Cape Town to Victoria Falls

Southern Africa Safari:

Cape Town to Victoria Falls

Year round

From £12,760pp

Cruise & Land

11 Nights

One&Only Cape Town South Africa Accommodation

Yellow Billed Stork Chobe River Botswana

Southern Africa

From the Cape's iconic shores to the thunder of Victoria Falls, discover the wild grandeur of Southern Africa

This journey traces a magnificent arc across Southern Africa, from the cosmopolitan elegance of Cape Town to the raw, untamed power of Victoria Falls, with the great wilderness of Chobe woven in between. Beginning at the foot of Table Mountain, you settle into one of the continent’s finest city hotels before venturing out to explore the dramatic Cape Peninsula and the cultural layers of one of the world’s most compelling cities. From here, the journey turns northward, crossing into the heart of Botswana, where the Chobe River becomes your highway and the Zambezi Queen your floating retreat. Game-rich floodplains, vast elephant herds, and silent early mornings on the water define these days. The journey reaches its crescendo at Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi plunges into the gorge below, and the mist rises above the canopy like smoke. Throughout, accommodation is chosen with care, movement is considered, and the depth of each landscape is given the attention it deserves. This is Southern Africa at its most rewarding.

Itinerary highlights

Settle into the refined elegance of One&Only Cape Town, a landmark hotel set on a private marina island with Table Mountain as your backdrop.

Journey the length of the Cape Peninsula, taking in the Cape of Good Hope, the cliffs of Cape Point, and the charming penguin colony at Boulders Beach.

Explore Cape Town at your own pace, from the painted streets of Bo-Kaap and the history of Robben Island to the wine estates of Constantia and the energy of the V&A Waterfront.

Board the Zambezi Queen, a luxury floating lodge on the Chobe River, drifting through one of Africa's most wildlife-rich waterways as elephant herds wade through the shallows at sunset.

Venture deep into Chobe National Park on guided game drives and boat safaris, encountering the largest elephant population on earth alongside buffalo, lion, hippo, and abundant birdlife.

Check into Old Drift Lodge, an intimate eco-retreat set within Zambezi National Park, where the forest canopy shelters your path and the roar of the Falls carries on the evening breeze.

Stand at the edge of Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and feel the full, thundering force of the Zambezi as rainbows form and dissolve in the mist below.

From the Cape's iconic shores to the thunder of Victoria Falls, discover the wild grandeur of Southern Africa

Itinerary highlights

Settle into the refined elegance of One&Only Cape Town, a landmark hotel set on a private marina island with Table Mountain as your backdrop.

Journey the length of the Cape Peninsula, taking in the Cape of Good Hope, the cliffs of Cape Point, and the charming penguin colony at Boulders Beach.

Explore Cape Town at your own pace, from the painted streets of Bo-Kaap and the history of Robben Island to the wine estates of Constantia and the energy of the V&A Waterfront.

Board the Zambezi Queen, a luxury floating lodge on the Chobe River, drifting through one of Africa's most wildlife-rich waterways as elephant herds wade through the shallows at sunset.

Venture deep into Chobe National Park on guided game drives and boat safaris, encountering the largest elephant population on earth alongside buffalo, lion, hippo, and abundant birdlife.

Check into Old Drift Lodge, an intimate eco-retreat set within Zambezi National Park, where the forest canopy shelters your path and the roar of the Falls carries on the evening breeze.

Stand at the edge of Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and feel the full, thundering force of the Zambezi as rainbows form and dissolve in the mist below.

Day 1

Journey begins

Your Southern African adventure begins this evening as you board your overnight flight bound for Cape Town. Settle in as the lights of home fall away beneath you, and let the anticipation of what lies ahead carry you through the night. By morning, the southern tip of the African continent will be waiting.

Day 2

Cape Town, South Africa

Touch down in Cape Town, where Table Mountain rises above the city like a sentinel and the Atlantic air carries the promise of extraordinary days ahead. A private transfer takes you directly to One&Only Cape Town, a landmark of quiet luxury set on its own island within the V&A Waterfront marina. The views from your room stretch across the water to the mountain beyond, and as you settle in, the city begins to reveal itself around you. This evening, dine at your leisure within the hotel or venture out to explore Cape Town's celebrated restaurant scene, already one of the finest in Africa.

Day 3

Cape Peninsula, Cape Town

Today you venture south on one of the world's great coastal drives, the Cape Peninsula sweeping dramatically before you. Wind along the clifftops of Chapman's Peak, pausing where the road clings to the mountain face above the ocean far below. At Boulders Beach, a colony of African penguins goes about its business with charming indifference to your presence. Continue to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans converge at the continent's southwestern tip and the views are breathtaking in every direction. Return to Cape Town as the afternoon light softens, with memories of an extraordinary day already forming.

Day 4

Cape Town, South Africa

A full day to immerse yourself in one of Africa's most captivating cities. Walk the cobbled lanes of the Bo-Kaap, where brightly painted houses reflect the heritage of Cape Town's Cape Malay community and the scent of cardamom and cinnamon drifts from kitchen windows. Cross by ferry to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held for eighteen years and where the story of South Africa's long road to freedom is told with quiet dignity. Alternatively, head out to the Constantia wine estates for a leisurely afternoon of tastings amid historic Cape Dutch architecture. By evening, the V&A Waterfront offers a fine setting for a final Cape Town supper beneath the mountain's illuminated silhouette.

Day 5

Kasane, Botswana

After breakfast, you transfer to the airport for your flight north, leaving the mountains and oceans of the Cape behind as you cross into the heart of the continent. You arrive in Kasane, Botswana, the gateway to Chobe, where a transfer takes you directly to the riverbank and the waiting Zambezi Queen. This elegant floating lodge will be your home for the next two nights, moored in the calm waters of the Chobe River with the floodplains stretching away on either side. A welcome drink, a settling-in, and then your first evening game cruise as the sun sinks low and the hippos begin their evening chorus. Dinner is served under the open sky, with the stars of the southern hemisphere overhead and the sounds of the African bush all around you.

Day 6-7

The Chobe River, Botswana

Wake early to the sounds of the river and join your guide for a morning boat safari along the Chobe, one of the most rewarding game-viewing waterways in Africa. Elephant herds move down to drink in their dozens, sometimes their hundreds, while crocodiles bask on the sandy banks and a remarkable variety of birds fills the trees above the waterline. Return to the Zambezi Queen for breakfast and the slower pleasures of the middle of the day, before heading out again as the afternoon cools into another extraordinary game cruise. Every bend in the river brings a new tableau, and the light on the water in the late afternoon is something that stays with you long after you have left.

Day 8

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

You arrive in Victoria Falls and transfer to Old Drift Lodge, an intimate eco-retreat set within the protected land of Zambezi National Park, just a short distance from the Falls themselves. Named after the original colonial river crossing, the lodge sits beneath a canopy of trees with the sounds of the bush and the distant rumble of the Falls carrying through the air. This afternoon, you are invited to take your first walk to the Falls themselves, where the full scale of the Zambezi's power begins to reveal itself. Return to the lodge for an early sundowner and dinner in the open-air boma as the night sky deepens above you.

Day 9

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

A full day to explore Victoria Falls on your own terms. This morning, stand at the edge of the gorge and look out across the widest curtain of falling water on earth, the spray rising high above the canopy and the sound filling everything around you. Rainbows form and dissolve in the mist, and the sheer force of what you are witnessing is humbling. For those who wish to go further, a scenic helicopter flight over the chasm offers a perspective that few ever forget. In the afternoon, board a sunset cruise on the upper Zambezi, drifting through the calm water above the Falls as elephant and giraffe appear along the banks and the sky turns gold above the river.

Day 10

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Your last full day in Zimbabwe moves at your own pace. This morning might take you to a local village for a guided walk and a warm introduction to the community that lives alongside one of the world's great natural wonders. The more adventurous may choose white-water rafting through the Batoka Gorge, one of the finest runs in the world, or a guided walk through the rainforest created by the Falls' perpetual mist. Return to Old Drift Lodge for a final afternoon of quiet reflection, a last sundowner overlooking the treetops, and a dinner to remember before your final night on African soil.

Day 11

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

After a final breakfast at Old Drift Lodge, your journey draws gently to a close. A transfer takes you to Victoria Falls Airport, where you board your overnight flight back to London. The journey home gives you time to reflect on everything you have witnessed: the mountain and the ocean, the river and the plains, the elephants, the Falls, and the singular beauty of Southern Africa seen at its very best.

Day 12

Arrive home

You arrive back in the UK this morning, carrying the memories of an extraordinary journey across three countries and some of the most remarkable landscapes on earth.

What's Included

International return flights from the UK
Domestic and regional flights
Seamless ground transfers
Handpicked accommodations throughout
Meals as indicated + all park and conservation fees
All activities and game drives aboard the Zambezi Queen
Guided game drives and boat safaris in Chobe National Park
All activities at Old Drift Lodge, including guided walks and safari experiences
Expert English-speaking local guides throughout

What's Included

International return flights from the UK
Domestic and regional flights
Seamless ground transfers
Handpicked accommodations throughout
Meals as indicated + all park and conservation fees
All activities and game drives aboard the Zambezi Queen
Guided game drives and boat safaris in Chobe National Park
All activities at Old Drift Lodge, including guided walks and safari experiences
Expert English-speaking local guides throughout

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Cape Town to Victoria Falls

Southern Africa Safari: