Because sometimes you just need to do the crazy thing
The best plans are… thrown out the window?
On a recent trip to Africa, my friend and I had lots of plans. Play in the sand dunes in Namibia, visit the epic Table Mountain and run an ultramarathon in South Africa, take a day trip into Lesotho. We had a pretty tightly packed schedule, full of flights and reservations for all the things. And then we got a crazy idea- could we ALSO squeeze in a trip to Victoria Falls while we are here? From people we met in Namibia, we learned that Victoria Falls was only a short flight from Johannesburg, that the town was close to the airport, and that everything was walkable. This sounded surprisingly doable.
Cue 24 hours of researching the possibility of such a thing- how much were flights, what about visas, where did we have wiggle room in the schedule? And the frequent questioning of “Is this crazy? Is this a dumb idea?” Finally, we figured it out. We had an extra day in Durban that was for “relaxing” after my ultramarathon. We would toss out that day and just forfeit the second night in our Airbnb and our already booked flight back to Johannesburg, and instead do a whirlwind 24 hour detour to visit Victoria Falls on both the Zimbabwe and Zambia sides. As it was last minute, the flights were a bit pricey, and we were losing money on things that were nonrefundable. But we reasoned that we were actually saving money by doing this now instead of having to book a future trip to Africa.
You know, standard travel math.
What we should have known before booking
It wasn’t until we had already committed ourselves that we realized a few key details that our hurried and optimistic research failed to bring to our attention. First, Zimbabwe uses US Dollars, has limited cash available in ATMs, and you need to pay for the entrance visa in cash. We didn’t have that much cash in USD with us. Second, this was an active malarial area and neither of us were on malaria prophylaxis. Third, my travel buddy may not have enough blank passport pages to get in and out of South Africa several times. Oops.
But we were committed. And so instead of taking in a leisurely day in the coastal town of Durban, we dragged ourselves out of bed at 5am, hopped on an early flight and got to experience one of the wonders of the world in 2 different countries in a mere 24 hours!
You Can Do It! Here’s How.
If you’re interested in visiting Victoria Falls, you definitely can do it in a short trip! This is a very brief overview of the key points, what you need to know to make it happen, and how learn from our mistakes!
Table of Contents:
Helpful tips for visiting the falls: Visibility, Malaria, etc
Victoria Falls Logistics: Lay of the Land
Victoria Falls, in similar fashion to Niagara Falls, spans across two countries. The majority of the falls is in Zimbabwe, and the other part is in Zambia. Each side has their own national park and their own entrance fee. At the time we went (April 2024) the Zimbabwe side cost $50 USD and the Zambia side was $20 USD.
The Zimbabwe side of the falls is larger and generally more impressive, hosting viewpoints 1-16, and still has water in the dry season. The Zambia side of Victoria Falls is smaller, only hosting viewpoints 17-19. The Zambia side can significantly dry up in the dry season- however the dry season is the only time that the Devil’s Pool is accessible (which is in Zambia). Wet season is October-April and Dry Season is May-October.
How to Get Between the Two Sides
You absolutely can walk between the two sides! It is about 2 km and took about 30-40 minutes in total. Just outside of the Zambian Victoria Falls park is the Zambian border post. You get stamped out of the country there, walk for quite a ways in “no mans land” and across a bridge (where you can bungee jump), and then enter Zambia at their border post. At a few points, we thought we had maybe gone the wrong way because we didn’t see too many tourists doing this, and it was mostly locals who crossed for work. But it’s a straight shot, really. And there are some fantastic views on the bridge!
Our 24 Hour Victoria Falls Itinerary:
We arrived in Zimbabwe via air (from South Africa) and arrived about 1:30pm.
Checked into the hotel, then walked over to Zambia and did that side of the falls.
Walked back to town before sunset and had dinner in Victoria Falls town.
The next morning, we got up and went to the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls when it opened (8am)
Walked back to the hotel, collected our luggage and changed clothes.
Took a 1:30pm flight back to Johannesburg.
We felt like we had plenty of time to enjoy both sides, and that there wasn’t anything we missed seeing. If you’re the type to do a boat ride, helicopter tour, etc, then you’d probably want to spend an extra day here. Also, Victoria Falls is a great launching point or stopover when doing a safari in Botswana, Zambia, or Zimbabwe!
Which side to stay on/fly into? Airports and Accommodation
You can fly into Livingstone, which is the town on the Zambia side. Or you can fly into Victoria Falls Airport (VFA), which is in Zimbabwe. These are both pretty small airports with limited flight times and destinations. For example, there were only 4 flights a day from Johannesburg, South Africa to VFA, and only between 9:55 am and 11:45am. Heading back to Johannesburg it was nearly the same: only 4 flights/day between 12pm and 3pm. The situation with Livingstone airport is similar. Make sure you check which airline you’re on- two flights were boarding to VFA at the exact same time with very similar airline names and we almost got on the wrong one!
The Victoria Falls airport is about 20 minutes from town in Zimbabwe, and the Zimbabwean side of the falls is very close to town- a very easy 1km walk. We even saw some wild elephants when we were walking back from the falls one day! Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe is a small town that clearly caters to tourists and is very walkable. Along these lines, there were a handful of decent restaurants that took credit cards here, but they were priced close to what you’d find at home.
My friend and I stayed at the Victoria Falls Rainbow Hotel. It is well known and about a 10 minute walk from town. They have mosquito nets around the beds, which was one of the deciding factors for us since we weren’t on malaria prophylaxis. They also arranged airport pickup and dropoff for us, even on very short notice, which was around $15pp each way. Definitely pick a hotel near the main town area and within a walkable distance from the falls- there are lots of options.
On the other side, Livingstone is a bigger city. The airport and town is a bit farther from the falls. I’ve heard that many of the hotels are centered around the Zambezi river and not so much inside of the downtown itself. I’m not sure how walkable it is since I did not stay on that side.
If you are going to do the whirlwind tour of Victoria Falls in 24 hours, I personally think that the Zimbabwe side seems easier to stay on- it was smooth and simple for us. But of course, take into account the flight prices, times, transportation costs, and your overall trip itinerary.
Entering the Country- Visas, Cash, Passport pages, Power
Visas: If you plan on visiting both sides of the falls, the KAZA Univisa is a great option, and what we did. It is available to citizens of 30+ countries, and allows multiple entries for 30 days between Zimbabwe and Zambia, and I believe it also allows for day trips to certain parts of Botswana. It costs $50 USD, and is only available at certain border posts. As always, check out the official website for all of the details and current information. You can also do single or multiple entry visas at each border post, but the Univisa is the most practical and cheapest overall.
IMPORTANT: When entering Zimbabwe and applying for a KAZA Univisa on arrival in the Victoria Falls airport, you must pay in cash. In Aril 2024, it was $50 USD, although they will take South African Rand. If you choose to pay in rand like we did, you will not get a good exchange rate. They sort of chose one that was similar to the official rate, but worse (and didn’t require giving much change). This is a fully manual operation- handwritten visas and receipts, no credit card machines. Both of our names on our visas were messed up (listing our middle names as our first names, and first names left off) and they had zero concern about it when we told them the error. And it was never questioned at any border post!
Money: US Dollars are the official currency in Zimbabwe. In Zambia, it is Kwacha. In general, the national parks on both sides of the Victoria Falls area will take South African rand, but usually with a bad exchange rate. I read many blog posts mentioning that cash availability is a problem in Zimbabwe, with ATMs frequently running out of bills. So, if you can plan ahead and bring/exchange cash at home, that would be helpful. My friend and I hadn’t brought much US cash on our trip, and it was very irritating to have to go to the ATM in South Africa and then go to a currency exchange booth in the Johannesburg airport to change ZAR to USD. Oh the fees we paid to just get our home currency!
Credit card usage can be limited, although we did find that a few restaurants accepted them in Victoria Falls town. I’d highly recommend paying for your park entrance fees in cash though, particularly USD. People in front of us in Zambia were trying to pay with a card, and it ended up being a very slow debacle.If you pay in rand, you may get a bad exchange rate.
Passport Pages: For Americans to enter Zimbabwe, the country recommends having 2 blank passport pages. Zambia states that they require 3 blank passport pages. If you are planning to go to South Africa before or after your Victoria Falls side quest, they also mandate having 2 blank passport pages. That is a LOT of blank passport pages. Whether or not you will use them all, make sure you have them as you can’t ever be sure that a customs official will cut you any slack. ALWAYS check these requirements before you go, as they are subject to change. I use Travel.State.Gov to discover the entry and exit requirements for everywhere I go. The KAZA Unvisa was a full page sticker in my passport, and I got stamps on it when going in and out of the two countries when visiting walking back and forth between the two sides of the falls.
Power Adapters: If you are visiting Victoria Falls after time in Namibia or South Africa, be warned- you will need a different power outlet. I used type M in those countries. Zambia uses type C, D, and G. Zimbabwe uses type D and G. If you’re on a short trip like we were, you may be able to get by with putting your phone on airplane mode to conserve battery and then topping up with a power bank instead of bringing an extra outlet adapter.
Helpful tips for visiting Victoria Falls:
YOU WILL GET WET! As Victoria Falls is a gigantic waterfall, there is a lot of mist. We had a ton of fun getting soaked by the mist on the first day in Zambia. We mostly dried off on the walk back too. The second morning however, it wasn’t quite as fun since we had to go to the airport directly afterwards. I saw ponchos for rent on the Zambia side. Despite hearing that they were available on the Zimbabwe side too, we couldn’t find them and had to go without. Take the moisture into consideration when choosing footwear. It can be slippery in some parts. And bring a ziploc bag to keep all of your important stuff dry!
Visibility: This can be problematic. We did the Zambia side in the late afternoon, and had great visibility and rainbows! I’ve heard that rainbows are more common in the afternoons. We visited the Zimbabwe side as soon as the park opened in the morning, and were extremely disappointed that the mist and the angle of the sun combined to produce whiteout conditions at many of the viewing stations. It was nearly impossible to even see the falls for a while. We hung around for an hour or so and conditions improved somewhat, but visibility was fleeting. I talked to a guide on the Zimbabwe side and he said that viewpoints 9, 10, 11, and 12 are usually always a whiteout. I don’t know if mornings are always like that, or if it was just the luck of the draw for us the day we visited.
Malaria: Victoria Falls does have malaria. You should always check what types of vaccines, disease preventative measures, and malaria prophylaxis you may need prior to leaving home, and schedule an appointment with a travel medicine clinic. However, we didn’t realize there was malaria here until it was too late. If you find yourself in a situation like this, the key is to prevent bug bites in the first place. This means wearing long sleeves and long pants, especially during prime mosquito biting times (typically dawn and dusk, but many other disease causing mosquitoes also bite during the day). Also, sleeping under bed nets and wearing insect repellent is important. My friend and I took all of these preventative measures and were lucky to come away with zero bites.
Other things to note: Bottled water is expensive in Victoria Falls. It seemed like the going rate everywhere was $2 for 500ml. Also, there are a lot of touts selling their wares or tours. They were all friendly, but just be prepared.
Hopefully this guide has been helpful to you, in case you’re interested in making your own crazy trip to see both sides of Victoria Falls in 24 hours. Truth be told, there is a bit of coordination and reliance on things going smoothly for it to work out. But if you’re looking to squeeze this incredible wonder of the world into a jam-packed itinerary, it absolutely can be done!
Happy Travels!