Hwange National Park Travel Guide

There are no public restaurants in the national park, and during your time in Hwange you’ll enjoy all meals in your chosen safari lodge. Lodge chefs put enormous effort into ensuring a culinary adventure as exciting as the time spent out on game drives. Weather permitting; during your stay you’ll enjoy dinners under African stars, bush breakfasts and memorable African hospitality. 

A highlight for most visitors are the boma dinners, with lamp-lit tables laid in the outdoors ‘boma’ enclosure close to the lodge. Here barbecue-inspired feasts are infused with local flavours and culinary traditions, and often feature cultural performances by staff at the lodge.

There is no formal dress code at safari lodges, where the emphasis is on comfort according to the seasons. Cotton clothing that allows you to dress in layers is best, remembering that the temperature can vary greatly from pre-dawn game drives to mid-afternoon siestas by the pool. 

Start your day with a good thermal fleece for cool morning drives, but as the day heats up you’ll want a good sun-hat, a swimsuit for the lodge pool and plenty of high-SPF sunscreen. Personal binoculars and a camera are also useful. 

Lodges will usually offer a safari boutique stocking personal hygiene basics, branded clothing and souvenirs, but be sure to pack spare memory cards and specific charging cables. It is also essential that travelers have sufficient supplies of any prescription medication before arrival.

Hwange National Park is a year-round destination, with each season bringing its own charms. For game viewing the dry months of winter (July-October) are best, with large herds of wildlife drawn to the permanent waterholes, and the dry vegetation making spotting easier. Once the rains arrive in summer (December-March) the bush erupts in a lush botanical bounty, and while game viewing is not as easy it’s balanced by wonderful birding opportunities as migrant species arrive in the region.

Hwange National Park, like most of northern Zimbabwe, is classified as a malaria area. While the risk is considerably lower during the dry winter months (July-October), anti-malarial prophylactics are recommended year-round. Consult your travel doctor at least three weeks before departure.

Hwange National Park is an ideal option for travellers looking to combine a safari adventure with time marvelling at the Victoria Falls. See how the land lies with our handy safari travel maps for Zimbabwe…

Victoria Falls International Airport (VFA) is situated just 21-kilometres south of Victoria Falls town, with direct flights linking to long-haul international services at Johannesburg and Cape Town, in neighbouring South Africa. 

Private charter flights offer fast and convenient connections to/from Hwange, as well as other local and regional destinations, including Maun (for the Okavango Delta) and Kasane (for the Chobe River) in Botswana. Alternatively, Hwange is roughly two hours’ drive from the airport.