Sindabezi Island Camp

Highlights

• Private island on the Zambezi, 2 km downstream of Tongabezi Lodge
• Only five chalets and ten guests
• Candlelit dinners on a Zambezi sandbank
• Canoeing, boat trips, fishing and guided walks
• Short game drives in the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park
• Off-grid and solar powered
• Sister camp to Tongabezi Lodge

Information

• Lodge type: Luxury island bush camp
• Location: Zambezi River, 12 km upstream of Victoria Falls, Zambia
• Lodge size: 5 thatched chalets (10 guests)
• Recommended stay: 2–5 nights
• Malaria risk: Yes — Livingstone and the Upper Zambezi are a malaria area; take anti-malarials
• Getting there: 25-minute drive from Livingstone Airport to Tongabezi, then a 15-minute boat transfer or 2 km canoe paddle downstream. No airstrip; fly into Livingstone (LVI)

Experience The Sights And Sounds Of Sindabezi Island On The Zambezi River

Sindabezi Island Camp is a five-chalet bush camp on its own private island in the Zambezi River, 2 km downstream of its sister property Tongabezi Lodge and approximately 12 km upstream of Victoria Falls. Ten guests at most, no road and no neighbours. The island is accessible only by water.

Guests transfer from Tongabezi by boat in about 15 minutes, or by guided canoe for anyone who fancies a paddle. The route runs past the Zimbabwean bank, where elephants and plains game come down from the Zambezi National Park to drink. Keep your binoculars out of the bag for the ride.

There is no mains power on the island. Solar handles the essentials, hurricane lamps light the camp after dark, and hippos are often heard in the channel at night. A small team looks after ten guests at most, so service is personal. The camp suits honeymooners, couples, small groups of friends and families with older children, and the whole island can be booked for exclusive use.

Rooms and Suites

Sindabezi sleeps just ten guests in five open-fronted thatched chalets, each raised on a stilted wooden deck along the shore and facing straight onto the Zambezi floodplain. There is no front wall between you and the river, which is entirely the point. Bathrooms differ by chalet. Chalet 1 and the Honeymoon Chalet have baths, while Chalets 2, 3 and 4 have open-air showers, and of those three only Chalet 2 has an en-suite toilet. Tell us which matters most to you and we'll book the right chalet. Lighting is solar, with charging points for phones and cameras, and hippos are regular visitors.

You fall asleep to the glow of a hurricane lamp. Chalet 1 offers sunrise views across the Zambezi towards Victoria Falls National Park in Zimbabwe. The honeymoon chalet sits apart at the far end of the island on its own stretch of sandy shore, with a claw-foot bath on the deck. Book it well ahead; it is the most private of the five.

Cuisine and Wine

Meals at Sindabezi are fresh, seasonal and served wherever the setting is best. Menus change with what comes out of the vegetable and herb garden. Breakfast is a small buffet with English-style dishes cooked to order, and dinner might be laid on a sandbank by lamplight or on a table set in the shallows of the river itself. Local drinks and house and sparkling wines are included. Couples should ask for a private picnic lunch on one of the river's sandbanks.

Facilities

Everything at the camp centres on one small guest area built from thatch and canvas and open to the river. It holds a lounge, an indoor dining room for cooler or wetter evenings, a bar, a viewing deck over the Zambezi, a plunge pool and a fire pit. Laundry is included. With ten guests and no road, it is a small, quiet start or finish to a safari in Zambia.

Activities

Activities at Sindabezi are mostly on the water: canoeing, motorboat trips, sunrise and sunset cruises, fishing, guided island walks and birdwatching. Elephant, hippo and crocodile are regular sightings along the banks, with baboons and monkeys on the shore, and the birding on this stretch of the Upper Zambezi is excellent.

Victoria Falls is the obvious day out, about 30 minutes by road from Tongabezi, and a short game drive in the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park pairs well with it. Village visits and the Tongabezi Trust School are easy add-ons for anyone curious about life along the river.

The Tongabezi team also books Livingstone's adventure menu: white-water rafting, bungee jumping, helicopter and microlight flights over the Falls, and more. Livingstone Island and Devil's Pool trips run from Tongabezi in the low-water months, roughly August to January depending on river levels.

Sindabezi Island Camp FAQs

Where is Sindabezi Island Camp and how do you get there?

Sindabezi sits on a private island in the Zambezi River in Zambia, about 2 km downstream of its sister property Tongabezi Lodge and approximately 12 km upstream of Victoria Falls. Guests fly into Livingstone Airport, drive about 25 minutes to Tongabezi, then take a 15-minute boat transfer or a guided canoe paddle to the island. There is no road access and no airstrip on the island.

How many guests does Sindabezi Island Camp sleep?

Sindabezi sleeps a maximum of ten guests in five open-fronted thatched chalets on the Zambezi River in Zambia, including a secluded honeymoon chalet at the far end of the island. Chalet 1 and the Honeymoon Chalet have bathtubs, while Chalets 2, 3 and 4 have open-air showers. Small groups and families can book the entire island for exclusive use.

Is Sindabezi Island Camp in a malaria area?

Yes. Sindabezi lies on the Upper Zambezi near Livingstone in Zambia, which is a malaria area all year, with the highest risk during the rainy season from roughly November to April. See a travel clinic about anti-malarial medication before you travel, and pack long sleeves and insect repellent for the evenings on the river.

Does Sindabezi Island Camp have electricity?

Sindabezi runs entirely off the grid on solar power. The chalets have solar lighting and charging points for phones and camera batteries, and hurricane lamps light the camp after dark. There is no mains electricity and no generator on the island, so nights are quiet apart from the river and the hippos in the channel.

What activities are available at Sindabezi Island Camp?

Sindabezi's river activities include canoeing, motorboat trips, sunrise and sunset cruises, fishing, guided walks and birdwatching on the Upper Zambezi in Zambia. Victoria Falls visits and short game drives in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park make easy half-day outings. Sister lodge Tongabezi books white-water rafting, bungee jumping, helicopter and microlight flights, and seasonal Devil's Pool trips from Livingstone Island.

In Conclusion

Sindabezi Island Camp suits travellers who want to see Victoria Falls but sleep on the river rather than in town: five chalets, ten guests and a private island about 12 km upstream of the Falls, close enough for a morning visit. It is ideal as the first or last stop on a Zambia safari, with two to three nights recommended. Pair it with the Kafue, the Lower Zambezi or South Luangwa, or with Chobe in Botswana via Kazungula. The camp is open all year. Visit from May to October for drier days and game along the banks, from March to May for the Falls at full thunder, or from August onwards for Devil's Pool. Uyaphi.com has been building tailor-made African safaris since 1999, and those 27 years in African travel go into every itinerary we plan. Tell us your dates and we'll build Sindabezi into a trip shaped entirely around you.