Children at Victoria Falls

A guide to taking kids to Victoria Falls

We often get asked about taking kids to the Falls and "will adults still be able to experience Vic falls with a child around."
You should know first up that the Falls themselves are not a toddler or small child-friendly destination at all. Outside of the viewing point area's, there are no secure fences and many wet steps that go down a very long way.

We went with our kids when they were aged 5 and 7 and although there were few nervous moments, they were warned enough times and understood where the dangers were. Much younger than 5 and I would recommend not letting them off the end of your arm until you are well away from the Falls area.

The good news is you have a holiday town where all the adventures and activities are relatively close to each and within a relatively close driving distance.

There is a lot of exploration to be done with kids in the area. The obvious one is the walk along the paths surrounding the Victoria falls which are quite well signposted and pretty safe if rules are adhered to. There are great vantage points all along the paths and kids will stand for ages just staring t the sheer volume of water all going into the gorge. They will also love the running around in the "rain forest" getting soaked by the mist coming off the waterfall.

Malaria and Yellow fever for children

The one drawback to Vic Falls is obviously the Malaria issue and if you fly in through Livingstone on the Zambia side you need to have had a Yellow fever Jab at least 10 days before you arrive too. You need to consult your local travel clinic to get advice on what Malaria medication best suits your family. medication usually needs to be started a few before your trip and needs to be continued a few weeks after as well.
Be sure to take plenty of mozzie spray as well and we found that the electronic deterrents available from the local camp shop also worked very well. the clipped onto the kid's shirts and kept the mozzies away.

---- No longer a problem as of 2016 (
Zambia has a small problem with Yellow fever in the far north of the country and they are looking for a solution that will allow people just going to the Vic Falls area to be held exempt from getting the Jab but this is all still under discussion
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So what can children do at the Falls?

You can see our kids guide here to get an idea of the age restrictions for the various activities. Writing with personal experience I can tell you that while my kids loved the helicopter flip (The flight of Angels) the 2 things they still talk about 2 years later is The Elephant Back Safari they did and the squeaky sand on the sand Island in the middle of the Zambezi we had breakfast on

The Kingdom Hotel in Zimbabwe and the Zambezi Sun in Zambia are the most child-friendly of the hotels in Victoria falls but I am also going to add Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.

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Zimbabwean Activity and Touring Policy - Min Age and Charges

SERVICE	Min	Rate	Rate	Rate	Comment
	Age Req	0 - 2 years	3 - 11 years	12+ years
White Water Rafting
Full Day Rafting - Low Water	14	N/A	N/A	100%	See minimum age restriction
Half Day Rafting	14	N/A	N/A	100%	See minimum age restriction
Rafting and Riverboarding Combo	14	N/A	N/A	100%	See minimum age restriction
Full Day Rafting and Overnight	14	N/A	N/A	100%	See minimum age restriction
Multi Day Rafting - Two Days Two Nights	14	N/A	N/A	100%	See minimum age restriction
Multi Day Rafting - Six Days Five Nights	14	N/A	N/A	100%	See minimum age restriction
Upper Zambezi Canoing
Full Day Canoe	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Half Day Canoe	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Overnight and One Day Canoe	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Two Day and One Night Canoe	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Two Day and Two Night Canoe	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Zambezi Drift - Wineroute	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Zambezi Breakfast Drift	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Three Day and Two Night Canoe and Waking Safari	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
High Wire and Bungi
Flying Fox (Includes 2 Flying Fox Slides)	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction and must fit into safety harnesses
Zip Line (Includes 2 Zip Line Slides)	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction and must fit into safety harnesses
Gorge Swing (Includes 1 Jump, buy DVD & get 2nd Jump Free)	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction and must fit into safety harnesses
Half Day High Wire (A combo of the above 3 products)	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction and must fit into safety harnesses
Full Day Adrenalin Day (Incorporates all of the above all Day)	7	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction and must fit into safety harnesses
Bungi Jumping	15	N/A	N/A	100%	Minimum weight requirement - 40kgs
Scenic Flights over the Falls
15 minute Helicopter Flight	3	N/A	100%	100%	See minimum age restriction
30 minute Helicopter Flight	3	N/A	100%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Bush - Ultra Light Flight 15 minutes	8	N/A	100%	100%	See minimum age restriction
15 minute Microlight Flight (Zambia)	9	N/A	100%	100%
30 minute Microlight Flight (Zambia)	9	N/A	100%	100%
Day Trips
Imbabala 4 Countries Day Trip	2	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Chobe Day Trip - Botswana	2	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Livingstone Day Trip - Zambia	2	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Excludes any Visa Requirements
Wilderness
Half Day Elephant Back Safari	5	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Game Drive AM or PM - Zambezi National Park	4	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Night Drive	4	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Lion walk	15	N/A	N/A	100%	Minimum height restriction 1.5metres
Wild Horizons Specials
Adventure Pass					Depends on Activates chosen
Safari Pass					Depends on Activates chosen
Tours in Victoria Falls - Zimbabwe
Tour of the Falls (Excluding NP Entry Fee)		N/A	50%	100%
Craft Village		N/A	50%	100%
Tour of the Falls and Craft Village (Excluding NP Entry Fee )		N/A	50%	100%
Zambezi Nature Sanctuary (Croc Farm)		N/A	50%	100%
Meet the People (2.5 hrs)		N/A	50%	100%
Shopping		N/A	50%	100%
African Spectacular Dancing Show (2 hrs)		N/A	50%	100%
Boma Dinner including Transfers		N/A	50%	100%
Zimbabwean Cruises
Sundowner Cruise (Excluding NP River Usage Fee)		N/A	50%	100%
Lunch Cruise (Excluding NP River Usage Fee)		N/A	50%	100%
Breakfast Cruise (Excluding NP River Usage Fee)		N/A	50%	100%

Zambian Activity and Touring Policy - Min Age and Charges

SERVICE	Min	Rate	Rate	Rate	Comment
	Age Req	0 - 2 years	3 - 11 years	12 - Above years
White Water Rafting
Full Day Rafting	15	N/A	N/A	100%	See minimum age restriction
Half Day Rafting	15	N/A	N/A	100%	See minimum age restriction
Rafting and Riverboarding Combo	15	N/A	N/A	100%	See minimum age restriction
Jet Boating in the Gorge	7	N/A	100%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Upper Zambezi Canoing
Full Day Canoe	12	N/A	100%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Half Day Canoe	12	N/A	100%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Overnight and One Day Canoe					No longer operational
Two Day and One Night Canoe					No longer operational
High Wire and Bungi
Abseil Half Day	11	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction and must fit into safety harnesses
Bungi Jumping	15	N/A	N/A	100%	Minimum weight requirement - 40kgs
Scenic Flights over the Falls
15 minute Helicopter Flight	5	N/A	US$80.00	100%	See minimum age restriction
30 minute Helicopter Flight	5	N/A	US$160.00	100%	See minimum age restriction
15 minute Microlight Flight	9	N/A	100%	100%	See minimum age restriction
30 minute Microlight Flight	9	N/A	100%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Day Trips
Chobe Day Trip - Botswana	2	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Victoria Falls  Day Trip - Zimbabwe	2	N/A	50%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Excludes any Visa Requirements
Wilderness
Half Day Elephant Back Safari	10	N/A	100%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Game Drive AM or PM - Mosi National Park	2	N/A	100%	100%	See minimum age restriction
Rhino Walk 2.5 hours	12	N/A	N/A	100%	No longer operational
Tours in Livingstone - Zambia
Tour of the Falls - Sun Int Guests		N/A	50%	100%
Tour of the Falls		N/A	50%	100%
Mukuni Village Tour		N/A	50%	100%
David Livingstone Museum		N/A	50%	100%
Railway Museum		N/A	50%	100%
Maramba Market		N/A	50%	100%
Any Two Tours		N/A	50%	100%
Zambian Cruises
Sundowner Cruise - Zamcruiser		N/A	50%	100%	No longer operational
Lunch Cruise - Zamcruiser		N/A	50%	100%	No longer operational
Breakfast Cruise - Zamcruiser		N/A	50%	100%	No longer operational
Sundowner Cruise - African Queen - Excludes Wines		N/A	US$44.00	100%

 

National Park Fees Policy - Zimbabwe

SERVICE	Rate	Rate	Rate	Comment
	0 - 5 years	6 - 11 years	12 - Above years
Rainforest
International	Free	10.00	20.00
Regional	Free	8.00	15.00	Only the Rainforest has a Regional Rate
Upper Zambezi Sundowner Cruise	Free	2.50	5.00
White Water Rafting	Free	N/A	10.00
Upper Zambezi Canoing	Free	5.00	10.00
Zambezi National Park - Game Drive	Free	7.50	15.00