Victoria Falls & Chobe: Moving Beyond the Sunbed in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana

If you are looking for an African adventure that will completely captivate your teens, the border-hopping loop around Victoria Falls is unbeatable. It delivers pure adrenaline, rugged border crossings, and world-class wildlife encounters, all wrapped up in a highly manageable and comfortable itinerary.

🗺️ Planning an African family adventure? This guide is part of our comprehensive, step-by-step master route: Comfortable Grit: Our Epic Southern Africa & Mauritius Loop with Teens. Head over to our main hub guide to see our full travel itinerary, route map, and essential mum-to-mum tips before you book!

We spent three unforgettable nights based on the Zimbabwe side of the falls during our epic Southern African journey. Here is our honest, practical guide to navigating three countries in three days, including a vital warning about why you should never try to walk to lunch!

⚡ Quick Look: Our Top Safari Lodge Pick

When you are tackling long, active days across multiple African borders, your choice of base is everything. You need a place that feels safe, personal, and deeply relaxing.

Where We Stayed: Pamarah Lodge (Boutique Oasis) – We absolutely loved this place and cannot recommend it highly enough. It is a family-run boutique lodge, and the family genuinely cares that you enjoy your stay. Every morning, they came around to our table to offer invaluable local tips and insider recommendations. The rooms are completely unique, beautifully quirky, and gorgeous—some are built in traditional roundels, while others feature cool mezzanine levels that the boys loved. There is a lovely pool and a peaceful chill-out area to unwind. As a massive bonus, you can eat there in the evenings; they serve a different, delicious set meal every night out on the terrace.

The Mid-Range / Wildlife Alternative: Victoria Falls Safari Lodge – This upmarket option sits just on the outskirts of town and features a multi-tiered pool overlooking a central bushveld waterhole. Pre-teens and teenagers will be completely mesmerised watching wild elephants, buffalo, and birds visit the waterhole throughout the day right from the pool deck!
The Luxury / Historic Alternative: The Victoria Falls Hotel – Fondly known as the “Grand Old Lady of the Falls,” this legendary 5-star hotel sits in a fantastic location just a 10-minute walk from the path to the waterfalls. It offers grand colonial style, spectacular manicured grounds, and a massive, luxury swimming pool, though it does carry a much higher price tag and a more formal atmosphere.

🗺️ Day 1: Conquering Victoria Falls from Two Countries

Victoria Falls—known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya (The Smoke That Thunders)—sits right on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. To get the full experience, you really need to see it from both sides. We grabbed a quick taxi from Pamarah Lodge down to the entrance to start our day.

The Zambia Side: Upstream Views and the Boiling Pot

We decided to tackle the Zambian side first. The logistics are half the fun for the boys: you pass through the Zimbabwean border control at the edge of the iconic Victoria Falls Bridge, and then you walk across the bridge to clear immigration into Zambia on the other side.

Because the Zambian side sits higher upstream, it gives you a fantastic perspective of the massive, wide-open river before it plummets over the edge. From here, we took the steep hike down to the “Boiling Pot”—a dramatic, swirling whirlpool at the very bottom of the canyon where the river forces its way through a narrow gap.

Handy Tip: If you visit at the right time of year when the water levels are lower, you can book trips to swim in the river right at the edge of the drop-offs, known as the Devil’s Pool or Angel’s Pool. We weren’t there during the right season to do it, but it sounds like an incredible rush for teens.

The Tuk-Tuk Race Back to Zimbabwe

When it was time to head back to the Zimbabwe side, we decided to hire a local tuk-tuk to take the three of us across the bridge instead of walking. I’m not entirely sure it was any faster than walking! With three adult-sized people piled into the back and one of the vehicle’s pedals completely broken, the driver actually needed our help pedaling to get us up the slope. It was absolutely hilarious and became a great memory.

🚨 DO NOT WALK: The Lunch Lesson at Baines Restaurant

Once back in Zimbabwe, we took our hotel’s advice and headed to a highly recommended spot for lunch called Baines Restaurant. It sits right on the edge of the Zambezi River, not too far from the main falls entrance. Being an enthusiastic walker, I looked at the map and decided we should just walk there rather than hailing a taxi.

Please learn from my mistake: DO NOT DO THIS. Take a taxi.

When we safely arrived, the restaurant staff looked at us in absolute shock. They quickly explained that the immediate area is heavily populated with wild elephants, buffalo, and even the occasional leopard—and the buffalo in particular are incredibly territorial and dangerous. We fortunately encountered absolutely none of them on our stroll, but I appreciate that we were incredibly lucky. Pay the small fare and take a vehicle!

Once you are there safely, the restaurant is fantastic. You sit right on the banks of the Zambezi, where you can hear and feel the immense power of the rushing water. The food is fabulous, and a major highlight for my eldest son was trying the exotic “Safari Sliders”—a plate of mini Kudu, Warthog, and Crocodile burgers, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

zambezi can of beer next to zambezi river

💦 The Zimbabwe Side: The Spectacle and the Soak

In the afternoon, we headed into the national park on the Zimbabwe side, which is undeniably the most spectacular vantage point. There are about 15 different lookup points positioned along a well-maintained path, and each view feels completely different and seemingly more amazing than the last.

Be prepared to get absolutely soaked by the spray.

As we approached the main path, a massive wall of mist from the falls rained down on us. My eldest son smugly pulled a proper waterproof jacket out of his bag, while my younger son and I were left completely unprotected and got literally drenched through to the skin.

A note on clothing: Even once your clothes dry out in the African sun afterwards, they will continue to smell strongly of river water until they get a proper wash!

🐘 Day 2: Chobe National Park (The Two-Way Safari)

Our second full day was dedicated to an epic day trip across the border into Botswana to explore Chobe National Park. The drive to the border takes a little while, and clearing customs can be a slow process, but it is totally worth the effort. Chobe is world-famous for having one of the largest concentrations of game in all of Africa.

Part 1: The River Safari

We started our morning tracking wildlife from a riverboat along the Chobe River, which divides Botswana and Namibia. The perspective from the water is incredible. We drifted right up alongside massive pods of hippos, huge crocodiles sunning themselves on the banks, herds of elephants bathing in the shallows, and an abundance of beautiful, colorful birdlife.

After the boat cruise, the tour included a lovely buffet lunch at a riverside hotel, which gave us a great chance to sit in the shade, enjoy some great food, and briefly freshen up.

Part 2: The 4×4 Land Safari

In the afternoon, we swapped the boat for an open-top 4×4 vehicle to head deep into the park’s tracks. The land safari was spectacular. We encountered loads and loads of elephants crossing the paths right in front of us, came across a pride of sleeping lions resting under the bushes, and saw endless numbers of zebras, giraffes, and buck.

lions asleep under the bush — Look at those resting lions!

The contrast between exploring by water in the morning and by land in the afternoon was brilliant, making it the perfect, fast-paced day to keep the boys thoroughly entertained.

Each of our days finished exactly the same way: heading back to the beautiful sanctuary of Pamarah Lodge for a relaxing dip in the pool, followed by a fantastic, cold drink and a delicious home-cooked dinner served under the stars on the terrace.