Zimbabwe travel guide

Harare

Harare is where most Zimbabwean trips begin, and where most of them are booked. Nearly every package on this site leaves from here, so the city is worth knowing as a base as well as a destination. It sits high — roughly 1,500 metres up — which is why the evenings cool off quickly and why October feels hotter than the thermometer suggests. Within an hour's drive you can be at a dam, a granite hill or a stretch of woodland, which makes Harare unusually good for the kind of trip that starts after work on a Friday and is back by Sunday night. This page pulls together the deals leaving from Harare, the operators who run them, and the places close enough to reach on a tank of fuel.

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Best time to visit

The dry months from May to August are the easy ones: cool mornings, clear skies and no mud on the dirt roads out of town. September and October are hot and dusty, but they are also when the jacarandas come out and when the lake and lowveld trips are cheapest to fill. The rains usually arrive in November and run to March — afternoon storms rather than all-day drizzle, and the bush around the city turns green almost overnight. If you are planning a weekend away, avoid the first fortnight of the rains for anything involving a dirt track.

Getting around and getting out

Harare is the road and air hub for the country. Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport handles the domestic hops to Victoria Falls and Kariba, and the main highways fan out from the city towards Mutare, Bulawayo, Chirundu and Nyanga. For a weekend away, most people either take an operator's coach — every escorted package on this site includes return transport from Harare — or hire a car and drive. If you are driving yourself, fill up before you leave the city and carry cash for tolls.

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Where to stay in Harare

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Things to do in Harare

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Harare highlights

  • Mukuvisi Woodlands — a working patch of miombo woodland inside the city, with walking trails and resident game
  • Domboshava and the granite country north of town, close enough for a morning hike and lunch
  • Lake Chivero, the nearest water to the city for fishing, boats and a braai
  • Ewanrigg Botanical Garden, an easy drive out along the Shamva road
  • The city's markets and galleries, worth half a day before an early flight

Harare questions

What can I do from Harare over a single weekend?

Nyanga, Kariba and Great Zimbabwe are all within a comfortable drive, and each has two-night packages that leave Harare on a Friday and are back on Sunday. Victoria Falls is a stretch by road for two nights — most people either fly or take a longer trip.

Do I need a 4x4 to get out of the city?

Not for the main routes. The highways to Nyanga, Mutare, Masvingo and Bulawayo are tarred the whole way, and the lake and park turn-offs are usually manageable in a normal car in the dry season. Inside the national parks and on farm tracks after rain, a high-clearance vehicle is worth having.

Is it cheaper to book a package or to arrange a trip myself?

For a group, packages usually work out cheaper, because the operator is filling a coach and buying accommodation in bulk. For two people with a car, doing it yourself gives you more control over the timing. Compare what the package includes — transport, meals and entrance fees add up fast.

When do the deals on this page change?

Deals come off the page automatically once they expire, and new ones go up as operators send them through. If you want them as they land, sign up for the alerts below.

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Other destinations

Victoria Falls Kariba Nyanga Mutare & Bvumba Hwange Great Zimbabwe & Masvingo Bulawayo & Matobo