With children
This is one of the few things at Victoria Falls that works for a wide range of ages, because it is short, it is seated and it does not involve getting wet. What decides it is not age so much as weight — the aircraft is loaded by the scale, and a child takes a full seat.
Quick answer
A child pays a full fare and occupies a full seat, because the helicopter is balanced by weight rather than by age. Minimum ages vary by operator, so check the listing. Twelve minutes suits a young child far better than twenty-two, and the flight with hotel transfers at $180 removes the part of the morning families find hardest — two taxi rides with everybody’s things.
What decides whether it works
Twelve minutes, the transfer included, and the headset does the rest.
Length. Twelve minutes is about right for a child of six or seven: long enough to be an event, short enough that nobody needs anything. Twenty-two minutes is a different proposition, and the extra ten are the gorges rather than the falls — which is a grown-up interest more often than not.
The morning around it. The flight is the easy part. Check-in, the weigh-in, the briefing and the wait are the hour that tests everybody. This is the strongest argument for the fare that includes hotel transfers: it removes two taxi rides from a morning that already has enough moving parts.
Noise and headsets. Every passenger gets a noise-cancelling headset and the pilot talks through them. Children usually find this the best part — it is the same headset the pilot is wearing, and they can hear everything.
Six things worth doing
None of it is complicated. All of it makes the morning easier.
With children this is not a luxury. It removes the two hardest parts of the morning.
Calmest air, coolest temperature, shortest queue, and nobody is tired yet.
Minimum ages vary, and it is far better to find out now than at the scale.
Children included. It is quicker if nobody is surprised.
Hats, toys and anything that can leave a hand goes in the locker before you walk out.
Unless they are teenagers who would genuinely rather see the gorges than the falls.
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The flight is the easy part. The hour around it is what tests everybody.
What happens at check-in→Common questions
Yes on most listings here. Minimum ages vary by operator, so check the listing before you book. Children occupy a full paid seat because the aircraft is balanced by weight.
No. There is no child fare on any listing on this page, because a child takes a seat and a seat is what you are buying.
Yes. Everybody steps on the scale at check-in, and the numbers decide who sits where.
Less than you would expect. Every passenger gets a noise-cancelling headset and the pilot talks through it, which most children enjoy more than the view.
Rarely on a twelve-minute flight, and the morning air over the gorge is the calmest of the day. Book the first slot if anybody in the group is prone to it.
Minimum ages apply and the water is moving on the lip of a waterfall. Treat it as a separate decision from the flight, and check the listing carefully.
What children actually react to
The headset beats the view, and twelve minutes beats twenty-two.
Adults book a Victoria Falls helicopter ride for the whole curtain in one frame. Children, by every account operators give, react to three other things: the headset, the fact that the ground goes away, and the spray column. The falls themselves come fourth.
Which is useful when you are choosing. Twelve minutes covers all four. Twenty-two minutes adds geology, and geology is an adult interest. Keep a Victoria Falls helicopter ride with children short and it works far better.
Three things to sort the night before
The hour around the flight is the part that tests a family.
It varies, and it is not always on the booking page.
Everybody is weighed at check-in on a Victoria Falls helicopter ride, children included. It is quicker if nobody is surprised.
Hats and toys go in a locker before you walk out to the aircraft.
Go deeper
From $173 for twelve minutes, and what the long flight adds.
Flight of AngelsWhere the name came from, and which listings actually fly it.
The verdictTwelve listings, and the four worth your money.
Which sideThe falls are the same. Everything around them is not.
How longWhat the extra ten minutes buys, and when it is worth it.
BookingWeight limits, park levies, transfers and what sells out.
Victoria Falls: Helicopter Tour with Hotel Pickup
★ 4.9 · 646 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h