Getting there
How to get to Matusadona
Most visitors cross Lake Kariba from Kariba town, about 20 km over the water. The alternatives are a private vehicle ferry, a long day on the road via Karoi and the Chifudze gate, or a charter flight onto one of the park's three airstrips.
If you only want the answer
The quickest way in is a speedboat from Kariba town: about an hour to Tashinga, weather permitting. With your own vehicle, either book the private McMaster ferry from Chawara Harbour (3 to 3.5 hours, then about two hours of bush road) or drive from Harare via Karoi and Chifudze gate, which the park puts at about nine hours with a 4x4 recommended. Kariba Ferries does not go to Matusadona.
By boat from Kariba town
Kariba town sits on the opposite shore beside the dam wall, about 20 km across the water, and it is where almost every Matusadona trip starts. Harare to Kariba is 365 to 370 km of tar, about five hours.
The park describes the speedboat crossing to Tashinga as about an hour, weather depending. It is a charter with no published fixed price, so ask your camp or the trust to arrange it. Day visitors enter at Tashinga harbour, or at Changa harbour by prior arrangement.
Several lodges include or arrange their own transfer. Fothergill's rate includes the 45-minute to one-hour boat from Marineland harbour. Spurwing runs a scheduled transfer with Avoca Transfers from Kariba Breezes harbour, about 40 minutes for 20 km, leaving the mainland at 12:00 and the island at 09:00. Rhino Safari Camp puts its crossing at about an hour; one listing says an hour and a half.
With your own vehicle: the McMaster ferry
The only vehicle crossing to the park side is the McMaster ferry, a privately operated, on-demand service from Chawara Harbour in Kariba. It takes three to three and a half hours and lands on the Spurwing and Fothergill shore, depending on the lake level, from where Tashinga is about two hours on bush roads.
The price is for the whole ferry and can be shared between vehicles. It excludes VAT and a 'National Parks lake usage fee' whose amount we could not confirm. One forum post from November 2025 quotes $700 per crossing for up to four vehicles, about $175 each if four share, but we could not load that page and the figure is unverified. The park is clear that this ferry must be booked and paid for with the operator directly, not with the trust.
The trust has planned its own ferry between Kariba and Tashinga since at least 2023. In February 2026 its information pack still said a launch was coming soon with dates to be confirmed. We publish no schedule or fare for it until the trust does.
Kariba Ferries does not go to Matusadona
Kariba Ferries is often suggested for Matusadona, but it runs the length of the lake between Kariba and Mlibizi at the western end, a 22-hour overnight voyage leaving at 10:30. Its 2026 fares are $150 per adult, $80 per child aged 3 to 12 and $140 to $350 per vehicle depending on length, with 15.5% VAT and the lake usage fee on top.
It is useful for one thing on a Matusadona trip: self-drivers coming from Victoria Falls or Hwange who would rather not drive the Binga road can ship their vehicle to Kariba town and cross to the park from there.
By road
From Harare the road runs via Karoi and Magunje to the Chifudze gate in the south-west of the park, then on to Tashinga. The park's information pack says about nine hours and its website about ten; Chifudze to Tashinga alone is 68 km by ZimParks' count, which the park puts at three hours of driving. A 4x4 is recommended because the roads outside the park are in poor condition.
From Victoria Falls or Hwange the route is the Binga road, which the park calls a full day's drive and says is currently not in good condition. A western route through the Mola communal area crosses the Ume by ferry, 15 minutes' drive from Tashinga, but we could not confirm whether that ferry is running or what it costs. The park's plan for a lakeshore road that bypasses the Binga road will likely not happen before 2027.
Fuel: Karoi is the last reliable stop coming from Harare. Fuel inside the park for visitors is not confirmed for 2026, so carry enough for the whole trip. The shop at Tashinga sells ice, firewood, charcoal, cold drinks and some food.
By air
Charter flights can land at three airstrips inside the park, Tashinga, Rokari and Kanjedza, and at private strips outside it at Bumi Hills and Fothergill. Details, runway lengths and the scheduled services that have been announced but not confirmed are on our flights page.
On the water: plan for the weather
Lake Kariba is big enough to have its own weather. Afternoon wind can raise real waves quickly, and storms in the rainy season arrive fast, which is why every crossing time on this page is quoted as weather-dependent. Cross in the morning when you can, wear the life jacket you are given, and let the skipper decide whether to go. A delayed crossing is an inconvenience; a rough one in a small boat is not worth the time saved.
Something this page does not answer?
Crossing times and ferry prices on Lake Kariba are rarely published, and the park's own ferry has no schedule yet.
Ask us. We answer questions about the park itself, and we can usually tell you which camps work on one route and who to write to. If what you want is a trip someone else arranges, we will say so and hand you to an operator we know, and we earn a commission if that becomes a booking.
Nothing on this site sits behind the form. Every figure we have is already on the page.