Serious guiding

The safari guides in Zimbabwe are on another level, there is no better wildlife qualification on the planet.

           Superb locations

The wildlife reserves of Hwange, Mana Pools and Gonarezhou are three of the best in Africa.

          Authentic camps

Most camp owners in Zimbabwe are the kind of deeply passionate people who firmly place conservation before commerce.

          Value for money

Some of the camps in the Hwange area offer amongst the most reasonably-priced authentic safari experiences in the whole of Africa.

          Low visitor numbers

Zimbabwe lies out of the eyeline of most safari travellers, making the place something of an insider secret.

         Strong combos

It is very easy to add extensions like Victoria Falls, Cape Town and the Cape Winelands, or even the tropical beaches of Mozambique.

            6 to 9 nights

Most of our guests tend to deploy just 6 to 9 nights on safari in Zimbabwe, which allows time to combine Victoria Falls with a few nights on safari in the nearby Hwange area.

           10 to 14 nights

Experienced Africa travellers are more likely to combine two or even three different safari locations (Hwange, Mana Pools, Gonarezhou), optionally with nights in Victoria Falls.

             15 to 28 nights

For longer trips, most people will start to combine with safari areas in Botswana or Zambia, or add a self-drive extension in Namibia or the Cape.

The cost of safari in Zimbabwe

Safari in Zimbabwe ranges from surprisingly good value to rather pricey, certainly less than Botswana, but above South Africa. You can expect to spend USD 400 to 2000 per person per night

We are more than happy to work across this range of prices. The only important thing is that we help you find the very best safari to suit your budget.

The two dominant price factors are the length of time that you spend on safari and the specific lodges that you choose to include in your trip. Deploying more time in town, rural and beach locations can bring the total cost down dramatically.

If you have a higher budget, we will help you determine which camps do actually deliver elevated levels of service and experience. We will also highlight other subtle ways in which your trip can be raised to another level, including the use of whole camp bookings, private guides and vehicles, helicopter explorations of remote areas etc.

If you have a medium budget, the best way to keep a lid on costs is to carefully choose lower-cost lodges.  You can also reduce the number of core safari nights and deploy time in more cost-effective beach, town and rural locations. We will help you understand where to trim and where to splash in order to achieve the best overall experience.

If you have a lower budget, then we can always look at other fundamentally less pricey safari countries.

Victoria Falls

A few days at the Victoria Falls can work really well at the front end of a Zimbabwe safari, there’s some lovely lodges, the falls are impressive and there’s loads of other interesting activities in the area.

The Cape

Cape Town, the Cape Winelands and the Whale Coast all contain fabulous lodges and offer great value for money. Direct flights from the falls make it a very easy combo.

Mozambique

If you are looking for tropical beaches, then there is nowhere better than Mozambique. The only downside is that you will most likely need an overnight in Johannesburg on the way.

The best lodges in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has around 50 safari lodges, with the vast majority being evenly split between Hwange and Mana Pools.

We are able to include any of these properties in your trip. We ones most like to recommend fall into two categories …

Firstly, there are the truly high-end lodges, which are in the very best locations and offer the highest levels of guiding, hospitality and consistency, suitable for demanding guests.

Secondly, there are the relatively good value camps, which are also in excellent locations and also take their guiding very seriously, but which typically offer lower levels of luxury and have the potential to be slightly less consistent in their delivery, suitable for more easy-going guests.

The properties that we generally prefer to avoid in Zimbabwe are those which are located in busy public-access areas, typically around the main road entrances to national parks.

You can always expect absolute honesty from us when describing the various lodges and camps. Our primary motivation is simply to figure out which ones will suit you the best.

Luxury trips

Our luxury trips to Zimbabwe combine lodges which are in prime locations, where high levels of comfort and service are guaranteed. This does not necessarily mean infinity pools and spa facilities, but it does always mean that you will be hosted and guided by the very best people in the country. That is how to truly guarantee the quality of a safari.

Adventure trips

In our adventure trips to Zimbabwe, we use a much wider range of lodges, still in fabulous locations and offering authentic safari experiences, but often at considerably lower cost. More strenuous activities, like walking safari, are likely to feature more prominently. These cool, sometimes edgy lodges tend to be best suited to guests who are a little more outdoorsy and forgiving.

When to go on safari in Zimbabwe

The safari areas of Zimbabwe are very seasonal. Extremely detailed knowledge of every single camp is needed to properly plan a great safari.  When thinking about seasonality it is important to consider the four aspects of weather, wildlife movements, visitor traffic and prices.

May-Jun : Early dry season

The May-Jun season is a period of transition from the hot wet summer to the cool dry winter and is generally considered to be a decent time to visit, before the harshness of the main dry season kicks in.

Out in the safari areas, in dry years, the green season should be reaching an end, the long grass should be yellowing and the animals starting to move back towards the network of permanent waterholes, all of which should lead to an increase in sightings.

In wetter years some elements of the green season conditions may endure all the way into June, making wildlife viewing a little more challenging.

During May-Jun temperatures can drop pretty low during the night, but this has little adverse effect on safari, the days are gorgeous and there are virtually no insects around.

The majority of camps are significantly discounted during this period, perhaps 20% less than during the peak dry season.

Jul-Sep : Dry season

The Jul-Sep dry season is the classic time to visit Zimbabwe and is generally considered to be the best time for wildlife viewing, as serious numbers of animals are drawn in to the permanent sources of water from the vast dry hinterland.

During Jul-Aug the cooler temperatures can of the preceding season can continue, but this has little adverse effect on safari, the days are gorgeous and there are virtually no insects around. The weather during Aug-Sep should be perfect.

This is very much the high season in terms of prices. Visitor numbers are peaking, so traffic avoidance measures (such as staying on private concession areas) should be considered.

Oct-Dec : Hot rainy season

The Oct-Dec hot season represents the transition period between the peak of the dry season and the start of the rains.

During this period the temperatures and humidities can become uncomfortably high in advance of the rains. This can be a very significant issue, especially since the vast majority of camps do not have air-conditioning.

If considerable rainfall does arrive (usually during December) it usually brings a blessed relief from the high temperatures, but can be heavy and prolonged.

The animals in the safari areas are delighted to see the rain and may start to migrate outwards from the permanent waterholes, potentially causing a marked drop off in sightings.

Water flow rates in the Zambezi River can become very low at this time, causing the Victoria Falls to almost run dry and greatly reducing the quality of the white-water rafting too.

The majority of camps are significantly discounted during Nov-Dec, perhaps 20% less than during the peak dry season. 

Jan-Apr : Green season

The period Jan-Apr is the main green season in Zimbabwe, when the country experiences the majority of its rainfall. This is an unusual time to visit.

At this time the landscapes in the safari areas tend to be verdant and beautiful, the animals well fed and there’s lots of babies around, providing a great contrast to the harshness of the dry season.

With the animals being more dispersed and the long grasses providing extra cover, wildlife viewing can be a good deal more difficult, usually causing a drop off in sightings.

The temperatures and humidities are usually higher than usual, although not usually to the extent of the preceding season. Conditions are usually pleasant enough.

It's the Dec-Feb period which threatens the greatest chance of more cloud and rain, with safari conditions potentially become a good deal more challenging.

Water flow rates in the Zambezi River can become very high towards the end of this period, the excess spray potentially obscuring views of the Victoria Falls and possibly causing white-water rafting operations to be suspended.

The camps are significantly discounted throughout this season, perhaps 30% less than during the peak dry season

Expert

Our safari experts are uncommonly knowledgeable and experienced

765,000

The number of superb safaris we have  so far created

Seamless

Arranging your trip should be almost as much fun as actually going on safari  

Value

Your trip should cost you no more than if you booked all the components directly

Tailored

Your trip will be perfectly tuned to meet your requirements

What our guests say

“We’ve used many different travel organizers and agents, but one truly stands like a giraffe, head and shoulders above all others.”

Linda Goddard  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

“ATR are the experts in their field and I wouldn’t trust anyone else.”

Tara Stewart  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

“ATR are honest in their appraisal of individual lodges. You can trust their judgement.”

Graeme Gales  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

4.9   ★ ★ ★ ★ ★  

Average Google Review Score

1999

The year that we started to build great safaris

Hwange

Set just 130km south of Victoria Falls, Hwange is the most popular wildlife reserve in Zimbabwe, renowned for the quality of its safari guiding, rich and varied wildlife, authentic walking safari and superb hides, with guest accommodation in around 25 largely earthy and authentic lodges and camps.

The most significant downside for Hwange is that not all of the properties offer the elevated levels of safari guiding and intensity of safari experience for which the area is renowned, so you need to choose your camps carefully.

Mana Pools

Set 460km downstream of Victoria Falls, Mana Pools is a really impressive wilderness, particularly renowned for awesome safari guiding, wild-dogs, hardcore walking safari and intense canoe safari, with guest accommodation in a dozen largely earthy and authentic lodges and camps.

The most significant downside for Mana Pools is that it is awkward and costly to access. There can also be significant self-drive traffic in core areas during the high season.

Set in the south of Zimbabwe, some 400km from Harare, Gonarezhou is a remote, scenic, but little visited part of the vast Great Limpopo Trans-Frontier Park, with guest accommodation in fewer than a handful of good quality camps, offering a good range of well-guided safari activities.

The most significant downside for Mana Pools is that it is awkward and costly to access. The wildlife can also be relatively inaccessible compared with the riches of Hwange and Mana Pools.

Gonarezhou

           Disparate locations

Unfortunately, the three best safari areas in Zimbabwe are at opposite ends of the country, which can make them very expensive to combine.

           Short season
 
Most safari areas in Zimbabwe are only fully open during the Jun-Oct dry season. The black cotton soil can get famously sticky when it rains.

           Difficult access

Unfortunately, the international flight routes to Zimbabwe (both Harare and Victoria Falls) are often more tortuous than those to other safari countries.