The falls seen through dry-season bush, a faint rainbow in the spray

Last checked: October 2026

Backpackers in Victoria Falls: hostels, dorms and prices

6 places of this kind in one table

On this page

Victoria Falls hostels compared

A backpackers here is a hostel with shared dorms, and most add private rooms, tents or camping. Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge (Victoria Falls Backpackers), for example, has doubles, en-suite rooms, safari tents, dorms, tent camping and self-drive camping³.

Places to stay of this kind compared
Place to stay	Kind	Price from	What's included	Good for	Website
Shoestrings Backpackers Victoria Falls town (West Drive)	Hostel	about US$20per person sharing (2026, guide estimate)	Self-catering kitchen, pool and WiFi for all room types Linen provided in en-suite doubles and twins Taxes included (Hostelworld)	Budget travellers Family room for up to 4 Adventure seekers in dome tents	Own site
Jollyboys Backpackers Livingstone town centre (34 Kanyanta Road)	Hostel	–	Free daily shuttle to the falls Free Livingstone airport pick-up (24 hours' notice)	Solo travellers, couples, friends and groups	Own site
Zinga Backpackers Magoye Road, Livingstone	Hostel	–	Free daily drop-off at Victoria Falls and the Zambian border Free airport or bus-station pick-up on request Taxes included	Dorms, private village chalets and camping	–
Thula's Royal Stay Livingstone town	Hostel	–	–	Bunk-bed stay for families and friends Shared bathrooms	–
Victoria Falls Backpackers Zambia Mokambo Road, Livingstone town	Hostel	about $63a night for a double (Kayak snapshot, year not given)	Taxes included, breakfast not included Airport pick-up and a daily shuttle to the falls Fresh linen in dorms	4-bed dorms for solo travellers and small groups Female-only, male-only or mixed dorms Double en-suite rooms for solo travellers or couples	Own site
Crystal Hostels Livingstone town centre	Hostel	US$25.86per night for 2 adults (Booking.com)	Breakfast costs extra Taxes included Airport transfers on request	–	–

Each place is here because a checked source backs it: its own site, its booking page or its map listing gives its kind, price or who it suits. Not ranked: most searched first. A dash means our sources don't say. Each value comes from the sources listed at the end of this page.

The table covers places that call themselves a hostel. Shoestrings Backpackers is in Victoria Falls town, and the rest are in Livingstone. In the Zimbabwe town, Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge, N1 Hotel & Campsite⁴ and Victoria Falls Rest Camp sell dorm beds too, compared below. For hotels and lodges, see where to stay in full.

Dorm, tent and camping prices

The cheapest bed on the Zimbabwe side is a camping pitch, and a dorm bed costs less than a twin safari tent. These are each place’s own published rates per night, in US dollars.

Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge Self-drive camping space from $10
Victoria Falls Rest Camp Dorm bed, child to adult $15–$20
Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge Dorm bed from $18
Victoria Falls Rest Camp Camping, per person from $20
Shearwater Explorers Village Serviced dome tent, sharing to single $34–$46
Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge Twin safari tent, shared bathrooms from $45
Victoria Falls Rest Camp Safari tent from $50
Victoria Falls Backpackers Zambia Double room, Kayak snapshot $63–$63
Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge Double en-suite room from $70

US dollars per night from each place's own rates; the Livingstone double is a single Kayak snapshot with no year given.

A budget double room in Victoria Falls comes in under US$30⁵. Dorm beds generally run $18 to $25⁶ per person a night.

Serviced dome tents at Shearwater Explorers Village come without breakfast⁷, so budget for meals on top. The resort pitches them at backpackers and adventure travellers⁸.

Falls against hazy morning light, a dark cliff in silhouette in front

Should you stay in Victoria Falls town or Livingstone?

Stay in the town of Victoria Falls if you want to walk to the falls: most places there are no more than 3 km⁵ away. Livingstone is further out.

The backpackers and dorm stays in the town of Victoria Falls compare like this:

Backpackers and dorm stays in Victoria Falls town
Place	What you sleep in	Where it is
Shoestrings Backpackers	En-suite doubles and twins, a family room for up to 4, two-person dome tents	12 West Drive, about a 5-minute walk from town
Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge	Dorms, doubles, en-suite rooms, safari tents, camping	357 Gibson Road, 1.89 km from the centre, next to the national park
Victoria Falls Rest Camp	Dorm beds, camping, safari tents	1.5 km from the main entrance, 0.5 km from restaurants
Shearwater Explorers Village	Serviced dome tents	400 m from the falls

Hostelworld (booking agent); hostelworld.com (booking agent); shoestringsvicfalls.com (operator); Victoria Falls Backpackers (operator); restcampvictoriafalls.com (resort); restcampvictoriafalls.com (operator); Explorers Village (resort)

N1 Hotel & Campsite, at 266 Adam Stander Drive⁴, is 1.1 km⁹ from the rainforest entrance. It has a serviced campsite and dormitories, with linen provided in the dorms¹⁰.

Livingstone, Zambia sits about 10 km¹¹ from the falls, too far to want to walk. Jollyboys Backpackers, which says it has catered to budget travellers since 1996¹², is 8 km¹³ from the falls and runs a free one-way shuttle each morning.

Flying into the Zambian side usually costs less⁵ than flying into Zimbabwe. That can make a Livingstone hostel the cheaper trip overall, even with the shuttle and the border.

High-water falls seen through trees from the Zambian side

Who a backpackers suits, and who it doesn’t

Backpackers here are set up for people watching their budget, travelling alone or in small groups. Several also take families.

A backpackers works well for:

Budget travellers: Shoestrings says it has catered to budget travellers since 1997¹⁴, and Victoria Falls Rest Camp pitches its shared dorm at budget-conscious travellers¹⁵.
Solo travellers, couples and groups: Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge pitches itself at solo backpackers, couples and groups¹, and Jollyboys at solo travellers, couples, friends and groups¹⁶.
Meeting people: Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge calls itself a social, easy-going place to meet other travellers¹⁷.
Women who want a female-only dorm: Jollyboys has an 8-bed female-only dorm¹⁸.
Families on a tight budget: the family room at Shoestrings sleeps up to four guests¹⁹, and Victoria Falls Rest Camp charges $15¹⁵ for a child’s dorm bed.

Think twice if:

You want breakfast in the rate: Crystal Hostels charges extra for breakfast²⁰, and at Victoria Falls Backpackers Zambia it’s not included²¹.
You want a kitchen to yourself: the kitchen at Shoestrings is communal¹⁹. Look at self-catering houses and lodges to rent instead.
You’re camping with no gear: at N1 Hotel & Campsite⁴, campers must bring their own tent and bedding¹⁰.
You want dry nights under canvas: the rainy season runs November to March⁵, while winter, May to August²², is largely dry.

Check-in and cancellation rules

Check-in times and refund rules vary a lot from one backpackers to the next, so read them before you pay. Here are the ones these places publish:

Place	Check-in	Cancelling
Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge	From 14:00, out by 10:00²³; Hostelworld lists 12:00–22:00³	Free on Hostelworld if booked more than 4 days ahead³
Shoestrings Backpackers	14:00–17:00² (Hostelworld)	Free on Hostelworld if booked more than 15 days ahead²
N1 Hotel & Campsite⁴	From 14:00, out by 10:00²⁴	No refund under 48 hours before, low season; under 7 days before, high season²⁴
Victoria Falls Rest Camp	Not listed	50% charge 29 to 42 days before; 100% at 28 days or less²⁵

The lodge’s own booking engine and Hostelworld disagree on check-in at Victoria Falls Backpackers Lodge, so go by the time on your confirmation.

Spending the savings at the falls

On the Zimbabwe side, the falls cost more than a night in a dorm. Since February 2026, international day visitors pay US$58²⁷ (checked October 2026) to enter the Victoria Falls rainforest through the main gate.

The park on the Zambian side charges US$20¹¹. You see 75%²⁸ of the falls from the Zimbabwe side, according to Travel Butlers, so the cheaper ticket shows you less.

A Zambezi river cruise is the classic evening out, and the dinner cruise leaves from the Zambezi River cruise terminal²⁹. You can book the Zambezi dinner cruise, a shorter sunset trip, or a guided walk of the falls:

Reeds and trees along the bank of the upper Zambezi

Tour · 2 hours

Victoria Falls: 2-Hour Luxury Zambezi River Sunset Cruise

4.8 (551 reviews) on GetYourGuide, checked October 2026

Free cancellation · Pickup included

FromUS$69

See dates on GetYourGuide

The falls across a wooden fence and ferns at a viewpoint

Day tour · 3 hours

Victoria Falls: Private Guided Tour of the Waterfalls

4.8 (191 reviews) on GetYourGuide, checked October 2026

Free cancellation · Pickup included

FromUS$25