Top 10 Best Safari Lodges & Camps Near Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls indisputably ranks among the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. When you see it, you’ll know why! Here, the mighty Zambezi River, a full 1.7km/1.06mi wide, tumbles over a 108m/354ft-high cliff shared between Zambia and Zimbabwe to form the world’s largest sheet of falling water. Thinking of going there? So you should! Below are the top 10 best safari lodges and camps near Victoria Falls.

The accommodations below are not ranked in a specific quality order. 

382 Victoria Falls Tours

1. Victoria Falls River Lodge

Victoria Falls River Lodge is situated in Zambezi National Park, which is home to large animals such as lion, elephant and giraffe. Thirteen luxury tented suites with private decks and plunge pools boast uninterrupted views of the Zambezi River. To really get away from it all, stay in one of the six Malachite Tented Suites, which are even more luxurious and lie another 1.5km/1mi downstream. Victoria Falls is little more than a stone’s throw away – you may see the spray from your room.

Victoria Falls River Lodge Tours

2. Toka Leya

Situated in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, Toka Leya offers a true bush experience. Guests are accommodated in 12 luxury safari tents overlooking the mighty Zambezi River. The camp is in harmony with its surroundings, and wildlife such as elephant, hippo and crocodile is regularly spotted.

Toka Leya Tours

3. The Victoria Falls Hotel

Built in 1904 on the Zimbabwean bank of the Zambezi, the Edwardian-style Victoria Falls Hotel has been a luxury icon in Africa for longer than a century. A proud member of the Leading Hotels of the World, it has a prime location offering dramatic views of Victoria Falls’ spectacular gorges. It features several fine dining restaurants but is most famous for the classy high tea offered daily on the veranda.

The Victoria Falls Hotel Tours

4. Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel

This contemporary boutique hotel, though thoroughly modern in its luxuries, exudes the charm of a bygone era. Only 15 minutes from Victoria Falls, it’s located in a 40km²/15mi² private game reserve that provides sanctuary to all the Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino) and many other animal species. The reserve is an Intensive Protection Zone for the black rhino and provides an excellent opportunity for close-up encounters with this endangered creature.

Stanley & Livingstone Tours

5. The Elephant Camp

Set within Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls National Park, The Elephant Camp is a tented camp with a classic African feel overlooking Zambezi Gorge just below the falls. A sunken fire pit is the main focus of the communal area, while the suites are equipped with a private viewing deck, plunge pool and outdoor shower. It offers fabulous views of the permanent mist spray alluded to in the local name for Victoria Falls: Mosi-oa-Tunya (‘Smoke That Thunders’).

6. Sanctuary Sussi & Chuma

Located on the bank of the Zambezi in Zambia’s Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, Sanctuary Sussi & Chuma is the perfect base for visiting Victoria Falls, a mere 12km/7.5mi downstream. Accommodation is in 12 luxury tree houses in the canopy of ancient jackalberry and palm trees, and the lodge is notable for its abundant birdlife and regular visits by other wildlife.

7. Royal Chundu River Lodge

Royal Chundu River Lodge has 10 luxury suites with private decks scattered along the Zambezi riverfront. Plush furnishings accentuate the surrounding natural beauty. Although the emphasis is on privacy, sociable dinners hosted in the African-themed outdoor boma offer an opportunity to mingle around the mesmerizing campfire.

Royal Chundu River Lodge Tours

8. Tsowa Safari Island

This wonderfully tranquil lodge occupies a thickly forested island in the remote northwestern wilds of Zambezi National Park, some 40km/25mi upriver of Victoria Falls. The spacious and secluded luxury tents each stand on a private deck facing the Zambezi and are spaced out widely to maximize privacy. Tsowa lies within easy day tripping of Victoria Falls, and plenty of wildlife (including four of the Big Five) might be seen en route, yet it feels completely removed from the surrounding hubbub. Game drives aside, other activities include canoeing, bird watching and unforgettable sundowner cruises on the atmospheric Zambezi.

Tsowa Safari Island Tours

9. Islands of Siankaba

As its name suggests, Islands of Siankaba stands on a pair of privately owned islands, linked together by a series of walkways and bridges, smack in the middle of the Zambezi River. Situated halfway between Victoria Falls and Chobe National Park, it's a small luxury lodge comprising just seven secluded tented chalets spread out to maximize river views while maintaining total privacy. With a maximum of 14 guests, a lot of thought goes into the dining experience; locations for intimate dinners include a forest clearing and the panoramic deck.

10. Little Gorges

Little Gorges, the more exclusive sister of Gorges Lodge, comprises five luxury safari tents built on wooden decks perched on the edge of the Botaka Gorge, where the Dibu Dibu River flows into the Zambezi 10km/6mi below Victoria Falls. It’s a truly spectacular setting, best appreciated from your private veranda at sunrise. The tents have a classic safari feel; you’ll know you’re in Africa. Service is personal, and tales of the bush are shared around a communal dinner table.

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By Ariadne van Zandbergen

ZA

Ariadne is an Africa expert. She and her husband form a team who author many guidebooks to African countries.

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