Visiting Victoria Falls

Practically, it’s not a cheap or easy thing to do. There are only two airlines that fly to Victoria Falls Airport (VFA) and Livingstone and they both fly in the middle of the day, once a day, either way. That means that you’re losing a whole day to the travel there and the travel back, assuming you’re flying from Johannesburg. Flights start at around R2 500 per person one way, so you can see quickly that it’s a pricey addition to the trip. You can now also fly direct from Cape Town, but this can be as much as R4 000 per person one way.

Victoria Falls has either massively expensive (but worth it) hotels like The Victoria Falls Hotel or The Royal Livingstone Hotel (prices start at around R6 500 per room per night) or reasonably expensive five-star hotels (like The Stanley and Livingstone) or basic B&Bs like Bayete Guest Lodge just outside town. There’s not much middle ground, except for places like the Victoria Falls Safari Club. Prices are still not cheap compared to South Africa at around R4 500 per room per night. Almost all accommodation is corporately-owned and managed so not very personal.

Most guests are happy with two days at the Falls (one is really too short for the expense, we feel) but there is plenty to keep you busy for three or even four: the towns of Victoria Falls and Livingstone are not really worth spending time in but the activities around the area are excellent: we strongly recommend a trip on the Zambezi Explorer for one night on their Signature Deck. This really is rather an exceptional experience.

You can also spend time on the Zambian side at Livingstone and the Maramba Market, a delightfully chaotic African market on a grand scale.

There are also visits to Chobe, one of the most amazing wildlife reserves on the planet and very much in the same league as Kruger, Serengeti and Okavango in terms of sheer scale, size and diversity.

You can also take helicopter or microlight trips across the falls, as well as walk across the bridge. Don’t forget the river itself which offers some of the most spectacular (but seriously challenging) white water rafting in the world.

Overall, then, a four-star trip to Victoria Falls is going to cost at least R15 000 for a two-night stay for a couple, not including personal expenses and activities. If you work on R10 000 per person, that’s about right. It will also take you the best part of one day to get there and best part of another day to get back, so that’s realistically at least a three-day trip to make it worth the distance.

Of course, we take care of the entire trip, from the flights, to the transfers (at both ends), booking the accommodation and activities and making sure that the whole thing works like clockwork. We stay in daily contact both with you and the suppliers so that there’s room to change your mind and make adjustments on the go.