How to get to Victoria Falls: flights, road and rail

From the airport to the falls, step by step

For most people, flying into Victoria Falls International Airport is the simplest way in. These steps take you from your visa to your hotel door.

1. 1

   Check your visa category

   Zimbabwe groups visitors into categories A, B and C. File the Zimbabwe Entry Declaration Form online before you fly.

2. 2

   Fly into Victoria Falls International Airport

   Johannesburg is the busiest route in. Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways also fly here.

3. 3

   Clear immigration

   Category B visitors can get a visa on arrival, and e-Visa holders get a passport stamp. The airport also issues the KAZA UniVisa.

4. 4

   Transfer into town

   Take a taxi or a Wild Horizons shared or private transfer: about 25 minutes by road.

5. 5

   Settle in

   Most places in town are no more than 3 km from the falls.

Victoria Falls town lies immediately next to the falls³, so you can base yourself almost anywhere in town. Compare Victoria Falls hotel and lodge options before you land, then read up on getting around town once you arrive.

Train and bus timetable

The overnight train from Bulawayo runs into Victoria Falls once a week as of 2026³. Victoria Falls station is on Mallet Drive, next to the Victoria Falls Hotel³.

Scheduled train and bus services

Bulawayo to Victoria Falls, overnight train

• Once a week

Windhoek to Livingstone, Intercape bus

• 3 times a week

No clock times listed. Book the train on the day of travel, and note the bus stops on the Zambian side.

Wikivoyage

What you pay

Taxis are the fares most visitors pay on arrival, between the airport and town.

The cheapest fare listed is the Bulawayo train: an economy seat costs USD 9⁴ (checked October 2026).

For the Zimbabwe e-Visa, the cost is stated in the approval response⁵, so you’ll only see the price once your application is approved.

Routes compared

Quickest: fly straight into Victoria Falls International Airport, a 25-minute² drive from town. Cheapest: the weekly overnight train from Bulawayo.

Overland, Victoria Falls connects to the rest of Zimbabwe by the A8 road and the railway¹. The most direct overland route is from Bulawayo³, which lies 440 km¹ to the south-east.

Which airport is closest to Victoria Falls?

Victoria Falls International Airport (VFA) is the closest. The town is in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe, and the airport is 18 km south of the town¹.

VFA is an international airport serving the Victoria Falls tourism industry⁶. Flights come in from:

• Johannesburg, the busiest route into the airport²
• Addis Ababa, on Ethiopian Airlines⁶
• Nairobi and Cape Town, on Kenya Airways³
• Frankfurt via Windhoek, on Discover Airlines³, Lufthansa’s leisure airline, which flies the route seasonally⁶

Livingstone and Kasane airports

Livingstone is across the border from Victoria Falls, in Zambia, and cheaper flights from South Africa are often available³ to its airport. That airport is about 25 km² from the Zambian side of the falls. More on the town of Livingstone in Zambia.

Victoria Falls is only a few kilometres from Botswana and Namibia⁷. Kasane Airport in Botswana is roughly two hours² away by road, including a border crossing. The Kazungula border post is about 70 km³ from Victoria Falls.

How do you get to Victoria Falls from Harare?

From Harare, you can take a domestic flight or travel about 900 km² by road. Your options:

• Fly: Harare’s airport is Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport⁸, and a domestic flight² takes you on to Victoria Falls.
• Drive: the road trip takes roughly 9 to 10 hours².
• Bus: Extra City and Bravo Tours³ run the line between Victoria Falls and Harare via Bulawayo.

If you fly into Bulawayo’s Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport⁸, it’s the same choice. A road transfer from Harare or Bulawayo takes 5 to 10 hours².

Arriving from abroad: visas and entry forms

Zimbabwe sets its own entry rules, and what you need depends on which category your nationality is in. The Zimbabwe Department of Immigration publishes the categories.

Category	What you need
A	No visa needed9
B	Visa at the port of entry, after paying the visa fee9
C	Visa applied for online and obtained before you travel9

• Category B travellers are encouraged to apply online before travelling⁹, on the government e-Visa site.
• All travellers are encouraged to complete the Zimbabwe Entry Declaration Form⁹, which can be submitted online before travel⁵.
• A Zimbabwe e-Visa is valid for one month for a single entry, three months for a double entry and six months⁵ for multiple entries.
• If you arrive with a valid e-Visa, the immigration officer stamps your passport⁹.

The KAZA UniVisa

The KAZA UniVisa costs USD 50 (checked October 2026) and is valid for up to 30 days in any 12-month period¹⁰. On the Zimbabwe side, it’s issued at Harare International Airport, Victoria Falls International Airport, Victoria Falls Border and Kazungula Border¹⁰.

Eligible nationalities include the United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Austria, Belgium and Brazil¹⁰, among others.

Planning a day on the Zambian side? Sort out your visa first, then browse Devil’s Pool and Livingstone Island tours or this guided tour of the falls from both sides.

Day tour · 6 hours

Zimbabwe & Zambia: Guided Tour of the Falls from Both Sides

4.7 (516 reviews) on GetYourGuide, checked October 2026

Free cancellation · Pickup included

FromUS$63

See dates on GetYourGuide

Tips and common mistakes

Most mistakes on the way in come down to borders and timing.

• Taking the Intercape bus to Victoria Falls town. It runs from Windhoek and stops on the Zambian side, not in Victoria Falls town³.
• Trying to buy train tickets in advance. They’re sold at the Bulawayo and Victoria Falls station ticket offices, usually only on the day of travel⁴.
• Leaving too little time for the border. Queues and delays happen especially in peak season from July to October². Wild Horizons allows 30 minutes² for border procedures on its transfers.
• Being caught out by the shoe mat. At the border, you step on a treated mat to disinfect your shoes² as a foot-and-mouth control.
• Expecting full flow in October. In the dry season, by October the falls may be just a trickle, while the rains run November to March³. Check when to visit the waterfall before you book flights.

Still choosing between the big waterfalls? Read Victoria Falls versus Niagara, fact by fact.