Zimbabwe & Botswana Safari: Victoria Falls & The Big Five
7 days, Victoria Falls to Kasane
When arranging your transportation, such as flights, please take into consideration the below time restrictions for joining and departing from your group. With these times, we have taken into account travel time to/from the airport in the given destination and required time for check-in or baggage collection/immigration.
Itinerary
Day 1Victoria Falls
Arrive by late afternoon. Then, get settled at the lodge before an included group dinner hosted by the Lusumpuko Women’s Club, a G Adventures-supported initiative.
Please ensure your flight arrives to Victoria Falls by 3pm.
Your Welcome Moment: Welcome Moment - Meet Your CEO and Group
Your opportunity to meet your CEO and fellow travellers, and learn more about your tour. Join the group for a local meal afterwards at the lodge. Don't forget to see the notice in the lobby (or ask reception) for the official time and place to meet up with the group.
Your G for Good Moment: Lusumpuko Women's Club Dinner
Start your visit to Victoria Falls off on the right foot by sitting down to a traditional, Zimbabwean meal, cooked by the Lusumpuko Women’s Club, a group of women from a nearby township. A demonstration by the ladies will show you exactly how Zimbabweans traditionally eat their food, and you’ll be served a farm-to-table dinner made with traditional, local, in-season ingredients. This meal provides much-needed income to the cooperatives’ 20 members – changing their lives and families in the process.
Accommodation
Below is an example of the hotel we may use in this city. For the actual hotel your specific departure will be using, please check your voucher.
A Zambezi River Lodge (or similar)
Meals included:
DinnerDay 2Victoria Falls
It’s time for a free day of exploration in Victoria Falls, home to the world’s largest sheet of falling water, and considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders. There are many activities to choose from like white water rafting, bungee jumping, the Bamba tram, or you can prebook the Victoria Falls helicopter ride. Come back together with the group in the evening for the Simunye Theatrical Show for a captivating performance and where dinner will be served.
Simunye Theatrical Show
Enjoy a lively theatre performance directed by the acclaimed handspring Puppeteer Mongiwekhaya, showcasing local professional artists in an intimate, open-air venue. This captivating fusion of dance, puppetry, music, and visuals delivers a powerful message of love and community and the universal spirit of togetherness.
Your Discover Moment
There's plenty to see and do in Victoria Falls, and we wanted to make sure that you had some time to take it all in. Feel free to relax or try optional activities like whitewater rafting, helicopter ride, and sunset cruise. Your CEO has more ideas if you need them. Just ask!
Optional Activities - Day 2 HideShow
Bamba Tram
Witness the captivating atmosphere of Victoria Falls in a unique way aboard the iconic Bamba Train! Enjoy a 90-minute ride in a vintage-style tram for breathtaking views of Victoria Falls and the Batoka Gorge from the famous suspension bridge. Listen to your guide's stories and facts about the area's fascinating history as you journey through Zambezi National Park. Light refreshments will be available at the bridge while you admire the raging river below. During this experience there will also be time to visit the rail and bridge museum on the Zambian side of the water.
Victoria Falls Helicopter Ride - 15 Mins
You don't want to miss the opportunity to see Victoria Falls from above. Watch the Zambezi River make its way toward the gorge and form the largest waterfall in the world. During your 15-minute ride, you will have time to take in the incredible views over the falls, Livingstone Island, and Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park while snapping as many pictures as you like. You may be lucky enough to see some giraffes and elephants in the surrounding landscape and even catch a rainbow over the falls. Includes pick-up and drop-off from hotel and a 12-15min flight.
Please note there is a cost for an additional park fee paid for on-site at time of the activity.
Zipline over the Zambezi
50USD per personGlide along a zipline track for 300 metres over the rapids of the Batoka Gorge below. Take in incredible views of the Victoria Falls along the way.
Zambezi Whitewater Rafting
150-160USD per personTick one off your bucket list! Raft the Class III-V rapids of the Zambezi River, considered by many to be one of the best whitewater rafting rivers in the world. It's exhilarating!
Please note: River conditions and activity pricing vary depending on the seasons. High water season is from about February to July. Low water season generally runs from August to January each year - this is when the Zambezi is at its very wildest. The "closed season" is dependent on the season’s rains, and usually is from March to April; during this time rafting on the river is not permitted. Additionally, this activity requires passengers to hike down and up the deep Batoka Gorge to access the river, which requires reasonable level of fitness. This activity price excludes a $10 park entrance fee.
Meals included:
Breakfast | DinnerDay 3Victoria Falls/Hwange National Park
Travel to Hwange National Park today with a stop along the way to the Painted Dog Rehabilitation and Conservation Centre for a tour of the facilities. Learn about their efforts to save wild dogs in the area and reintroduce them to the wild. Then, continue on to your lodge stay where there will be free time to enjoy the property’s amenities or choose to join an optional afternoon or night safari drive into the national park.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Painted Dog Rehabilitation and Conservation Centre Visit
Visit Painted Dog Conservancy and learn about the work being done to rehabilitate animals that have been injured from poaching. The ultimate goal of the project is to release rehabilitated wild dogs back into the wild and to work with local children and communities in an effort to educate and shift behaviors away from poaching.
Free Time
Spend a free afternoon enjoying the amenities at the lodge or opt for a daytime and/or night safari drive in open vehicles through the national park.
Optional Activities - Day 3 HideShow
Night Safari Through Hwange National Park
Engage all your senses on a night drive through the wildness of Hwange National Park. Your trackers will operate powerful spotlights to seek out some of the less-seen nocturnal creatures. Possible wildlife spotted could include porcupines, genets, springhares, and pennant winged nightjars.
Afternoon Wildlife Safari Drive
80USD per personEnjoy a wildlife safari drive in a private concession bordering Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest park, and home to elephant herds, lions, and the rare African wild dog. Get your cameras ready and keep an eye out for Africa's "big five," as well as other predators, over 300 bird species, and discover a remote portion of Hwange National Park where you will seldom see another vehicle.
Accommodation
Hwange Safari Lodge (or similar)
Meals included:
Breakfast | DinnerDay 4Hwange National Park
This morning the group will set out early for a safari drive through Hwange National Park. The park boasts over 100 mammal and 400 bird species, and houses all of Zimbabwe’s specially protected wildlife. Return to the lodge for a hearty breakfast and spend the remainder of the afternoon exploring on your own. Choose between enjoying the lodge’s amenities or perhaps another afternoon safari drive into the park.
Morning Wildlife Safari Drive in Hwange National Park
Enjoy a wildlife safari drive in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest park, and home to elephant herds, lions, and the rare African wild dog. Get your cameras ready and keep an eye out for Africa's "big five," as well as other predators, over 300 bird species, and discover a remote portion of Hwange National Park where you will seldom see another vehicle.
Free Time
Spend a free afternoon in the area. Choose to relax and enjoy the amenities at the lodge, or choose an optional safari drive back into the park to see more wildlife.
Optional Activities - Day 4 HideShow
Afternoon Wildlife Safari Drive
80USD per personEnjoy a wildlife safari drive in a private concession bordering Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest park, and home to elephant herds, lions, and the rare African wild dog. Get your cameras ready and keep an eye out for Africa's "big five," as well as other predators, over 300 bird species, and discover a remote portion of Hwange National Park where you will seldom see another vehicle.
Accommodation
Hwange Safari Lodge (or similar)
Meals included:
Breakfast | DinnerDay 5Hwange NP to Chobe NP via Kasane
Leave Hwange National Park this morning and transfer to Victoria Falls where you’ll be able to grab a quick lunch on your own before crossing the border into Botswana. Arrive at the lodge near Chobe National Park in the afternoon. There will be free time to get settled and relax. Or you could choose to join the included Chobe River Sunset Cruise for a taste of what’s to come on this next leg of your adventure.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the comfort of your private vehicle. Your transfer today involves the Kazangula Border crossing into Botswana.
Free Time
Take advantage of free time in Chobe. Get settled at the lodge or choose to join the included Chobe River Sunset Cruise for a taste of the magnificent wildlife in this area of Botswana.
Chobe River Sunset Cruise
Get a fantastic perspective of one of Botswana's national parks and its thousands of resident elephants, crocodiles, and hippos on a sunset boat cruise on the Chobe River. Bring a few drinks and a camera, sit back, and enjoy the view.
Accommodation
Thebe River Safaris Lodge (or similar)
Meals included:
Breakfast | DinnerDay 6Chobe National Park
Savour breakfast at the lodge before a morning safari drive through the wild landscape of Chobe National Park, home to the largest concentration of elephants in Africa and boasting some herds numbering in the hundreds. Other animals you may see while on safari here are lions, leopards, hippos, gazelles, and large herds of buffalo. Return to the lodge for lunch on your own before a free afternoon for optional activities in the area. Choose to prebook the Four Corners of Africa River cruise for a unique experience in the water where four countries meet. Dinner is included at the lodge this evening.
Chobe National Park Morning Safari Drive
Immerse yourself in Chobe National Park in an open-backed, open-seated safari vehicle, and experience the stunning wilderness of the game-rich park in the care of a very knowledgeable and friendly guide. Explore with your eyes as the tour drives along routes that overlook the beautiful Chobe River and keep an eye out for the remarkable variety of animals that are drawn to this permanent water source.
During the safari drives it is not uncommon to spot several of Africa’s “big five” in the greater Chobe area and the early morning drive lasting 3 hours is a wonderful opportunity to have some unique sightings.
Free Time
The afternoon will be free for travellers to partake in optional activities in the area or to simply relax in the cozy setting of the lodge.
Optional Activities - Day 6 HideShow
4 Corners Africa Deluxe Bridge Tour
There are many Tripoints in the world, but only one International Quadripoint! The four countries of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe all meet at what’s called the Four Corners of the World. Travel by boat to where you can view all Four Countries from one location at one time. You will also see the impressive Kazungula Bridge joining Botswana and Zambia that was inaugurated on the 10th of May 2021. As you cruise past the picturesque surroundings and wildlife, a local storyteller will tell you about the history of the fabled rivers where the four countries meet. You’ll hear some fascinating stories about the area’s journey from a war-torn region to one of the most sought-after safari destinations, the meeting of two iconic African rivers, whose floods feed the mighty Victoria Falls, and much more. Ever wondered why the Bridge is curved and not straight? Jump onboard and we will tell you why.
Chobe National Park Afternoon Safari Drive
Choose to travel into the park again on an optional afternoon safari drive and encounter wildlife at a different time of day.
Accommodation
Thebe River Safaris Lodge (or similar)
Meals included:
Breakfast | DinnerDay 7Chobe National Park/Kasane
Depart at any time.
Departure Day
Not ready to leave? Your CEO can help with travel arrangements to extend your adventure.