty to stay, and not horribly priced, starting in the low 200s. Afternoon tea is a treat there, though you’ll have to get over feeling like a colonist.
• The Kingdom Hotel, right next door to Victoria Falls, is a beautiful hotel with great water features, including both natural streams and several pools. It also has casino and a large central dining area. Around $175 for a double, I was told by those staying there, it isn’t quite up to any level of luxury.
• Ilala Lodge is just across the way, also right next to the falls, is around $200 and is really very beautiful. From what I experienced, enjoying a nice dinner there, it is beautiful done, with nice staff. It seems around the level of the Victoria Falls Hotel, and while not as stuffy in feel, it was full of blue hairs on tours.
• Victoria Falls Rest Camp and Lodge is where I opted for. It was $25 a night for a nice little bungalow without en suite bath. It was clean and felt very safe, and worked great for me. I think I’d opt for the Victoria Hotel if I was there with others though. There is also a restaurant, called In Da Belly that has a great burger and good breakfast as well. There was a pool, but too cold at this time of year.
• Amadeus B&B was ranked well on Tripadvisor and was around $100.
• The Gorges Lodges was one I might also go for in returning, this is about 30k out of town (I imagine they have a shuttle) and has huts on slits overlooking the gorge – we passed this on our rafting trip.
• The Elephant Hotel is a couple of kilometers out of town and is reportedly where all the African Big Men like to stay; it looked oppressive to me, but that is somewhat suiting.

What to Do
Victoria Falls has simply tons to do. It is known as the adrenaline capital of Africa, if not the world. The only place I’ve been with as many adrenaline options was New Zealand, but I didn’t have enough of a budget to try them out myself. Some options are: safari, helicopter/flight/microlight over the falls, elephant rides, walking with lions, good old fashioned horseback riding, rafting, bungy jumping, swinging, flying – you name it – over the gorge on various cables and what not.Budget
Vacations vary greatly depending on what level you choose to travel at. Might was a mix between not being bare bones, and not being too much of a splurge either. My budget was:

• Flight from Harare – $200
• Full Day Chobe National Park Trip – $175
• Half Day Whitewater rafting on the Zambezi – $100
• Meals – Approximately $108 for four days (this was splurging big time and included several drinks and a lovely high tea)
• Souvenirs – About $100 (Mom – be prepared to thank me for the treasure I found!)
• Return Visa into Zim – $45 (recommend getting a multiple entry in advance)
• Victoria Falls Park Entrance – $30; Rafting Park Fee – $10
• Round trip Taxi – $40

Total for four days in Vic Falls: Approximately $800

Hope this info helps others you might be interested. Drop me a comment if you found this helpful.

Cheers,

Miel