Help - Victoria Falls
 

I am planning a trip to S.Africa and Botswana in August 2009 and plan to visit Victoria Falls for 2 nights. My husband does not want to stay on the Zimbabwe side. I understand at that time of year we would need to cross into Zimbabwe to see the falls as it is pretty dry on the Zamabian side. Someone mentioned it might take hours of waiting to cross between the two countries. Does any have any experience with this? Has anyone taken a helicopter ride over the falls and if so how was that. Would we get a good feel for the falls from the helicopter if we couldn't see it from the Zimbabwe side on the ground?

You can see the falls from both Zambia and Zimbabwe at any time of year - it is just a different perspective. Crossing into Zimbabwe from Zambia on the 3 occasions I have done it was a simple process and no queue at all. The helicopter flight is awesome!

I've visited the falls twice, both times around August. The first time I stayed on the Zim side and the second on the Zambia side. The border crossing was a breeze but you DO NEED to have the correct amount of money in ONE currency -- I almost screwed that up. I didn't have enough to pay the whole thing in kwachas and they wouldn't allow me to "top it up" with dollars; fortunately I had sufficient dollars to do it that way.

IMHO, you really do need to see the falls from the Zim side to see them in all their glory -- it's quite remarkable to stand there (getting quite pleasantly wet) with all that water coming straight at you, and you can only do that from the Zimbabwe side.

I did the heli ride too and I guess I'm glad I did, but I don't think it can compare with the sound-and-fury, the sheer power, of the experience on the ground.

I stayed in Zim side (in June). it was fantastic! didn't cross over to Zam. something else to keep in mind is that Zam visa fee (for US citizens) is now $130, while Zim is more reasonable $35. Unless you are spending more time in Zam anyway, it make quiet a difference. Another nice thing is that there are so few tourists in Zim that there's not that circus atmosphere. I don't know how it is in Zam, but i'd guess there are more tourist, touts, etc. It's very quiet in Zim. no one bothers you. we enjoyed just walking around the falls, walking around town, seeing how people live, talking with shopkeepers. it's a very sad situation there, heartbreakingly so. but we felt perfectly safe and people were very friendly, open and welcoming. Of course, with events now no one knows what it will be like in another year. maybe don't book anything at all and see how it goes for another 6-9 months?

I agree with Bwino. I thought the helicopter tour was absolutely wonderful. I planned to go on the microlight, but it was too windy so did the helicopter ride instead and was glad I did. The view was fantastic, and from the air you could really appreciate the vastness of the falls.

I would not substitute the helicopter ride for viewing the falls from the ground. As Pula mentioned, the sheer power of the falls, including the sounds, can only be properly felt from the ground. I would do both: view the falls from both the air and the ground.

Maybe we were just lucky but when we flew with Sesofane. On the flight to Kwane and onward to the safari camps, the pilot gave us a fabulous 5 minute flightseeing tour of the falls. Our photos are amazing. I love my video of the falls. Be sure to ask your pilot.

I was just going to suggest that! Our pilot gave us a fantastic aerial tour en route to Kasane from Livingstone.


I had no trouble at the border; we stayed in Zambia at Siankaba and did a day trip to the Zim side. But you would probably be better off staying on the Zim side. The time at the border would depend on traffic at the time you are crossing. We had just finished our formalities when a large tour group entered the building..I was glad we were on our way before they arrived at the desk!

How safe is it to visit Victoria Falls? We are going to Africa in 8 months, and am seriously considering cancelling that part of the trip, and spending the extra days on Safari.

On the subject of safety, is it safe to take a bus tour of Soweto? Any comments on the Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton, near Johannesburg?

We too will be visiting the Victoria Falls in January .... and I keep watching the news and wondering if it is a foolish place to visiting just now.

We will be going to Victoria Falls in about 3 weeks and I am also wondering how safe it is going to be. We are staying on the Zam side but are thinking about crossing over to Zim to see the falls from that angle.

With the current political unrest do you guys think this is unwise or do you think because this is the high tourist area of the country we will be okay?

We're headed to Vic Falls in mid-August, staying on the Zim side. There haven't been problems near VF -- that could change of course, but for now I'm following the unworried lead of my TO (who is from Zimbabwe) and sticking with my itinerary. If there's concern at the last minute we'll make changes then with her help. (Only a few months ago we were wondering if it was ok to go to Kenya. Changing our itinerary would have meant missing the Migration...and I'm certainly glad now that I didn't back out.)

I'm sticking with my itinerary too, I'll be in the Vic Falls area -zambia side- in early august. I would like to walk over to the zim side (anyone know how long is the walk?), but if things get ugly may have to cancel that part. So far, it seems the VF area is fairly safe

I just returned from Victoria Falls yesterday and it was a wonderful, action packed end to a terrific 3 week trip to Southern Africa. We spent two nights there and our one full day was busy from dawn to night with exciting activities. We really wished that we had at least one more night there.

The political situation has caused many people to cancel their visits to Zimbabwe and it has had a very negative effect on local people working in the tourism industry. We met several people who have lost their jobs due to the decline in tourism and up to this point I was told that there has been no problems in typical tourist spots. The local people are emphatic that Vic Falls and the National Parks are safe for visitors and will remain so. That was certainly the case this week, but I have some reservations as to what will happen next week.

To anyone planning a trip to Zimbabwe, if possible, please hold off making decisions to reroute to somewhere else until after the 27th so that you can accurately assess the safety factor. The wonderful National Parks, Vic Falls and the warm and welcoming people make it a superb stop on anyone's trip.

It is an interesting thread for me.

We are in a wait and see pattern. I have our tickets on SAA to Victoria Falls. Had to buy the all the trip tickets earilier this week so I could finalize the rest of the trip.

We are not going till early 2009. A lot can change by then, but we really want to see the Falls from the ZIM side.

So far I would do it, but that feeling could change after next week. If so, it will cost us $125 a piece to change the flight to Livingston at some later date.

I do hope for the peoples sake that things will begin to improve...

Use the current tickets. Schedule a small aircraft transfer and fly directly to Livingstone from the VF airport. Any risk is absolutely minimal and if cancelled, you get your refund. Plenty of good accommodations in Livingstone so wait till a week or so prior to confirm those.

Darn - wrong thread.

All good advice. I flew into Zim side last summer and stayed on the Zam side. I saw falls from the Zim side in late July and then went and saw the falls on the Zam side in mid-August and they were very different perspectives. Got wet both times. One of the best things I did in my whole tour was go "Walking with the Lions" on the Zim side...It was amazing. Arranged from my hotel on the Zam side...We got to pet them as well. I really worry about the conservatory now.
I went to the Victoria Falls hotel and walked by myself (at one point was escorted by a hotel guard) to the entrance of the falls on the Zim side. The hotel is gorgeous, from Out of Africa, but very deserted. On the Zim side, I was more worried about the baboons than people, but that was a year ago.

FYI - if you stay at a hotel in Zam for two nights, you can get a visa waiver...I wasn't on the list at the border, although I was supposed to be, but had emails from my hotel indicating i was staying there so I didn't have to pay the $100 visa fee into Zam.

The walk from Zim side to Zam side took me no more than 30 minutes..wasn't a long line and I went alone and wasn't worried. Watched some young brits bunjee jump from the bridge too. I did have a double-entry visa into/out of Zim.

heasereb:

Can you explain further what you mean by the Visa waiver? We will be there in a couple of weeks. Are you saying that if you are only staying for 2 nights you get it waived? How did you get it called in? Is this only if you are staying in Zim and going over to Zam?

Please let me know as much info as you can since that visa fee is a huge chunk out of our budget wallets. Thanks!!

pooh
the visa weaver has been cancelled. so you have to pay the visa fee.
up until quite recently tourists visiting zam for 14 days or less could get a "visa weaver": the hotel informed the border post and so you didn't have to pay. but as said that's history:-(

Awww shucks. I am sure my excitement was pouring out of the screen for that one. I knew the visa fee just went up so it did sound too good to be true.

Thanks for letting me down gently.

Our family wants to travel to see Victoria Falls this September. Despite the reassurances of our travel agent that everything will be fine, my husband is not buying it. He wants us to visit the Zambian side & wants us to make arrangements on our own. ????
Are most of you making arrangements on your own & not working with a travel/tour operator? Or maybe you can recommend a tour operator. We will be in Jnb prior to the visit & want to spend 3-4 nights for this trip. Any help would greatly be appreciated. Just hope we have not waited too long to arrange this

Buckeyebandit,
We are doing most of South Africa on our own (5 weeks), but decided it was cheapest to get a package deal from SA to Vic Falls which includes airfares and accommodation. I cannot say for sure this is true, but it certainly seemed that way to us. We booked a flight / accommodation deal through an agent - and for the rest we are on our own. We are using SELFTOURS - a Sth African travel agency (we did everything through email). We are not due to fly until December, so I cannot endorse the travel agent yet - so far so good, but the proof of their efficiency will be when we actually travel. Good luck!

So sorry the Visa waiver is no longer available. It was if you were staying on the Zam side for two nights. I saved $200. i had read about it in my book, and emailed the hotel I was staying at. I travelled in vic Falls twice by myself (before and after my tour). I had made all accomodations and flights with a travel agent in the states, but you could probably easily book with SA airways directly. They had 3 flights/day from Johannesburg to Vic Falls. I flew into Zim though and was picked up at the airport to get into Zam. It was fine, no problem, but i didn't want to stay on the Zim side, but many people i met were and had no problems.

I stayed at Bush Front, which is connected with the Zambezi Waterfront hotel. No shuttle between the two and although easy walking distance, there were elephants too close to walk.

The Zambezi had Safari Par Excellence within the hotel to book tours. I went "Walking with the Lions" in zim for $100..best thing I did the entire trip. and went to a day safari in the Mosai-oa-Tunya park. The walk with the elephants was all sold out before I got there. Id didn't go river rafting because I didn't get my luggage for 4 days...It didn't make my connecting flight in NYC to Jberg. Happened to about 30-40% of the peopel I met, so pack your carry-ons wisely.
Not much shopping in Vic Falls excpet a couple very expensive stores.

Also, I went via taxi to visit Mukuni Village..bought lots of stuff there and the quality was much better than from the vendors at the stalls...they are all aggressive, but nice. FYI - bring pens to trade for goods...they all wanted my pens and such an easy thing to bring, but no one told me.

Email me directly if you wish for further info.

I'm not sure if I've understood the Visa situation correctly. I'm flying into Zambia and then, the next morning, want to walk over to the Zim side to see the falls from there, and walk back to Zam. Does this mean I need to pay the $135 Zambian Visa twice (once when flying in, and then again when walking back from Zim)???

and I have another question to add to this: if you want to walk from Zam over to Zim, do you need a Zim visa?

Hi,
To answer the first question, yes you may be charged twice as your visa will be single entry, really depends on the officer on duty if you can prove you will return that day he may overlook it but bearing in mind Zam has really tightened up it's visa rules and you are seen as being able to afford it then it's unlikely.

You are allowed to walk onto the bridge which seperates the two countries and look down the Zambezi but if you wish to go beyond that into Zim itself and view the falls from there then you will need a Zim visa.

Vic Falls is actually made up of many different falls. The difference being you look down the gorge from Zam and see some from that side but in Zim you are facing onto the main falls, both are spectacular,some prefer Zam view some Zim. In recent years we have been more to Zam than Zim but that is because of the situation in Zim and the fact we don't wish to indirectly support and ergo prolong the existing regime.
Hope this helps.

The lonely Planet guide for botswana and Namibia had good maps for the Falls on both sides..it included the Victoria Falls part since so many people go there along with Botswana. When I was there, the line at the Zim airport (late July) was long, but crossing the border was pretty easy. The lines were small and I was there early am as well as mid afternoon. maybe 10 people in front of me? It was quick and easy.

FYI _ I took a lot of taxis (the blue ones) and it was always about $20 roundtrip. The drivers were amazing though..they would drop me off and we would arrange a time to pick me up. I could barely recognize them, but they always knew who i was and were very pleasant. Pre-arrange the price though and I never paid til after i was taken back to my hotel.

When I flew into Zimbabwe, I paid for the double entry visa, which allowed me to go back into Zim easily. There are many places to buy gifts on the Zambian side, but beware, the vendors area bit aggressive. got lots of deal and bring pens to use for bartering.

heasereb, do you know if there is also such "double entry" visa for Zambia so I don't have to pay the $135 twice? how much is it?

thanks

One thing that is highly desired are high quality socks and tennis shoes. If I had brought a dozen pairs of socks I probably could have purchased virtually anything from the aggressive vendors at Victoria Falls.

I just looked on the US Dept of State web site and the Zambian visa for US passport holders is $135 and is valid for 3 years and for multiple entries.

"Not much shopping in Vic Falls except a couple very expensive stores"
When I was there 3 years ago there were lots of inexpensive little shops selling shirts and knick knacks, if that's the kind of thing you want. Also the open bazaar where the craftsman sell their own handiwork has a zillion handmade African artifacts at reasonable prices.
People with our group were bartering literally with the shirts off their backs and the shoes off their feet! Didn't have to be high-end shoes. They wanted those athletic shoes big time.
For the person who asked about touring Soweto--it's perfectly safe to take a bus tour there. We did it and never felt any trepidation. We were abel to tour a former home of N.Mandela, and drove past current homes of Winnie Mandela and Desmond Tutu. I wouldn't hesitate to do it, if I were you.