A Luxury Zimbabwe Family Safari

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A Luxury Zimbabwe Family Safari

Duration10 days

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The thundering waters of Victoria Falls.

Three children admiring a view over Cape Town and the ocean from the top of Table Mountain

Lionness and cubs sat among tall grass spotted on a safari game drive

A girl and her mother observing a rhino in the wild.

Destinations

Days 1–4

Cape Town

Days 4–7

Victoria Falls

Aerial view of lush greenery and cascading waterfalls surrounded by a winding river, showcasing a stunning natural landscape.

Days 7–10

Hwange National Park

Herd of zembra running through the dry plains

Over ten unforgettable days, you’ll be guided through Zimbabwe’s natural wonders and wildlife. Your Zimbabwe family safari starts in Cape Town, where you can ascend Table Mountain for 360-degree views of South Africa’s capital, and observe African penguins on The Cape Peninsula. In Zimbabwe, see Victoria Falls with deeply knowledgeable guides – on walking safaris and from a helicopter. End your trip in Hwange National Park, searching for the Big Five and endangered African painted dogs.

Trip highlights

Explore secluded spots on The Cape Peninsula to see penguins and the 'Cape Five'
View Victoria Falls from a range of different perspectives, including by helicopter
Raft through rapids and pools on the Zambezi River
Take nature walks through the bush with specialist kids' guides
Spot the Big Five on game drives and walking safaris
Sleep under a blanket of stars by Madison Pan waterhole

Penguins are some of Cape Town's most adorable wildlife

Marvel at the sound and scale of Victoria Falls

Navigate the rapids on a white water rafting trip

Look out for smaller creatures on a bush walk

Spot the Big Five on a game drive

Our bespoke trips include

We design one-of-a-kind journeys incorporating luxury in all its forms. Our bespoke trips include:

Luxury accommodation throughout
Privately guided tours
Private transfers
Meticulously selected experiences
Expertise and support from your Jacada Concierge

Black and white illustration of two guides pointing to a building in the distance

Ready to plan your adventure?

Whatever you want from your trip, our team of expert travel designers are ready to help.

Start Planning

Days 1–4

Explore Cape Town’s wild and man-made beauty

Cape Town has dramatic natural beauty at every turn. One of the three capital cities in South Africa, it occupies a peninsula jutting into the ocean. Alabaster-hued beaches and rocky outcrops share the Atlantic coastline while diverse districts sprawl out in the shadow of Table Mountain.

During your time in here, you’ll ride in a cable car to reach Table Mountain’s flat top for sunrise views stretching in all directions. Children of all ages will love exploring Cape Peninsula, guided by a local expert who’ll take you to lesser-known beaches and observe African penguin colonies away from the crowded boardwalks of Boulder Beach. At Cape of Good Hope, your guides will help you to look for the ‘Cape Five’: baboons, bonteboks, mountain zebras, ostriches and tortoises.

The culinary scene is equally exciting, and a family-friendly food tour will guide you through the highlights. Street food vendors sell bunny chow (curry in bread bowls) and magwinya or ‘fat cakes’, deep-fried dough balls stuffed with sweet or savoury fillings. Taste a range at V&A Waterfront Food Market, where stalls sell specialities like bobotie, a Cape Malay speciality of curried mince topped with savoury custard, and silky, creamy melkterks (milk tarts).

Where you could stay

Exterior view of a grand pink hotel surrounded by trees with the flat-topped Table Mountain in the distance.

Cape Town

Mount Nelson

The Grand Dame, heritage property of Cape Town, Mount Nelson comes with bags of history and is widely considered one of the best hotels in South Africa. Located directly at the foot of Table Mountain, it’s set within expansive grounds with a collection of smaller buildings dotted throughout the gardens. Most rooms have been refurbished with a contemporary refresh, adding comfort and modern touches to the historic décor. The bar and restaurant have had a similar treatment making them a popular place to visit for Capetonians (a great sign for any hotel restaurant, particularly in the fickle and competitive Cape Town restaurant scene). With a vermiculture project, on-site beehives and locally produced organic vegetables, the hotel places strong emphasis on supporting the environment and local community. Mount Nelson is very much a location in itself. The large grounds sit just a short stroll away from downtown and also the Kloof Street Area, which is famous among locals for excellent new restaurants and boutiques. We especially recommend experiencing Afternoon Tea at Nelson (or Nellie, as it’s affectionately known), a Cape Town institution that’s very much worth trying.

Cape Town

The Cape Grace

Situated in the heart of the V&A Waterfront, the Cape Grace is one of Cape Town’s most famous luxury hotels.

Cape Town

The Steenberg Hotel

From the championship golf-course and spectacular views of False Bay to the sumptuous accommodation and top notch facilities, the Steenberg Hotel is one of Cape Town’s finest hotels. The estate itself is situated on the oldest farm in the picturesque Constantia Valley, producing wine since 1645. As you can imagine with a lineage like this, the wines currently produced are superb. Luckily they are all available for tasting in both of the two world-class restaurants, the Tryn and BistroSixteen82. There is also a private 18-hole golf-course, consistently voted one of the best-conditioned in South Africa and set to the inspiring back-drop of the Muizenberg Mountains. Once you’ve enjoyed a few rounds, head to the hotel spa or take a dip in the pool and enjoy cocktails on the lounge chairs. There are 24 elegantly-designed rooms and suites at The Steenberg. The 21 en-suite rooms provide modern, open-plan accommodation with terraces featuring vineyard or golf-course views – many also feature private patios. The three heritage suites epitomise the hotel’s commitment to luxury, with a vast amount of space available, underfloor heating throughout and their own butler service.

Discover more

Table Mountain

Cape Peninsula

Dune quad biking

The cable car going up and down Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa

Ascend Table Mountain for sunrise views

Rise early to take advantage of the best time to ascend Table Mountain. This symbol of Cape Town stands right in the heart of the city, and your guide will point out surrounding scenery as you ascend in cable cars. Once on the perfectly flat top, hear more of the geologic formation, and the meteorological phenomenon of the ‘tablecloth’ that often hovers directly over the plateau on clear days.

Three African penguins on a beach near Simon's Town in South Africa.

See penguins and look for the ‘Cape Five’

The Cape Peninsula stretches south from Cape Town to Cape Point. Spend the day exploring this rugged coastline, visiting enclaves and fishing communities. Your guide will take you to see a splinter colony of African penguins, accompanied by a conservationist. Continue to the Cape of Good Hope, where you can hike to secluded beaches and shipwrecks while seeking the Cape Five, and eat a picnic on the rocks.

Two people driving quadbikes over sand dunes

Ride through white desert dunes on quad bikes

North of the city, Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve was established to protect a natural aquifer and wildlife including steenboks (a breed of small antelope) and dune mole rats. It has bright white sand dunes that rise up to 50 metres, and teens and adults can ride through them on quad bikes, carving through the dunes. You can also try sandboarding, whizzing down some of the tallest dunes.

Days 4–7

Experience the thundering beauty of Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and the largest sheet of falling water. Zimbabwe’s side is on the southern bank of the Zambezi River. It’s known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya – ‘the Smoke that Thunders’.

Staying in luxury family-friendly accommodation built thoughtfully into its surroundings, you’ll be immersed in the area’s incredible nature. Explore the Zambezi River with sunset boat trips, and spend time at the falls and its surrounding rainforest. Your personal guide will share their rich knowledge of Victoria Falls’ history, geological significance and flora and fauna. Gain a different perspective of the falls’ scale on a helicopter ride, dubbed the ‘flight of the angels’.

The falls are surrounded by national parkland and preserves, home to free-roaming African elephants and other wildlife including hippos, baboons and monkeys. Take slow safari walks and rides to spot them, or head out with an experienced tracker to track endangered white and black rhinos.

Where you could stay

Positive Impact

Aerial shot of a riverside safari camp with boats docked at a sandy beach under a hazy sunset sky at Toka Leya Camp.

Livingstone and Victoria Falls

Wilderness Toka Leya Camp

In the eastern sector of the Mosi Oa Tunya National Park and about 12 kilometres from Victoria Falls, Wilderness Toka Leya gets immediate and fantastic views over the Zambezi River, and taking advantage of these are its twelve tented rooms. Each comes with a large decking area at the front leading out from large glass sliding doors, behind which is your large stylish open plan lounge area and bedroom. The camp’s main area is situated on a large decking area, and underneath a canopy of trees right beside the main channel of the Zambezi River. Perfect for atmospheric campfires on the bank and spotting the resident wildlife. Here there is also a very spacious open-plan lounge and dining room, set beneath an enormous canvas roof and with open sides to maximise the views. The wall at the back of the living area is a really great feature; it’s made of “log tiles”, which gives the room a very natural feel. Each tent has its very own solar panel, water geyser and batteries in keeping with the camp’s aim to lessen its environmental footprint.

Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls River Lodge

As the first lodge to be built in the Zambezi National Park, this property has certainly nabbed one of the best positions, so close to the Falls that you can even see the spray billowing into the sky in the near distance. With thirteen vast tented suites with contemporary style twists and modern amenities, you awake with folding back your canvas door strolling onto your private wooden terrace to be greeted by wild nature and spectacular river views. Five of these feature a children’s room and all have their own plunge pools out overlooking the Zambezi. Activities from the lodge include game drives and walking safaris into the national park, river cruises, canoeing, fishing and birding. On request, the more adventurous can try activities that Victoria Falls is renowned for – white water rafting and even flights over the falls.

Positive Impact

Victoria Falls

Matetsi Victoria Falls

Set within the pristine Matetsi Private Game Reserve along an exclusive 15km (9 mile) stretch of the Zambezi River a little upstream from Mosi-oa-Tunya, Matetsi River Lodge perfectly combines fine safari with easy access to the thrills and adventure of Victoria Falls. The River Lodge comprises of two intimate camps of just nine suites each, including two family suites. All the suites are modern with clean lines softened by local craft pieces and repurposed materials. Bathrooms boast indoor and outdoor showers as well as a deep bath which looks out over the Zambezi. A private veranda offers a refreshing plunge pool and a peaceful sitting area that overlooks the river. At the heart of each camp is a communal area with a variety of dining spaces, an interactive kitchen, convivial bar area and an al fresco area that encircles a blazing fire bowl. All with a unifying theme of a wood and copper, the ‘red gold’ of the country’s historical mining industry. There’s also a large central pool, massage sala, fitness centre and wine cellar. Matetsi River House is an exclusive use villa with four bedrooms, its own kitchen, dining areas, pool and a dedicated guide, private vehicle, chef and butler, ensuring a tailor-made safari unlike any other. The 50,000ha (124,000 acre) private reserve is home to large herds of elephant and buffalo as well as an assortment of plains game and predators including kudu, sable and roan antelope, hippo, lion, leopard, African wild dog, spotted hyena, and 366 bird species. Explore the concession on expertly guided game drives, horseback safaris and bush walks, or head out onto the water on canoeing excursions, fishing trips and sunset river cruises. You can also discover Victoria Falls and the famous adventure activities that surround it such as white water rafting, bungee jumping, scenic flights and zip lining.

Make it mine

Zambezi rafting

High-perched lunch

A group of people white water rafting on the Zambezi river.

Go white water rafting on the mighty Zambezi River

The Zambezi River is known as one of the world’s top white water rafting destinations. On this bespoke adventure, choose from an oar boat for a gentler ride or take a paddle boat to power through super-fast rapids. Your family adventure is backdropped by Batoka Gorge, which plunges from heights of more than 200 metres.

Tour close up to Victoria Falls in a family trip in Zambia

A lunch with a view at The Lookout Café

On the rim of Batoka Gorge, The Lookout Café has tables spilling on to a semi-outdoor terrace – taking full advantage of the incredible views. Eat burgers, salads and wraps, made with seasonal ingredients, in a setting crafted using eco-friendly and recycled materials, as you take in views of Zambezi River rapids and Victoria Falls Bridge.

Days 7–10

A safari in Hwange National Park

Zimbabwe’s largest national park provides important habitat for more than 100 mammals and 400 bird species. More than 20,000 African elephants roam this land of dense forest, grassy plains, palm islands and Kalahari sandveld. Hwange National Park is also home to the Big Five – and what’s believed to be among the largest populations of African wild or painted dogs.

Over three incredible days in Hwange National Park, you’ll enjoy a luxury Zimbabwe safari. Go on private game drives by day and night for the best wildlife-spotting opportunities, or take in the landscape at a slower pace, heading out on foot with experienced safari guides. All ages can join child-certified guides to learn about animal tracks, native plants and smaller creatures often missed when exploring by vehicle. Hotels also have dedicated kids’ clubs offering bespoke activities including cooking classes, storytelling and arts and crafts.

For a truly unforgettable experience, sleep on star beds at Madison Pan, one of the park’s wildlife-rich waterholes. You’ll spend the night on a raised platform, drifting off under a canopy of stars to a soundtrack provided by the bush.

Wilderness Linkwasha Camp

Wilderness Linkwasha Camp lies in the south-eastern corner of the legendary Hwange National Park, on a private concession close to the famed Ngamo Plains, offering excellent year-round game viewing that peaks during the summer months. Though Hwange is Zimbabwe’s most popular national park, Linkwasha’s private concessions means that guests will never see another game vehicle except those from the camp. A completely new camp, built from the ground up on the footprint of the old Linkwasha, the fresh, open and airy design is complemented by an eclectic mix of contemporary interiors with the original spirit and essence of safari. Nine en-suite luxury tents and one family tent overlook the waterhole, with the communal areas, including a pool area and a winter lounge complete with library, enjoying the same view. If you want to get even closer to nature, spend a night on Wilderness Linkwasha’s Star Bed, located on a raised platform a short drive from the main camp with nothing but a mosquito net between you and the wild. Overlooking Scott’s Pan, a favourite drinking spot for game, you can be assured of incredible sightings and a guide will be set up a short distance away should you need any assistance during the night. Wildlife frequently encountered in this area includes lion, large herds of elephant, buffalo, leopard, spotted hyena, giraffe, sable, blue wildebeest, impala, waterbuck and reedbuck. In summer, wildebeest, zebra and eland are found in abundance on the open plains, while in winter elephant congregate in enormous numbers around the waterholes. Typically for Zimbabwe, birdlife in the area is prolific with over 400 species recorded. Aside from day and evening game drives, the bush can be explored on foot and respectful visits to a local village can also be organised.

Go deeper

Wilderness guardians

Village visit

A female safari guide holding binoculars and looking overs the plains in search of animals

Meet the rangers who protect the park’s wildlife

The Scorpion Anti-Poaching Unit is dedicated to protecting the land, and its extraordinary wildlife, from poachers. Meet some of these remarkable rangers, who scour the land on foot and by vehicle, dismantling poachers’ camps and removing wire snares. Visit their base camp to hear stories of rescued and rehabilitated animals, and head out with them to observe them at work.

Learn about local life and culture on a community visit

Several villages occupy the outskirts of Hwange National Park. Accompanied by a resident guide or wilderness expert, you’ll head out to one of them. Spend time with people in the community, and tour the school, meeting the headteacher. Learn from the residents about cultural traditions, education initiatives and projects aimed at preserving the area’s fauna and flora.

“Amazing South Africa & Zimbabwe‌”

The trip was perfect from start to finish which I completely attribute to the communication with James and Eugenia. I really felt as if our needs were anticipated and our style of travel understood. They truly picked the best accommodations and made transfers between easy. I've never had such a seamless and well-organized travel experience. It is so worth it…

Published 01st September 2024 on Trustpilot

Candice Hall