Travellers to Zimbabwe can choose from a diverse range of activities suitable for all ages. Day and night game drives, walking safaris, canoeing, and river cruises provide chances to explore Zimbabwe’s variety of wildlife. Victoria Falls is amazing for all manner of adventure-led excursions, including whitewater rafting, abseiling, bungee jumping, zip-lining, and forest canopy walks.
Zimbabwe Family Safari Vacations
Take the family on an unforgettable safari to Zimbabwe. Whether you’re spotting massive elephant herds in remote national parks or experiencing “the Smoke that Thunders” at Victoria Falls for the first time, this is a trip your family will be talking about for years to come.
Zimbabwe is an excellent choice for a luxury family safari. Home to some of Africa’s most beautiful national parks, the country also offers diverse landscapes, magnificent wildlife, thrilling activities, and family-friendly accommodations. However, it’s worth noting that walking and canoeing are best suited to young persons aged 16 and above.
Why Choose Zimbabwe for Your Family Safari Vacation?
Wildlife
Led by some of the best wildlife guides in Africa, safari activities in Zimbabwe offer some incredible game-viewing, including on walking safaris where close encounters with elephants are second to none. You’ll also likely come across lion, hippo, giraffe, white rhino, wild dog, buffalo, zebra, and a fantastic array of antelope species.
Varied Activities
Diverse Landscapes
Zimbabwe is richly biodiverse, with a seriously impressive cross-section of landscapes and abundant flora and fauna. You can expect to find a combination of sub-tropical woodland, arid bushveld, teak forests, rivers teeming with wildlife, and majestic sandstone cliffs. There’s so much to see here, and each destination has a unique natural beauty that leaves visitors utterly hooked.
Accommodation
Zimbabwe has some world-class camps, lodges, and exclusive-use private houses that cater to families with differing tastes and budgets. From traditional family-run bush camps with warm hospitality and outstanding guiding to fully staffed luxury villas and all the creature comforts, everyone’s preferences are satisfied here.
Where to Go
What is the Best Time to Visit Zimbabwe?
For a family safari vacation in Zimbabwe, June, July, and August are ideal months to visit, when the days are sunny and the nights cold! September and October are still excellent game-viewing months, but the soaring temperatures make travel increasingly uncomfortable. Partly due to its remoteness, Mana Pools National Park becomes inaccessible during the rainy season, so December until April is best avoided here. Victoria Falls is most dramatic between February and July when the full spray delivers a stunningly theatrical experience.
Family Activities
Game Drives
Walking Safaris
Canoeing
White Water Rafting
Rock Art
Canopy Tours
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For families with children too young to participate in walking safaris, game drives are the ideal way to cover plenty of ground and ensure you maximise wildlife-viewing opportunities. Night drives within private concessions invite travellers to explore the bush beneath starry skies, keeping a lookout for nocturnal species such as civet cat, bush baby, genet, leopard, and perhaps even the hard-to-spot aardvark.
Zimbabwe is a fantastic country for walking safaris. These are led by some of the best-trained and most experienced guides in Africa, some of whom host small, totally authentic bushcamps. Mana Pools, Hwange, and Gonarezhou are all top destinations for game viewing on foot, with close wildlife encounters part of the thrill, though please be aware that the minimum age is usually 16 years.
For families with older children (16 plus), canoeing safaris in Mana Pools and along tracts of the Zambezi River offer unforgettable wildlife encounters surrounded by Zimbabwe’s diverse and utterly captivating landscapes. Keep an eye out for thirsty elephants, beady-eyed hippos, and stealthy crocs as they slink off the river banks!
With its epic, grade-5 rapids, the Zambezi River is arguably the best place in the world for white water rafting. The adrenaline rush of rocketing through the rapids is interspersed with stretches of calm when you’re able to take in the breathtaking surroundings. The minimum age for white water rafting is 15, so those with younger kids might prefer to stick with gentler-paced boat trips on the upper Zambezi.
Zimbabwe contains a magnificent collection of ancient San Bushmen rock art, some of which can be seen in the dramatic sandstone cliffs around Gonarezhou National Park. Budding historians and archaeologists will be astonished at the sheer volume of artwork, some of it dating back thousands of years!
Victoria Falls canopy tours are a fun-filled adventure for all the family, where guests take to the network of slides, trails, and rope walkways, surrounded by spectacular hardwood forests with elevated views of the falls. Led by expert guides, this is a safe, super-fun way to introduce your kids to the world of adventure.
Wildlife You Can Expect to See on Safari in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is blessed with a wide range of ecosystems that support abundant wildlife populations. Up-close encounters with elephants are a major highlight, particularly on walking safaris! Depending on where you’re based, there’s also a good chance of seeing lion, leopard, cheetah, buffalo, African wild dog, hippo, black rhino, spotted hyena, crocodile, and plenty of antelope. From southern carmine bee-eaters to Pel’s fishing owls, red-necked falcons, and black eagles, ornithologists will also be amazed by the diverse birdlife.
Best Lodges for Families
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Wilderness Chikwenya
From C$2,251 – C$2,251 ppMana Pools and the Lower Zambezi are arguably the most stunning game-viewing areas on the continent. Yes, it’s that good! The rich mineral deposits made by the Zambezi in this stretch of river, as it bends and slows, give rise to the nutrient-rich floodplains…
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Wilderness Ruckomechi
Enquire for pricing Contact Us for pricing detailsSupremely positioned on the banks of the Zambezi, with river views and set to the stunning backdrop of the Zambezi escarpment, Wilderness Ruckomechi is one of the finest camps in this region of Zimbabwe. As it’s located in its own private reserve just to the…
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Bomani Tented Lodge
From C$912 – C$1,229 ppBomani is a great option for travellers hoping to get off the well-worn tourist trail and to become acquainted with the remoter parts of Hwange. We applaud Imvelo’s conservation and social investments, which make for a very ethical approach to tourism!
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Somalisa Camp
From C$1,298 – C$2,044 ppFor travellers seeking authenticity in Hwange, Somalisa is hard to beat. The camp accepts children aged 7 years and older and we recommend constant supervision at all times as big game passes through camp!
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Victoria Falls River Lodge
From C$1,298 pp – Contact UsThe service standards at River Lodge are as impressive as we would expect from the luxurious accommodation. In particular, the lodge is passionate about fine dining, priding itself on using ingredients sourced locally for an authentic eating experience. The…
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Matetsi River Lodge
From C$1,588 – C$2,485 ppThe Lodge is suitable for solos and couples alike, while welcoming families.
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Singita Pamushana
From C$3,286 – C$4,321 ppPamushana has the impeccable service standards that come as standard across all Singita lodges. The small size of the lodge enables staff to offer a very exclusive and personalised approach. For example, dining options are discussed with guests on arrival, to…
Best Trips for Families
Talk to someone who’s been there
Real expertise doesn’t come from a few trips to Africa. All our specialists have either been guides, run the camps, or grown up and lived in Africa. That’s over 600 years of genuine safari experience.
