Jenna, Gwen, & Steve explore Victoria Falls, African wildlife, and lots of culture in this small Zimbabwe town!
Victoria Falls
Activities
Victoria Falls
The number one thing to do in Victoria Falls, ZI is, unsurprisingly, Victoria Falls! B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! Expect to pay $30 entry fee, but they have a lovely path that you can walk along to see different views of the falls. You can pay for a guide, but all of the guides we saw seemed unnecessary , there isn’t too much to say about the falls…you go for the beauty of it! Others we spoke with afterwards confirmed what we suspected- not worth it to pay for a guide.
Craft market
There is a craft market on the edge of town (tiny town, you can’t miss it) with lots of neat soap dishes, tapestries, figurines, etc. Be ready to haggle, and be ready to say no. There are a TON of little stands, all right next to each other, and the salesmen are quite aggressive/desperate to make a sale. You can find neat stuff, but be ready for them to be in your face a little bit.
Victoria Falls Hotel
Elaborate historic Victoria Falls Hotel, built in 1904, is on the opposite edge of town from the market. It was the “go-to” place in the old days. Now it’s a great place to have a drink or supper. They have many “signature cocktails” with names likes “I presume” or “the Livingstone”, named for Dr. Livingstone who named Victoria Falls for Queen Victoria. He apparently got lost in Africa and the queen sent someone to find him. It’s an interesting story and worth looking up before you go!
The town is very tiny; we saw a lot of day trips to do things such as safaris, white water rafting, helicopter rides, zip lines, etc, but we were also traveling to South Africa on this trip so we didn’t do any of these in Zimbabwe. They are available though!
Restaurants
There are not many restaurants – we only saw one or two in town – it seems most people eat at their hotels. We had supper one night at the Victoria Falls Hotel and another night at our hotel, Safari Lodge. Both were very good- no complaints! They have game-y and African foods, such as warthog, emu, and buffalo (African buffalo is different!) Worth a try!
Hotel
Lokuthula Lodges
We stayed at Lokuthula Lodges, which is a section of Safari Lodges. It is a little bit outside of town, which we were initially upset about, but they have a free shuttle that takes you to/from town every hour, so it ended up working out fine (especially since there wasn’t much in town to do anyways). It was great! You have your own apartment with a kitchen, living room, and multiple rooms, all equipped with mosquito nets. So neat to see all of the warthogs, zebra, quail running around the grounds, on your patio as you eat breakfast- definitely a plus! It was also significantly cheaper than the other hotel options- especially if you’re with a group.
Their restaurant was amazing too! Very accommodating with dietary restrictions (As someone with celiac, I was so surprised/pleased they had gluten-free bread!) The best part is the restaurant overlooks a watering hole, so we got to see all kinds of animals come up for a drink. Definitely worth getting a reservation for supper here if you stay at a different hotel.
Transportation
We caught a taxi from the airport, and then just took our free shuttle in/around town. It’s a small town and very walkable, but beware of peddlers- everyone is trying to sell you something! There are lots of taxis available if you don’t feel comfortable walking.
Zimbabwe Travel Tips:
Language – Everyone speaks English, the plus of a tourist town!
Currency– Everyone takes American dollars. The Zimbabwean dollar crashed a few years back, so everyone/everything is paid with USD. **TIP** Get cash out before you go! You have to pay a visa entry ($30 for a single-entry), and the ATMs there are frequently out of cash, so you don’t want to get there and not be able to pay for anything!
Voltage – They use the “African” converter for your electronics
Health – Brings mosquito spray! They are serious about malaria, especially in the wet season, so don’t forget it and DON’T PUT IT IN YOUR CHECKED LUGGAGE. We made this mistake, and the airlines lost our luggage (the hotel said this happens frequently), so we had to go into town and buy some…getting bitten along the way a little bit. Better be safe than sorry- don’t forget the bug repellent!
Water – Tap water is safe to drink
Best time to visit – There was a drought in Zimbabwe when we went, and only 10% of the falls was flowing. We found this to still be amazing- with 90% more water there would be more spray and harder to see. So recommend to go in the summer. (Bonus: less risk for malaria when its not rainy season!)
Follow the rest of jenna, Gwen & Steve’s trip Here:
Western Cape, South Africa – Finding New Experiences in South Africa
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