Best Time to Visit Victoria Falls

Panorama: Victoria Falls and Rainbow (Tee La Rosa)  [flickr.com]  CC BY-ND 
License Information available under 'Proof of Image Sources'
On this page, you will find information about the climate and the best time to visit Victoria Falls. We created climate tables and charts for the location of Victoria Falls. These contain details about temperatures, precipitation and more.

Furthermore, we analyzed all climate data and provide a recommendation about which months are best to visit Victoria Falls for your holiday.

Climate Overview

Thermometer Symbol 6 °C to 34 °C
Rainy Cloud Symbol 06.85 in (0 – 16 Days of Rain)
Show temperatures in degree

General and geographical location

The Victoria Falls are one of the seven natural wonders of our earth and are considered the “largest water curtain” in the world.

The designation as the largest waterfall in the world is always controversial, because depending on the observation (amount of water, height, width), the Iguazu Falls between Brazil and Argentina as well as the Niagara Falls between Canada and the USA come into question in addition to the Victoria Falls.

Anyway, the Victoria Falls are undoubtedly the most powerful waterfalls in Africa and offer a breathtaking natural spectacle for young and old. Because of this mystical effect, the locals have always spoken of Mosi-oa-Tunya, the thundering smoke.

The water flows from the upper reaches of the Zambezi River between the border towns of Livingstone (Zambia) and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe). Both cities have their own airports and can be easily reached via Johannesburg in less than two hours by plane.

There are currently 19 viewpoints at Victoria Falls, 15 of which are on the Zimbabwe side and only four on the much wilder Zambia side of the waterfalls.

Climate at the Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe & Zambia)

4Y1A1342 (ninara)  [flickr.com]  CC BY 
License Information available under 'Proof of Image Sources' The Victoria Falls lie in a corridor with a subtropical steppe climate, which, however, is tempered by the location of the towns of Victoria Falls and Livingstone directly on the Zambezi. Contrary to the classical division into four seasons, there are three climate phases in the region:

With small fluctuations one speaks from approximately November to at the end of March of the hot rainy season, from the beginning of April to at the beginning of August of the cooler dry season and from the middle of August to at the end of October of the warm dry season. Summer at Victoria Falls (November to March) can be very humid and oppressive.

During the cooler dry season, especially the night temperatures between June and August fall very clearly below the 10 °C mark, the coldest month is July with an average of 6 °C at night. In the morning, the thermometer reaches around 10 °C with the first rays of the sun around 6 a.m. and then climbs to around 26 °C during the day.

Most rain falls at Victoria Falls between December and February with wet transition months in November and March. The period from May to the end of September (dry season) generally has almost no precipitation.

Note the climate in Botswana and other parts of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Best Time to Visit Victoria Falls: Overview

JanuaryJan
Low WaterLow Water
Rainy SeasonRainy Season
FebruaryFeb
Medium Water LevelMedium Water Level
but Rainy SeasonRainy Season
MarchMar
Best time to traveltime
PerfectPerf. climate in
Victoria Falls
AprilApr
High WaterHigh Water
PerfectPerf. climate in
Victoria Falls
MayMay
High WaterHigh Water
PerfectPerf. climate in
Victoria Falls
JuneJun
Best time to traveltime
PerfectPerf. climate in
Victoria Falls
JulyJul
Best time to traveltime
PerfectPerf. climate in
Victoria Falls
AugustAug
Best time to traveltime
PerfectPerf. climate in
Victoria Falls
SeptemberSep
Very good time to traveltime
PerfectPerf. climate in
Victoria Falls
OctoberOct
Low WaterLow Water
very hot
NovemberNov
Low WaterLow Water
very hot
DecemberDec
Low WaterLow Water
Rainy SeasonRainy Season

Which water level is the best time to travel?


There are several aspects to consider when assessing the best time to travel, because besides the impressive water level of Victoria Falls, most travellers prefer the weather to be pleasant and not too humid overall.

As an example, we have outlined the average water levels of the Victoria Falls over the course of the year:

Victoria Falls Water Levels

The Zambezi River usually reaches its lowest level in November or the first weeks of December. Then the Zambia side has already been extensively drained and only on the much deeper Zimbabwe side the power of the world-famous waterfalls can still be guessed.

The Victoria Falls reach their peak between April and May, when the water masses on the entire area plunge into the depths in brilliant elemental force. The thunder echo is particularly breathtaking, but the ubiquitous spray fog often makes perfect photographic conditions difficult to achieve.

Nevertheless, the Victoria Falls are very popular during floods. Since the effect becomes increasingly flattened at low tide and it can also become extremely hot and humid in October to November, we recommend the months in between as the best travel season.

For a combination of Victoria Falls with good conditions on a safari in neighbouring Botswana, the dry winter months of June to mid-September are particularly suitable. All in all, we recommend March to September as the best travel season for Victoria Falls.

Climate Chart Victoria Falls

Climate Chart Victoria Falls
Show temperatures in degree

Source of Data: German Weather Service (Offenbach) and Wikipedia

Climate Table Victoria Falls

In the following, you will find the climate table for Victoria Falls, containing information about Temperatures, Precipitation, and Hours of Sunshine.

Temperatures, Precipitation, Sunshine

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day Temperature30°30°30°30°28°26°26°28°33°34°33°30°
Night Temperature19°19°18°15°10°14°18°19°19°
Precipitation (inch)6.845.563.130.940.240.020.010.020.070.982.776.66
Rainy days1614930000041116
Hours of Sunshine77891010101010987
Show temperatures in degree
Temperatures
The annual average temperature is 22.1 °C.

For comparison: London 11 °C, NYC 12 °C, LA 17.9 °C

Warmest month: October (26.1 °C)
Coldest month: July (15.9 °C)

Precipitation
Overall annual precipitation: 27.23 inch on 73 rainy days

For comparison: London 24.06 in, NYC 41.57 in, LA 12.01 in

There is no rainy season (months with more than 6.9 in of precipitation).

You cannot expect snow in any month.

Sunshine
As our climate table shows, August is the sunniest month with an average of 10.3 hours of sunshine per day. Over the year, there are 8.7 hours of sunshine per day on average. For comparison: London has 4.1, NYC has 7 and LA has 8.9 hours of sunshine per day on average.

Popular Activities

More attractions

Chobe National Park: Day Trip with River Cruise | Victoria Falls: Private Guided Tour of the Falls | From Livingstone & Victoria Falls: Zambezi Half-Day Rafting | Victoria Falls: 2-Hour Luxury Zambezi River Sunset Cruise | Zambezi River: Full Day Whitewater Rafting Experience | Livingstone: Victoria Falls Helicopter Flights | Victoria Falls: Boma Dinner and Drum Show |

Current Weather and Forecast

Current Weather in Victoria Falls
overcast clouds     overcast clouds, 27.1 °C
Clouds: 94 %       Wind: 5 mph ONO
Air Pressure: 1005 hPa       Humidity: 63 %
Last updated: 7th Feb 2023, 05:12 pm
The next days …
8th Feb 20239th Feb 202310th Feb 202311th Feb 202312th Feb 202313th Feb 2023
light rain19 °C to 32 °Clight rain19 °C to 30 °Cmoderate rain20 °C to 30 °Clight rain19 °C to 33 °Cbroken clouds21 °C to 35 °Covercast clouds20 °C to 34 °C
19 °C to 32 °C19 °C to 30 °C20 °C to 30 °C19 °C to 33 °C21 °C to 35 °C20 °C to 34 °C
Clouds: 43 %Clouds: 100 %Clouds: 44 %Clouds: 48 %Clouds: 55 %Clouds: 100 %
0.02 in of rain0.1 in of rain0.47 in of rain0.08 in of rainNo PrecipitationNo Precipitation
Weather information provided by OpenWeatherMap. (CC BY-SA)
Show temperatures in degree

Zambia: Regions

Victoria Falls is part of the holiday destination Zambia. We analyzed the climate for additional regions, in order to provide you with information about the best time to visit and the expected holiday weather:

Victoria Falls: Experiences of our Visitors

There are 4 reviews for Victoria Falls holiday already. Average rating is 4.8 of 5 stars.
  1. Avatar Preview
    Hermann, 55 years old was there in September

    The Devils Pool in September is a dream and I can only recommend it to everyone

    Weather Rating: 5 stars – Excellent

  2. Avatar Preview
    Lothar, 75 years old was there in October

    In mid-October 2016 we were at the Victoria Falls. We just had
    the two hottest days of the year (almost 40°C) with pure sun, but at the falls themselves it was well bearable. From point 13 – 15 there were only 2 cases. So you could see the geology well. Back to point 3 in the afternoon (between 3 and 5 pm) we could experience the rising rainbow. The temperature at night was around 25°C. Morning and evening summerly warm, like here in the most beautiful summer.

    Weather Rating: 4 stars – Good

  3. Avatar Preview
    Andreas, 59 years old was there in April

    There was a lot of water in the Zambezi = gigantic water dust clouds 😉

    Weather Rating: 5 stars – Excellent

  4. Avatar Preview
    Alex, 30 years old was there in August

    We were at Victoria Falls from August 18 to 20, 2016, before we went on a safari to Botswana. The weather was fantastic: during the day by 30 degrees in the sunshine, in the evening it cooled down pleasantly. The nights were quite fresh with about 10 degrees, but it is now African winter and one is prepared for it. All in all a great travel time! The water level of the Victoria Falls was no longer at its peak, but still very impressive. There was no gigantic “spray”-cloud, but a very good view of the waterfalls which is actually ideal.

    Weather Rating: 5 stars – Excellent

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Victoria Falls (Pius Mahimbi)  [flickr.com]  CC BY-SA 
License Information available under 'Proof of Image Sources'
Devils Pool - the top of Vic Falls (SarahDepper)  [flickr.com]  CC BY 
License Information available under 'Proof of Image Sources'
Victoria Falls Simbabwe (Alexander Mirschel)  Copyright 
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Natural wonder Victoria Falls

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