8 Days Victoria Falls Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip

Your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip begins with arrival at Victoria Falls International Airport, where you'll be met by your professional guide for the 25-minute transfer to your luxury accommodation in Victoria Falls town. The first day of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip includes settling into your lodge before embarking on an afternoon guided tour of the magnificent Victoria Falls, known locally as "Mosi-oa-Tunya" (The Smoke That Thunders). Your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip experience continues with a spectacular sunset cruise on the Zambezi River, offering opportunities to spot hippos, crocodiles, and elephants while enjoying refreshments as the African sun descends over this iconic landscape.

Wake to the distant roar of Victoria Falls on day two of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip, beginning with breakfast before exploring additional viewpoints along the 1.7km wide waterfall that plunges 108 meters into the gorge below. Your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip adventure today includes optional activities such as helicopter flights over the falls (locally called "The Flight of Angels"), white-water rafting, or a visit to the historic Victoria Falls Bridge connecting Zimbabwe and Zambia. The afternoon of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip offers leisure time to explore the charming town of Victoria Falls, with its craft markets and colonial history, before dinner at your lodge and preparation for tomorrow's wildlife adventures.

Day three of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip transitions from natural wonder to wilderness with a morning departure for the 200km (approximately 3-hour) journey southwest to Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest wildlife sanctuary covering 14,650 square kilometers. Your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip safari experience begins with a game drive en route to your lodge situated in a private concession bordering the national park, known locally as "Wange" (Land of Many Elephants). Your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip continues with an afternoon game drive exploring the diverse habitats of Hwange, from dense teak forests to open vleis (grasslands), in search of the park's famous elephant herds that can number in the hundreds during the dry season.

Awaken to the sounds of the African bush on day four of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip, setting out at dawn for a full-day game drive through Hwange's diverse ecosystems, including the famous Ngamo Plains located approximately 50km from your lodge. This immersive day of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip focuses on finding the park's impressive predators, including lions, leopards, and wild dogs, while your knowledgeable guide shares insights about the area known to locals as "Amapane" (Place of Many Animals). Your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip safari adventure continues with a visit to the iconic Nyamandhlovu Pan with its elevated viewing platform, offering exceptional elephant viewing opportunities before returning to lodge for dinner and stories around the campfire under Zimbabwe's star-filled sky.

Your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip crosses international borders today as you depart Hwange after breakfast for the 300km (approximately 5-hour) journey west to Kasane and onward to the magnificent Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta spanning 15,000 square kilometers. This transitional day of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip includes border formalities at Kazungula before a light aircraft flight into your exclusive Delta camp, where you'll be welcomed with refreshments and an orientation of this pristine wilderness known locally as "Okavango Noka" (River of Dreams). Your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip experience in this UNESCO World Heritage Site begins with an afternoon mokoro (traditional dugout canoe) excursion through crystal-clear channels lined with papyrus and water lilies, offering close encounters with aquatic wildlife and spectacular birdlife.

Day six of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip is dedicated to exploring the magical Okavango Delta through a combination of water and land-based activities from your camp located in the heart of this unique ecosystem approximately 70km from Maun. Your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip safari experience today includes a morning guided walking safari on one of the delta's many islands, where experienced guides reveal the intricate details of this environment known to locals as "Kei en Kei" (Where the Waters Meet the Sands). The afternoon of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip features another mokoro excursion or a game drive if water levels permit, focusing on finding the delta's specialized wildlife including the rare sitatunga antelope, before returning to camp for dinner and a night drive in search of nocturnal creatures.

Your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip continues with a dramatic ecological transition as you depart the water-rich delta after breakfast for a light aircraft flight to the vast and arid Central Kalahari Game Reserve, covering an impressive 52,800 square kilometers at the heart of Botswana. This distinctive portion of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip introduces you to the second-largest game reserve in the world, where you'll transfer approximately 90 minutes by 4x4 to your remote desert lodge in an area known to the indigenous San people as "Kgalagadi" (Land of Thirst). Your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip safari experience begins with an afternoon game drive across the fossil river valleys and ancient pans of this harsh yet beautiful landscape, searching for desert-adapted species including the legendary black-maned Kalahari lions, oryx, and meerkats.

The final day of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip begins with an early morning game drive through the dramatic landscape of the Central Kalahari, visiting Deception Valley located approximately 40km from your lodge, famous for its surprising concentration of wildlife. This concluding day of your Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip may include an optional cultural interaction with the indigenous San people, learning about their remarkable survival techniques in this harsh environment they call "Tau" (Land of the Lion). Your unforgettable Zimbabwe Tour and Botswana Trip experience draws to a close with a transfer to Maun Airport (approximately 280km and a 2-hour flight) for your onward journey, carrying with you memories of two countries and four distinct ecosystems that showcase the remarkable diversity of southern Africa's wildlife and landscapes.