Zambezi Dusk works for groups because it is small. A lodge with few suites, a pool, a riverside deck and a fully inclusive rate is close to having your own place on the Zambezi, with a kitchen and guides already in place. Friends' trips, milestone birthdays, family reunions and small wedding parties all fit.
How a group can use the lodge
The lodge has three kinds of room: the Zambezi Dusk Villa, Superior Zambezi Chalets and luxury safari tents. A group might take:
- the villa alone, for a family or a close group who want to share one house;
- the villa plus chalets or tents, so couples or older relatives can have their own space;
- as much of the lodge as is free, if your dates allow.
We don't print bed counts here. Send the lodge your numbers, who is sharing with whom, and any ages, and it will tell you what works.
What is included for everyone
Each guest's rate covers meals made with local ingredients, selected drinks, airport transfers, two guided boat safaris a day from the lodge and two daily activities from the guided experiences list. Stays of two nights or more also include one spa treatment, in the suite or outdoors; ask the lodge how this works for a group booking.
For groups, the inclusive rate solves the problem of splitting bills at the end of every dinner. Extras, such as partner-run activities that aren't covered and drinks outside the selected list, are the only things to settle.
Activities that work for groups
- Boat safaris from the lodge, twice a day. The calm hours on the water are where group trips tend to come together.
- Victoria Falls, about 30 minutes away. A group visit with a guide avoids the scramble for parking and tickets.
- White water rafting below the Falls. Good for a group with a few confident swimmers. The low-water season, roughly August to December, gives the biggest rapids.
- The bungee jump at the Victoria Falls Bridge, for the one or two who want to, while everyone else watches from the bridge.
- Tiger fishing, a good half day for a smaller sub-group.
- A Chobe day trip, if the group wants elephants in large numbers.
Partner operators run these, and not all are included in the rate. Ask the lodge which are covered and whether there are group sizes or minimum numbers for each.
Splitting a group by interest
The easiest group trips let people do different things. On a typical day, half the group might go to the Falls while the rest stay for the boat, and everyone meets for sundowners on the deck. With two included activities a day, there is room for that.
If the group spans generations, the grandparents may be happiest with the boat safaris and a Falls visit; the twenty-somethings with rafting or the bungee. The lodge can help plan the split.
Planning notes
- Book early. The lodge has few rooms, and a group needs most of them at once. The dry season, roughly July to October, is the busiest time around Victoria Falls.
- Payment. Bookings are confirmed on full prepayment within three days. Decide in advance who collects money from whom.
- Arrivals. Airport transfers are included. If people fly in at different times, give the lodge every flight number. Anyone arriving by road from Zimbabwe or Botswana should agree pickup with the lodge first; see getting here.
- Cash. US dollars and kwacha are widely accepted. Cards can be limited away from town, so bring small notes for tips.
- Health. Livingstone is in a malaria area. Rooms have nets and repellent; everyone should speak to a travel clinic.
For the full picture of the rooms and the lodge, read the villa page, and for the difference between a lodge like this and a large hotel, read villa or hotel at Victoria Falls.