Safety in Victoria Falls

Safety, Guided Tour of the Falls, Day to Chobe worth the Money?

QUESTION

Hi Boo
Thanks for all your help. I've been thinking about my trip and came up
with some questions and a rough itinerary.
I'm arriving there on Monday 13. July. I planned to use the first day
just to get to know the city and visit the falls without any specific plan.
 

The first question, is it safe to walk around the town by myself and do
you happen to to know how far is it to the falls from my hostel Victoria
Falls Backpackers (357 Gibson Road)?

Do you recommend a guided tour at the falls or is it as spectacular by myself too?

On my second day I planned to do "The Big Air Experience" by shearwater -
should I book it in advance or will it work out if just ask for it on the falls?
 

3rd day the Full Day White Water Rafting.
 

4th day I planned to go a safari. I would like to do an overnight trip to
Chobe and spend one night in a tent, but what is your personal opinion, is the trip to Chobe
and especially an overnight trip worth the extra penny or would you prefer discover Safaris instead?

I'm also planning to do the upper zambezi canoeing, but haven't yet
decided when. In general should I book the activities in advance and decide the
dates already or it ok to book them on the same day?

 Is bottled water, food supplies and affordable restaurants easily to be found?
 

Thank you for your time.
Best regards,

Joni T

ANSWER

Hi Joni

To answer you question on safety in Victoria Falls it is definitely safe
to walk around the town by yourself – maybe at night we would suggest
walking with someone else or catching a local taxi – this is purely because the
wild animals that could be around – but for no other reason. 

Your hostel is will positioned and well within walking distance to town, supermarkets and
cheap restaurants.

 Bottle water and food supplies can very easily be brought from [Jays] Supermarket in town.

 
The only reason that I would recommend a guided tour – would be to get the
more in depth details on how the Falls were formed, heights etc.  – but the
path is very straight forward and if you don’t really  need to know all these details – (or if you have read it all on our web site – before hand) you probably would not need the guided tour.

 
The activities that you want to do – Big Air Experience, white water
rafting and canoeing – can be pre booked for you or you can book on
arrival in Vic Falls.  My personal advice to you would be to pre book these for two
reasons –
 

1.      When you arrive in Vic Falls – it gets a bit confusing with a lot
of people all selling the same products.. There are definitely two main
operators Shearwater and Wild Horizons – you don’t want to be sold something
that is maybe not what you think.

  Make up your mind what you want before hand and stick with it – take time to make it the best you can for your enjoyment.  If you have these pre booked – you certainly will not face
any disappointment that the trip is full or something like that – you know on
your arrival what you are booked on and what date etc.  It just makes for
a more enjoyable experience.

2.      As you probably know – when you arrive in Vic Falls everything
has to be paid by cash – if you pre book you activities – you will be able to
use a credit card – and save having to carry a  lot of extra cash with
you –

My thoughts on a trip to Chobe – is definitely do a day trip – it is
great to get up to see the Chobe River and National Park – but maybe the
overnight stay is not really worth the money.

The Discover Safari is a great trip and you will certainly have more of a personal experience with Charles -but if it is numbers and variety of game that you are after - the Chobe National Park is better that the Zambezi National Park where the Discover Safaris operate.

  
Anyway Joni – hope I have helped if you give me you exact dates – we
could have a look at maybe an itinerary that would work well with you.  Look
forward  hearing back from you.
Regards

Boo

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