9 Day Zimbabwe Explore, From $2400

The dramatic landscapes, inspiring wilderness, captivating people, intriguing cultures, sumptuous food and vibrant music provide the perfect setting for an unforgettable celebration of a Zimbabwean tour. This safari includes Victoria Falls (one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World), Hwange National Park, Matopos Hills (where Cecil John Rhodes’ grave is) and the extensive stone ruins of Great Zimbabwe. Finally, a road transfer takes you to Harare International Airport where the safari ends.

Day 1-2 Victoria falls

You’ll be collected from the airport and driven to your accommodation. You will then be picked up for the sunset dinner cruise offering splendid scenery with exotic birdlife and many hippos, crocodiles and elephants that cross the river to feed on the island. As the magical sunset charm settles over the river, lanterns are lit and a wonderful 3-course dinner is served.

The following day, you will be picked up from your lodge to enjoy a guided tour of Victoria Falls. Later in the day, you will go on a village tour. As the evening approaches, you will go for an unforgettable African experience infused with Zimbabwean cuisine – the buffet boma dinner. Tomorrow, you will have an early transfer to Hwange National Park.

Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

Day 3-4 Hwange National park

After breakfast, you will be picked up for a drive of approximately 2 hours. You will go through Hwange, a rustic and charming town dotted with villages in rural Africa. Arrive at Ganda Lodge with a natural waterhole that attracts a wide variety of bird and animal species including elephant, buffalo, lion and a large variety of waterfowl.

After lunch, an experienced and informative guide drives you into the thick bush of Ganda Lodge estate through the beautiful teak woodlands of the Sikumi Forest bordering the Hwange National Park. Finish the day with dinner at the lodge.

The following day, enjoy an early morning game drive in an open game drive vehicle into Zimbabwe’s premier wildlife area, driving through different routes. Later, enjoy a picnic lunch and drive back into these rolling plains. See the last great free-ranging elephant population with nearly all other major species and accompanying predators. Enjoy the sundowner in nature, and finish the day with dinner at the lodge.

Day 5- Matobo national park

After the eventful experience of an African safari in Hwange National Park and a quiet, bushy sleep, depart with your driver after breakfast for an almost 307-km drive to Matobo through Bulawayo, a gateway to Matobo National Park. It is the second-largest city in Zimbabwe and the largest city in the country’s Matabeleland. The city has parks and charming colonial architecture.

After a 52-km drive from Bulawayo, you will arrive at your accommodation and check-in. Expect to take away new insights, an appreciation for Africa and her people, and an unforgettable experience.

Day 6- Matobo Day trip

Today after breakfast, expect to take away new insights for an appreciation of Africa and her people on an unforgettable experience of the Matobo Day Trip within the Matobo Hills and the national park. Visit one of Africa’s hidden gems for its impressive scenery, huge granite boulders (balanced precariously on one another) and a variety of animal species. This day trip tour will take you to track rhinos on foot and ancient Bushmen paintings.

In the afternoon, you will be treated to a 3-course lunch by your guide before you head out to see Cecil John Rhodes’s grave, accompanied by the beautiful scenery of the sunset along the way.

Day 7- Masvingo

Grab your breakfast, check out of the hotel and head to Great Zimbabwe with your driver. It is a drive of almost 4 hours, passing through Masvingo which is a small town with palm-lined, wide streets lined with rather shabby buildings. It is 27km away from the Great Zimbabwe Ruins.

Check in at The Lodge at the Ancient City which is a unique hotel built around a granite outcrop in the same style as Great Zimbabwe. It provides stunning views across the valley of Msasa towards the ancient city of Great Zimbabwe. Here, you will stay for 2 nights.

Day 8- Great Zimbabwe Ruins Tour

This morning after breakfast, visit the greatest mediaeval city in sub-Saharan Africa. It is the World Heritage–listed Great Zimbabwe which is one of the nation’s most-treasured sights, so much so that the country was named after it. Your driver will take you to your guide who will take you on the tour of the ruins of this ancient place for almost 3 hours, giving you an insight into these old, grandeur ruins of Great Zimbabwe.

After the tour, you will check out from the lodge and drive for about 300 km to Harare, the capital. You will stay overnight at Cresta Lodge Harare. Before you reach your lodge, you will drive through Harare town which is the most populous city in Zimbabwe. It is laid-back with wide avenues, lined with dusty red earth, indigenous plants and blooming jacarandas, giving it a lovely African summertime feel.