advise for vic falls
 

We'll be in Victoria Falls at the end of August '08 for one night after our Botswana and S. African safari. Will there be any water in the falls to see, and which side and hotel would be better?
Thanks for your help!

We visited the Falls at the end of August and thought it was spectacular and could view the falls well because of less mist-never imagined I'd be so impressed and we toured it from the Zambian side but also took the heli tour which was worth every cent.

I totally agree with Moremiles. Although it was a few years ago, I was there mid August and absolutely loved it. I also took the helicopter ride and thought it worth every penny. Magnificent view from the air. I live in the U.S. and ironically had not seen Niagra Falls until after I saw Vic Falls. Nigagra Falls was, IMO, a disspointement in comparison to Vic Falls. I was on the Zambia side and I stayed at Sussi & Chuma. It was a Star of Africa property then, but it has been sold to another operator. Not sure who. It is in a beautiful location on the river.

We were there in August too. It is still flowing pretty good, but not at its peak flow. Peak flow is March-June, and there is supposed to be so much water and mist that the views are not as good as July and August. I think the Zim side has more to see and better views of the falls.

As for hotels, the Vic Falls Hotel would be my choice.

One month ago, some activities like Jet Boats were not available because of ... too much water! So yes, august is usually a reasonable season: dry weather, pleasant temperatures, and all the water comes from far away :-)
About two thirds of the ridges on the opposite side of the falls (lookouts!) are on Zim territory and about one third on the Zambian side, so there's a little more to see on the Zim side.

I agree with globaleric - I would recommend staying on the Zim side as most of the falls are in that country. We stayed at the Ilala Lodge in Vic Falls and loved it. You are within walking distance of the falls as well as walking distance to the town. We could see the mist from the falls from our room and hear them at night. We were there in late June and they were quite impressive. if you stay at the Ilala Lodge, take a walk over to Mama Africa for dinner one night. It was recommended to us on this forum and it was fabulous (and reasonably priced -most meals were about US $9-10). They also had live music which added to the ambiance.

We stayed at the River Club on the Zambian side which I loved. Our chalet was open to the Zambezi and hippos grazed nearby.

Did anyone feel less safe on the Zim side? Given the political deterioration in Zim, I've heard a number of recommendations to stay on the Zambia side.

worldcup_fan,
I was just in Vic Falls the first week of September and wish I had ignored that advice and stayed on the Zimbabwe side. Instead we stayed at the Zambezi Sun which we did not like at all. There are nicer places on the Zambian side but as others have mentioned the Zimbabwe side has by far the better view. We did a day trip to the Zim side and felt perfectly safe, and the Victoria Falls Hotel looked lovely.

altmanj0909,
There was plenty of water while we were there, and one activity I would not miss whichever side you stay on is the trip to Livingstone Island from the Zambian side - the water level is low enough at this time of year that you can actually swim (w/the direction of trained guides) to a pool right at the edge of the falls. Then you return to the Island for either lunch or high tea. I am definitely no daredevil but it was the highlight of our 3 days in Vic Falls.