Victoria Falls activities, tours and things to do

Victoria Falls is a major tourist destination in Southern Africa, particularly outdoors and adrenaline activities. It’s also one of the most important hubs for overland tours and day trips to several other destinations. Here we will explore the victoria falls activities we enjoyed most during our stay, the several tours you can take, and other fun things to do in Victoria falls.

After 8 days on Nomad’s overland safari, all the way back from Windhoek, Namibia, we finally arrived at our destination. And what a destination it was… one of the seven wonders of the natural world, Victoria Falls!

Victoria Falls facts

Named after Queen Victoria by Dr. Livingstone, the original falls name is  Mosi-o-Tunya meaning “The smoke that thunders.” When coming close to the falls, you can easily understand why.

Although not the highest, neither the widest in the world, Victoria Falls are 108 meters high and 1708 meters wide, making it the largest sheet of falling water in the world, only rivaled by Iguazu falls, between Brazil and Argentina.

Victoria falls are located in the Zambezi river, which separates Zambia from Zimbabwe. Tourism is being developed on both sides, as this is one of the major attractions in Africa.

In 1905 the British built a bridge very close to the falls, which was a huge engineering achievement. This bridge is still in use today, connecting Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe and Livingston in Zambia.

Here we will focus on the Victoria Falls activities on the Zimbabwe side, but if you want, you can check the things to do in Livingstone here.

Victoria Falls is considered one of the world’s adventure capitals, so there is an endless number of activities (rafting, bridge tours, cruises, bungee jumping, and so on) to do around Victoria falls and huge amount tour companies doing them.

Nomad recommended shearwater, so we went there and chose our activities: Whitewater rafting and a Helicopter tour, “flight of the Angels.”

Where to stay in Victoria Falls

Sleeping in Victoria Falls isn’t cheap. It was by far the most expensive place we slept in these holidays. We stayed in the Victoria Falls Rainbow hotel, the first night was included in the safari, and after searching, for cheaper options, we decided to simplify and stay there the two other nights.

We had read a few reviews saying it was old, poorly maintained, and decadent, but we really don’t agree. After 8 nights sleeping in tents, our room felt like a 5-star hotel 🙂

The hotel is really well situated, near town and the falls. The breakfast was good, with some variety, but weirdly didn’t have cheese. But the best thing about Victoria falls rainbow hotel was the swimming pool, where we cool lay down, relax and sunbathe for a while. If you aren’t on a really tight budget, we recommend staying 3 days here.

Click here to check prices in the Victoria Falls Rainbow Hotel.

Victoria Falls activities and tours

Whitewater rafting in the Zambezi River

This is commonly considered the best whitewater rafting in the world. We had never rafted before, and we were slightly worried about how difficult it would be.

While booking it, we asked the guides, but they just told us there would be no problem with the rafting, although going in and out of the gorge would be more than a stretch… Well, stairs and hikes we could do!

The rafting started with a short security briefing where the guides explained to us how to use the gear, what to do if someone fell, etc… Then we had a 20 minutes hike descending vertically 100m, many, many stairs, and slippery rocks later we arrived at the boats on the river!

The rafting started very close to the mighty falls; we were very excited about this. The group practiced some paddling and then jumped into the water for some swimming and practicing jumping back to the raft.

We did the better and more extended version of the rafting, which took roughly 3 hours from rapid #1 to rapid #19. Although it requires some physical exercise, it isn’t too demanding; barely anyone can make it more or less easily.

If you want, you can even jump in the water to float and swim a bit in the calmer parts of the mighty Zambezi. After the rafting, we had to climb back to the top and remembered several times when we jokingly said: “stairs and hike we could do!”…

Eventually, we did get up there, but it was one of the most challenging climbs we have ever done (not as bad as the Acatenango Volcano in Guatemala)! Fortunately, it is short, but damn that was steep!

This was a fantastic rafting morning. Although we never felt unsafe or in danger, it was thrilling and exhilarating. After all, this is one of the best rafting rivers in the world.

The downside is that it’s a little pricey, we paid 120 USD (+10 of park fee) per person, and usually, it’s 150 USD. But if you like water sports and/or adventure sports, this is a great choice.

Flight of Angels – 13 minutes Victoria falls helicopter ride

These were probably the most expensive 13 minutes we have ever spent while traveling! The ride cost 150USD +12USD (National park fee) per person, but do you know what? It’s worth it.

We had never been on a helicopter before, but Victoria Falls was the perfect scenery for it! Flying in a helicopter is very different from an airplane. It’s more like floating or levitating. It feels like you can defy gravity.

The view is astonishing! You can see the upper Zambezi, the river islands, the gorge, the bridge, and the falls from above. We had read that it is the best way to see the falls and understand their power and magnitude. These are images we won’t ever forget, and this is how to comprehend how mighty Victoria falls are.

 You should do the ride if your budget can take the 162 USD per person punch. It’s a travel drafts recommendation!

Visit Victoria Falls Park

You have to enter the park to see the falls from the ground, and of course, you have to pay for it (30 USD, which was already included in the Nomad Safari). The park is neat, with clear paths leading to viewpoints to the falls.

You get to see many angles to the several parts of the falls: horseshoe falls, rainbow falls, and Main falls. The first impact from the falls was a little underwhelming. Devil’s falls weren’t that impressive or beautiful, but as you get more into the Main falls, we start to feel how powerful and dramatic Victoria falls are.

The falls are really a 4D experience, with all the mist and spray that comes right into you. It’s funny because sometimes you can’t even understand if it’s rain, mist or spray! You just get wet.

Go to the Victoria Falls Bridge

By the end of the park, you have a nice viewpoint to the bridge. But if you want to visit the bridge, you can either go on a tour or go by yourself. As it didn’t look too far, we decided to walk; we wanted to see the bridge and maybe walk into Zambia.

After 15 minutes of walking and dozens of approaches from street sellers later, we got to the border. If you are going only to the bridge, you don’t need a visa, they will give you a stamped paper to get there, and then you return it on the way back.

Even on the bridge we got approached, it was very annoying, but we never felt unsafe. On the bridge, we can see people bungee jumping, swinging, or even doing them yourself! It’s 150 USD, so we had to skip it, our budget to Victoria falls was already being stretched.

This is also an opportunity to visit another country: Zambia. It’s a bit of cheating, but it counts! And we have a picture proving we were in Zambia 🙂 In our defense, we had already touched Zambia while rafting.

In conclusion, Victoria Falls lived up to expectations, and it wasn’t easy! This was very high on our bucket list. If you like adrenaline, it’s a must-go destination, there are so many adventure activities to do, and breathtaking scenery makes great things unforgettable.

How about you? Have you been to Victoria Falls? What Victoria Falls activities have you tried?

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