AtlantaTravelGirl04

Hello! My boyfriend and I are (mid-20s) spending 2 days in Victoria Falls at the beginning of August. This is our first stop on a two week trip that includes 3 nights in Cape Town Winelands, 4 nights in Cape Town and a 3 night Safari in Kruger. With only 2 full days in Victoria Falls we are torn on how to make the best use of our time. We are considering the following activities:
-Helicopter of the falls
-Walking tour of the falls
-Elephant Back Safari
-Day trip to Chobe (includes river cruise and 3 hour game drive)

We have enough time to do 3 of the 4 above activities, but not all of them. We are leaning towards doing both the Helicopter tour and walking tour since the whole reason we are going to Zambia is to see the falls. Where we are torn is on the Chobe trip or Elephant Safari. We are doing a safari in Kruger, so we thought it would be interesting to have something to compare it to. We will have a chance to do an elephant ride in Kruger if we wanted, but it does not seem like the Elephant experience in Kruger is an actual safari. Any advice would be greatly recommended!

Our hotel, Royal Livingstone, has recommended we work with Falcon Safaris, but I can't find any reviews on them.

Thank you!
Jen

nankar123

Jen: My main suggestion would be to substitute an ultralight flight for the helicopter tour. Although I am afraid of heights, we did this over the falls area and it was fantastic! The tour company is located near Livingstone; I think they actually picked us up at the hotel. We toured the falls on our own as they are within easy walking distance of the RL. I would recommend staying close to the falls and enjoying your time there rather than traveling. There are river cruises there as well and plenty to do in 2 days. It was a great way to recoup from the flight before rising at 4 a.m. for the game drives. Enjoy!

Femi

I enjoyed the helicopter tour much more than I thought I would. I LOVED Chobe! It would be at the very topof my list.

atravelynn

-Helicopter of the falls
No experience, but those whirlybirds can get annoying for those on the ground trying to enjoy the falls in peace.

-Walking tour of the falls
Absolutely do this, and you can easily accomplish this on your own at your own pace.

-Elephant Back Safari
Check out the establishments offering ele back rides and investigate if this is something you really want to do after you know more about where the eles came from and how they were captured.

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...nt-safaris.cfm

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news...rchive_item#cr

-Day trip to Chobe (includes river cruise and 3 hour game drive)
Chobe River Cruise is fabulous, nothing else like it! Do this for sure.

Leopardress

Hello

I also definately recommend the Helicopter flight. You would be able to organise the Chobe trip when you there, so why not see how you feel after Kruger before deciding? If you interested in the Elephant Safari, this does need to be pre-booked though as it is popular. If you thinking to do this in Kruger, make sure that you are nearby as there are different regions of Kruger and depending on where you stay it might be far to travel - just do some research on this.

Enjoy it!

Elizabeth_S

If you take the helicopter be sure to take the longer ride which goes through the gorge - it's well worth the extra cost.

I also suggest the Chobe option - the park is beautiful and a river safari adds a different perspective.

cjryan

I didn't do the helicopter, but I can recommend Chobe for sure. And I think the walking tour is a must. I also enjoyed the sunset cruise on the Zambezi - you should check that out if you have time around sunset on the day you arrive. What about a bungee jump off Rainbow Bridge? Also, my personal favorite - that I can't help but recommend because it was so spectacular - the Devil's Pool swim and high tea on Livingstone Island (I believe you can do this in August, but I'm not sure as it totally depends on water level)....so many options, so little time!

doocey

I was there Last year on the Zimbabwe side early september and we did a Jet boat trip below the Victoria Falls bridge right through to the foot of the falls and this was awesome its amazing the views that you get from below. I would highly recommend this to anyone going to Vic falls. I get newsletters from them and tney advised new season is opening firt week of August. Their website is www.regaltoursandsafaris.com

ShayTay

It sounds like you're staying on the Zambian side. In September, that end of the Falls is usually dry, so you may want to take a day trip over to the Zimbabwean side and see the Falls from there. You'll have to pay for a Zim visa, about $50 for US citizens, I believe. At that time of year, Chobe will have lots of game down at the river. See if you can find a trip that will cruise away from Kasane and all the other boats in that area.