If you ever ask yourself if it’s worth a trip to Victoria Falls, the answer is a solid YES! Not only is it the largest waterfall in the world, it has unique geological features, beautiful rainbows, and a lot of adventure or sites to see. It lies between 2 countries, Zimbabwe and Zambia, and is part of the Zambezi River that flows through 6 different countries. To the local people, Victoria Falls is called Mosi-oa-Tunya (“The Smoke That Thunders”), and is one the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So here are a few recommendations of what to do while you’re exploring Victoria Falls.
We were told that the best time to see Victoria Falls is August – September. The water flow is still powerful enough to FEEL, but it’s beginning to reduce so adventures are more accessible. If you go later in the year, the water flow continues to decrease to the point where the only falls with water flowing are the main falls – the other ones dry up. March – May is the high peak of rain at Victoria Falls, so it’s the most powerful at this time, but visibility is more difficult because the mist is so dense. Here’s a great guide of a month-by-month breakdown of what you might expect at Victoria Falls.
If you can, try to plan your travels around a full moon. The lunar rainbow (or “moonbow”) is a rare phenomena created as light is refracted through water particles in the air, and instead of the light source being the sun, it is the moon. This creates a subdued and surreal affect, which feels other-worldly. Lunar rainbows can only be viewed in a few places in the world, so it is worth the extra cost to enter the national park at night to see it. Zambia is the best side to see the lunar rainbow because it has the ideal angle for the moonlight to hit the mist. There’s a viewpoint that says it’s for the lunar rainbow, but we found walking along the path along the falls had better views. You could also try viewing it from the Victoria Falls Bridge, but you still have to pay the park entrance fee.
The park fees are cheaper on the Zambia side than the Zimbabwe side, but you definitely want to cross the border to see Victoria Falls from both sides. You see more of the falls in Zimbabwe, but we also found that the mist is much greater. It’s worth checking out both perspectives, although you do have to pay separate National Park Fees in each country.
In general, Zambia is less expensive and less touristy than Zimbabwe. Plus, the currency is more stable, so the price of things isn’t as high. We would recommend staying in Zambia. Here’s a very thorough blog about Victoria Falls, the activities available, and some estimated costs. We stayed at Avani Victoria Falls Resort and had FREE walking access to the falls during daylight hours, so that was a huge perk. Plus, they have zebra, giraffe and impalas grazing the hotel grounds. The staff and service was wonderful and the room was great. Overall, we’d recommend it but it’s not a low budget option. Avani Victoria Falls Resort is linked to Royal Livingstone Hotel, which is another level of excellence. The added perk of staying at Avani is that the activities of the Royal Livingstone are just a cart ride away: High Tea, Kubu Riverside Dining, Old Drift Restaurant, and the Boma Experience.
The big tourist show is call a “Boma” which is a African-themed dinner experience with cultural dances and music. It gives a small taste of culture, but finding a cultural performance or visiting a cultural center might also be a good option if you want to learn more about the culture. We insisted on going to the more “famous” The Boma – Dinner and Drumshow hosted at the Victoria Falls Safari Club on the Zimbabwe side… which was an unnecessary complication we invited upon ourselves. It was good, but we had to leave early because the border crossing closes at 9pm and we had to miss a good portion of the show. If you are staying in Zimbabwe, go to a cultural show there. If you are staying in Zambia, go to a cultural show in Zambia (we heard great reviews about the one at the Royal Livingstone). We don’t recommend crossing the border to Zimbabwe for the show.
Our favorite part of the trip was the helicopter ride. If you have ever looked into a helicopter ride, they are probably the most expensive 15-minute ride you have been on – or at least they are for us. Most of the time, I don’t think it’s worth the expense, but we splurged on Victoria Falls, and it was 100% worth the cost. The view was spectacular! And to be able to see the complete set of falls was breath-taking. There is no viewpoint where you can see all of Victoria Falls, so the helicopter ride allows you to see the full extent of the falls. We went with Livingstone Adventures and LOVED them. Splurge and do it!
Quick note on the Microlite vs Helicopter Tour: My husband was pushing for the microlite tour for the added “adventure” but I wanted us to all experience the ride together. The microlite tours are single-seaters while the helicopter can be experienced as a family. He has never been happier to be wrong! The microlite tour is much more weather-dependent than the helicopter tour. When we were there, a group’s microlite tours got canceled because of high winds. The company was good to book them a helicopter tour so they didn’t miss the experience entirely. But to us…Helicopter Tour was the BEST call!
Ever since we were first married and learned about Devil’s Pool at Victoria Falls, it has been on our bucket list. This is what drew us to Vic Falls in the first place! Sadly, due to the water levels still being too high, Devil’s Pool was not open yet. But, we were thankful that Angel’s Pool was open and proved to be just as amazing and exhilarating (because you’re still on the edge of the water fall). We discovered that the different pools are open based on the water levels at the time of year you visit. Angel’s Pool was currently open, but at some point later in the year, it will close because there’s not enough water; then the only option will be the Devil’s Pool. We went at the beginning of August and the water was still too high for Devil’s Pool. If you like adventure and risk, you definitely want to experience one of these pools. They are completely worth it, and when can you ever say you were able to sit on the edge of the largest water fall in the world?!? You can schedule just visiting the pool, or having lunch at Livingstone Island. We opted for the lunch inclusive option, and it was a lovely experience. Depending on the time of year you go, morning visits to the pools might be too cold. We went about 11:30am and the water was still COLD, but bearable because the sun was out and the day was warm. And spending the day enjoying Livingstone Island, both the exhilarating and the tranquil, was one of the best days we spent there.
There are many other adventures you can do while at Victoria Falls. If we had gone when it was warmer, we would’ve gone white water rafting. If you life rafting, you should definitely try it! There’s bungee jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge, ziplining or a giant swing over the Batoka Gorge, quad biking, horseback riding or walking safaris. You should definitely do some type of adventure while at Victoria Falls.
We were encouraged to do a day trip for safari at Chobe National Park in Botswana. We have been on several safaris, and I will write about those another time, but to us the day-trip to Chobe was NOT worth it! By the time we got through the border crossing and to the park, it was already late morning and most animals had already sought cover from the sun (and us). When we did enter the park, we followed what felt like planned-out tracks, following other vehicles, with a guide who was uninterested in what we wanted to see. It was like we were at an amusement park tour of safari animals with designated paths and a script to read. I know our experience greatly depended on the company we used, the tour guide, etc, but for being one the most expensive safari day trips we have done, we were disappointed in the day. If we had it to do over again, we would have considered a one-night stay in Chobe National Park to allow us the early morning opportunity and broaden our options for safari companies. We felt like cattle being herded between staged “African safari stops,” and that’s not our speed.
One thing we also wouldn’t recommend is the boat cruise on the Zambezi River. It’s cool to see the river, but the cruise wasn’t that great. We did the large African Queen boat, and it was more of a social gathering to drink cheap alcohol (cheap in price, cheap in quality, and terrible in taste). There were other, smaller boats that moved along the shores to see animals and birds, but even that didn’t seem very exciting. We have been on several different river boat cruises, and this one wasn’t worth the time or money. Honestly, we enjoyed eating dinners on the river rather than the boat cruise. Dinner at The Waterfront was wonderful – beautiful view, delicious food and great service! You can also eat sunset dinner at the different riverside restaurants at the Royal Livingstone or the Raddison.
We looked into several restaurants while we were staying in Zambia, and I have written about some of our recommendations and ones that might not be worth your time in this blog post…
Enjoy Victoria Falls!
The blog posts mentioned above are from other websites, and they are in no way connected to me, but I found the information interesting, and wanted to share.
Traveling Tribe 