Victoria Falls

Travel Advice & Access

By air. Victoria Falls International (VFA) is 18 kilometres south of the town and was rebuilt under a US$150 million programme that lifted capacity from 500,000 to 1.7 million passengers a year. It takes Airlink, South African Airways, FlySafair and CemAir from Johannesburg and Cape Town, Kenya Airways from Nairobi, Ethiopian from Addis Ababa, and regional services to Hwange, Kariba, Maun and Windhoek. Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International (LVI), 5 kilometres from Livingstone and rebuilt between 2011 and 2017, takes Airlink, Proflight and CemAir from Johannesburg and Lusaka. VFA has more choice by some margin.

Border crossings. The bridge is the road and pedestrian crossing that matters. Formalities take 30 to 60 minutes at busy times and the post now runs extended hours. Guests who only want to stand on it can request a bridge pass at exit immigration and return without taking a visa. Transfers cross routinely, but the vehicle changes at the border.

Access and transfer times by area

Side / area — Access — Notes

Victoria Falls town, Zimbabwe — VFA — 18 km, about 20 minutes. Falls entrance under 2 km from town. Upper Zambezi, Zimbabwe bank — VFA — Riverside lodges 20 to 45 minutes north-west, via Zambezi National Park. Livingstone, Zambian bank — LVI, or VFA plus the bridge — LVI 5 km from town, lodges 10 to 15 km upstream. From VFA allow 1.5 to 2 hrs with the border. Livingstone Island, Devil's Pool — Boat from the Zambian bank — Water-level dependent, roughly mid-August to mid-January. Capacity capped; book at deposit. Batoka Gorge, rafting — Road from either town — Low-water run from the Boiling Pot August to December; high water starts 10 km downstream. Onward to Kasane and Chobe — Road, about 70 km — Roughly 1.5 hrs plus Kazungula. A separate Botswana visa applies for overnight stays.

Visas. The KAZA UniVisa is operating and is the right answer for anyone using both banks: US$50, valid 30 days, unlimited movement between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and it covers day trips into Botswana through Kazungula. It is issued at VFA, LVI, Kenneth Kaunda International and the Victoria Falls and Kazungula posts, to citizens of some eighty countries including the UK, the EU, the US, Canada and Australia. It is occasionally suspended for administrative reasons, so put the single-entry fallback in the file and carry cash. Passports need six months' validity.

Practicalities. Zimbabwe runs a dual-currency economy and prices tourism in US dollars; the ZiG is not the traveller's problem, but cash is. Bring clean, undamaged notes printed after 2013 in small denominations for tips, park fees and visas — card acceptance is patchy and ATMs will not reliably dispense foreign currency. Zambia uses the kwacha but quotes in dollars. Book Devil's Pool, helicopter slots and riverside rooms six to nine months out for June to October.

Health. The Zambezi valley carries malaria risk, highest in the wet months from November to April: prophylaxis, covered limbs after dusk, repellent. No vaccinations are required unless arriving from a yellow fever country. Bungee, gorge swing and rafting operators enforce age, weight and health limits, so flag those early.