Many tourists combine their holiday in South Africa with 2 or 3 nights at Victoria Falls by flying into either Zambia or Zimbabwe.  Both countries are serviced by direct flights daily from Johannesburg, and Zambia by a direct flight from Cape Town on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday (return flights to Cape Town depart on a Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday), and the flights take just over 2 hours.

Flying to Zambia

The airport to fly to is Livingstone (airport code LVI). The town of Livingstone itself is an historic colonial city, and is situated only about 10 km from the Falls themselves.

Road transfers can be arranged from the airport to the many hotels on the Zambian side of the Falls, so visitors do not need to worry about getting taxis or hiring cars.

The following visa fees are payable upon entry for all visitors to Zambia (subject to change):

All nationalities: $50 for single, $80 for double and $160 for multiple entry.

For people wanting to combine Vic Falls with a Kruger safari, there is a service run by SAA that operates directly from Kruger Mpumalanga / Nelspruit (airport code MQP) to Livingstone, which currently operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  A new flight is being planned for Saturdays (commencing March 10 2012) and eventually Tuesdays (from August 7 2012).

FedAir are also launching a direct shuttle flight from Nelspruit to Livingstone on Tuesdays and Fridays, and from Livingstone to Nelspruit on Wednesdays and Saturdays. 

This avoids safari goers having to stay overnight or connect in Johannesburg prior to flying to Livingstone. The opportunity is then for travellers to enjoy a game drive and breakfast at their bush lodge before travelling to Livingstone and enjoying, on the same day, an evening sunset cruise on the Zambezi. For people travelling from Livingstone to Kruger, they can enjoy a walk to the Falls in the morning, then breakfast and mid-morning activities before travelling to Kruger to enjoy dinner and the first night in the bush.

The SAA flights departs Nelspruit Kruger at just before midday, and takes just over 2 hours to arrive at Livingstone. The return flight departs Livingstone at early afternoon, arriving in Nelspruit Kruger just before 5 pm.  Please note these times are subject to change. 

The FedAir flight times are still to be confirmed. 

Flying to Zimbabwe

The airport to fly to is Victoria Falls (airport code VFA). Again, road transfers can be arranged from the airport to the many hotels. The town of Victoria Falls itself is about 10 minutes from the Falls, and is small but busy, and has several craft markets where visitors can buy souvenirs and locally made trinkets.

The following visa fees are payable upon entry for all visitors to Zimbabwe (subject to change):

For British and Irish passport holders: US$55 for single entry and US$70 for double entry.

For other nationalities: US$30 for single entry and US$40 for double entry.