Kavango-Zambezi
Nearby Countries
Botswana, Zambia and Namibia all sit within reach of Victoria Falls. Here is what is worth crossing a border for, and how members get there.
Zambia
7 places listed
The other side of the falls, and the country that keeps going north: walking safaris, river parks and the Zambezi all the way to Kariba.
Walk across the Victoria Falls Bridge, or drive over by road and clear both posts at the ends of the bridge.
- Gateway
- Livingstone
- Reach
- On the doorstep — the bridge is in town
- Money
- Zambian kwacha
- ViewpointDay trip
Livingstone & the Zambian side of the Falls
Livingstone
The Knife Edge and the Eastern Cataract
Cross the bridge and walk the Zambian rainforest for the Knife Edge views of the Eastern Cataract, with Livingstone town and its riverfront a short drive beyond.
Do both sides in one trip — Zimbabwe for the full curtain, Zambia for the Knife Edge and the spray in your face.
- WildlifeDay trip
Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park
Livingstone
Rhinos on foot above the falls
Zambia's smallest national park protects the river and bush upstream of the falls, including a white rhino sanctuary visited on foot with a ranger.
Book the walking rhino visit with a licensed guide, and take a morning slot when it is still cool.
- WildlifeFly-in
South Luangwa National Park
Mfuwe
The home of the walking safari
Zambia's walking-safari heartland, where guides read the bush on foot and the leopards are famously relaxed about vehicles and people alike.
Give it at least two nights and ask for a walking guide — this park is built for being on foot.
- WildlifeFly-in
Lower Zambezi National Park
Chiawa
Canoes, buffalo and big water
A river park opposite Mana Pools, canoed and driven from the bank while elephant and buffalo herds come down to the water's edge.
Canoe in the mornings and drive in the afternoons — that is how the light and the game work here.
- WildlifeFly-in
Kafue National Park
Central Zambia
Zambia's biggest, quietest park
The country's largest park, a mix of river plains, miombo woodland and, in the north, the Busanga floodplain where lions hunt across open grass.
It is vast and lightly visited, so pick one area and stay a few nights rather than racing across it.
- WaterOvernight
Lake Kariba & Siavonga
Siavonga
An inland sea on the Zambezi
The Zambezi dammed into a vast lake, fished for tigerfish, sailed at sunset, and dotted with houseboats and the grey skeletons of drowned trees.
Take a houseboat night if you can — the lake is at its best in the hours around sunset and sunrise.
- CityOvernight
Lusaka
Lusaka
Markets, kitchens and galleries
The capital's busy markets, craft centres and growing restaurant scene, and the usual connecting point for flights further into Zambia.
Most visitors only pass through — stay a night and eat where the city actually eats.
Botswana
7 places listed
Elephant country. Chobe is a day trip from the Falls, and beyond it the Okavango Delta and the salt pans take a few days and usually a light aircraft.
The Kazungula border post, roughly an hour's drive from Victoria Falls town.
- Gateway
- Kasane
- Reach
- Day-trip range, and the gateway to the Delta
- Money
- Pula
- WildlifeDay trip
Chobe National Park
Kasane
The greatest elephant herds on earth
Tens of thousands of elephants move through the Chobe riverfront, best seen from a boat in the morning and a game vehicle in the afternoon.
Book the full-day combo — a river cruise and a game drive in one trip shows you two completely different Chobes.
- WildlifeFly-in
Savuti & Linyanti
Western Chobe
Remote channels and big prides
The wild western side of Chobe, where the Savuti channel runs in long cycles and the lion prides follow the elephant herds that depend on it.
This is fly-in or serious 4x4 country — go with an operator who knows the channel and the camps.
- WaterFly-in
Okavango Delta
Maun
A river that never reaches the sea
The Okavango spreads into the Kalahari sand and fills with channels, islands and floodplain game, explored by mokoro, boat, vehicle or on foot.
Water levels decide the experience, so ask about the season before you book a mokoro trip.
- WildlifeFly-in
Moremi Game Reserve
Okavango's eastern edge
Chief's Island and the Delta's edge
The Delta's protected heartland, driven and walked with some of the most reliable predator and wild dog sightings in southern Africa.
Give it three nights — Moremi rewards time far more than a rushed one-night stop.
- DesertOvernight
Makgadikgadi & Nxai Pan
Gweta
Salt pans and a sky with no edges
Salt pans left behind by an ancient lake, with habituated meerkats, baobabs and the zebra migration that arrives with the rains.
The pans flood and empty with the seasons, so match your dates to what you want to see.
- CultureOvernight
Tsodilo Hills
Shakawe
Thousands of San rock paintings
A UNESCO-listed outcrop rising out of the Kalahari, covered in thousands of rock paintings and still sacred to the San communities who made them.
Go with a local guide — the paintings make far more sense with the stories that go with them.
- WaterDay trip
Kasane riverfront
Kasane
Four countries from one riverbank
The small border town on the Chobe River where Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe nearly meet — boat stations, lodges and the shortest hop into the park.
An easy first stop if you are crossing at Kazungula and want to be on the water within the hour.
Namibia
7 places listed
Desert and river in one country: the Zambezi flood plains up north, then Etosha, the Namib dunes and the cold Atlantic coast further south.
Reached from the Zambian side at Katima Mulilo, or from Botswana at the Ngoma border post.
- Gateway
- Katima Mulilo
- Reach
- A longer leg, not a day trip
- Money
- Namibian dollar — South African rand is accepted too
- WaterOvernight
Katima Mulilo & the Zambezi Region
Katima Mulilo
Namibia's tropical river strip
The narrow arm of Namibia that runs along the Zambezi, with riverside camps, good tigerfish water and flood plains that fill in the rainy season.
Plan it as an overnight stop on a longer loop rather than a day trip from the Falls.
- WildlifeOvernight
Bwabwata National Park
Kongola
The quiet corridor to the north
The unfenced park that lines the Caprivi corridor, lightly visited and full of elephant, buffalo and, if you are lucky, wild dog.
Self-drivers should take it slowly — the animals cross the tar road and the bush is right up against it.
- WildlifeFly-in
Etosha National Park
Etosha
Where the waterholes do the work
One of Africa's great parks, built around a vast white pan — you park at a waterhole and the game comes to you, hour after hour.
Stay inside the park if you can, so you are at a waterhole at first light instead of driving in from outside.
- DesertFly-in
Sossusvlei & Deadvlei
Sesriem
Red dunes and a white pan
The towering red dunes of the Namib, with the cracked white clay of Deadvlei and its black camelthorn skeletons at the far end.
Be at the gate before sunrise — by mid-morning the heat and the flat light take the drama out of the dunes.
- CoastFly-in
Swakopmund & the Skeleton Coast
Swakopmund
Dunes on one side, cold sea on the other
A seaside town with German-era buildings between the Namib dunes and the Atlantic, plus desert-living tours and flights up the shipwreck coast.
Take a layer — the Atlantic fog and wind make it far colder than the rest of the country.
- CultureFly-in
Damaraland & Twyfelfontein
Khorixas
Desert elephants and ancient engravings
Burnt-red mountains and gravel plains where desert-adapted elephants roam, and the Twyfelfontein rock engravings record thousands of years of life here.
Ask your guide about the desert elephants' range before driving — they move a long way between water points.
- LandmarkFly-in
Fish River Canyon
Southern Namibia
The continent's biggest canyon
One of the largest canyons in the world, a vast silent gash in the plateau with viewpoints along the rim and a famous multi-day hike through it.
It is a long way south of the Falls — treat it as its own trip, and only hike the trail in the winter season.
Before you cross a border
Plain, general pointers — always confirm the current rules at the post.
Carry a proper passport
Every crossing here needs a passport with blank pages and enough validity left. Check the current entry rules for your nationality before you commit to a border-crossing day trip.
Zambia is a walk away
The Victoria Falls Bridge links the two towns: walk across, clear the posts at either end, and you are in Livingstone. Zambia and Zimbabwe also share a uni-visa for many nationalities — confirm your eligibility at the border.
Botswana means Kazungula
Kasane and Chobe are reached by road through the Kazungula border post, roughly an hour from Victoria Falls town. Day trips usually sort the paperwork for you.
Namibia is the long leg
The Zambezi Region is reached from the Zambian side at Katima Mulilo or from Botswana at Ngoma, so build it into a loop of a few days rather than a day out.
Carry a little local money
US dollars go far in Victoria Falls and Livingstone, but take pula, kwacha or Namibian dollars for fuel, markets and park fees once you are further out.
Sort health cover first
Ask about malaria advice for the river and delta areas, and check that your travel insurance covers each country you plan to cross into.