38 places to stay
Thirty-eight places to stay in and around Matusadona: six run by the park itself at Tashinga and in the bush, two private lodges inside the boundary, island and concession lodges on either side, twelve houseboats and a set of bases in Kariba town across the lake. The first line of each entry says which side of the park boundary it is on.
Founded in 2012 by two Zimbabwean families and run from Harare, Changa holds a lease inside the park on the north-eastern shore. Six deluxe tents and two family tents with adjoining children's tents look over the lake. Rates cover meals, drinks, laundry and activities, but the conservation levy is charged on top. Pool, private beach, solar power and limited signal.
From $440 pppn
A luxury motor cruiser with three queen cabins, all en-suite, which cannot be split into twins. Charters are exclusive and fully catered, and the boat boards at Marineland harbour in Kariba or collects guests who fly into Bumi Hills. The operator names no owner on its site.
From $999 pppn
Reopened by African Bush Camps in January 2018 after a renovation, on a private concession west of the Ume River that borders the park. It is not inside Matusadona; guests reach the park across the Ume. Suites have air-conditioning, with an infinity pool and spa. Night drives, stargazing and visits to the Mola community are offered on the concession.
From $630 pppn
A lodge first built in 1977 and reopened on 1 August 2021 after a full refurbishment: five lake suites, two two-bedroom family suites and three Little Fothergill suites with private pools. Activities include drives, walks, boating and fishing. The lodge names no owner on its site and its marketing agent calls it a partner camp, so ownership is not confirmed.
From $750 pppn
One of the longest-running lodges in the area, on an island that becomes part of the mainland when the lake drops. It ranges from classic and luxury tents and thatched cabins to Sekuru Lodge with air-conditioning and a splash pool, and Hungwe House for eight. The operating company is registered in Kariba, but who owns it is not stated, so we mark ownership as unconfirmed.
Hungwe House from $800 per night
A former Kariba hotel bought in 2007 and largely renovated by 2022, when new management arrived, according to its own site, which names neither. It has rooms and self-catering units, a restaurant, bar, pool and spa. Fisherman's Cove is sold as part of it.
Rooms from $125 per couple
A private self-catering lodge for up to sixteen guests in eight bedrooms, sold as part of Cutty Sark Lodge; guests check in at the main hotel.
$450 per night for 16
The main campsite at park headquarters, and in the park's own words currently its only serviced one. Seven pitches look over the lake, with a shared ablution block, drinking water and a wash bay but no laundry service. It is unfenced: elephants are resident, a leopard uses the campsite and hyaenas take what is left out, so bring everything in at night. Carry in, carry out.
2026 rate not published
A family-owned and family-run camp on Musango Island, next to the park on its western side. Six twin tents under thatch and two stone honeymoon suites with plunge pools sleep sixteen, and a children's tent can be added. Beyond walks, drives and cruises it offers visits to dinosaur-fossil and Stone Age sites and to a nearby fishing village. Park fees are payable in cash at camp.
Not published
One of the two houseboats with which Zambezi Drift started, a business that describes itself as proudly Zimbabwean and family owned. Malachite has six air-conditioned en-suite cabins for up to sixteen guests and is moored at Andora Harbour.
About $900 per boat per night
The houseboat of Bumi Hills Safari Lodge, sleeping eight in two queen cabins and two bunk rooms, with a plunge pool. It runs half-day cruises and overnight trips along the shore. Houseboat guests may not go ashore in the park unless an armed guide accompanies them.
Not published
The second of Zambezi Drift's original two houseboats, from a business that describes itself as proudly Zimbabwean and family owned. Peregrine sleeps sixteen in six cabins and bunks on the top deck, with four shared bathrooms and a splash pool.
About $600 per boat per night
A 21-room lodge in Kariba town with air-conditioned en-suite rooms and a pool, which also operates a houseboat. Its own site names staff but no owner.
Not published
A bed-and-breakfast lodge on Mica Point, listed on VisitKariba at $80 per person sharing. The website that listing names does not resolve and no owner is stated.
From $80 pps
Ten chalets and a campsite east of the Sanyati, outside the park, listed on VisitKariba from $30 per person. Self-catering with a chef available, a splash pool and a bar. No website of its own and no owner stated.
From $30 pppn
A private campsite within Tashinga. The park describes it with a kitchen and a central tented living area, but a Kariba booking agent reported in December 2025 that the kitchen and gazebo were to be pulled down on 1 January 2026, which would leave a site without a kitchen. We could not confirm which is current, so ask the trust what you are booking.
Not published
A small exclusive-use camp at Tashinga with three canvas tents with twin beds, a double on request, each with its own bathroom. Groups share a kitchen, a gazebo for dining and a lockable store, with solar power and reverse-osmosis water. It is self-catering, with a cook available at extra cost, and needs a minimum of four guests.
Not published
Three cottages at Tashinga, Mopane and Mahogany A and B, that the park designed, built and operates, and whose profits go to its conservation work. Each sleeps two with room for extra children's beds, and has an en-suite bathroom, fans, solar power and a kitchen. African Parks credits them with a jump in domestic visitors in 2025. There is deliberately no Wi-Fi.
Not published
The park's own bush camp, marketed as Matusadona Bush Camps, run all-inclusive with a guide, a cook and a host. It is small, solar-powered and unfenced, and guests are escorted to and from their tents after dark. It takes no children under 12. The park also mentions a green-season camp at Shenga Bay on the lakeshore; we could not confirm whether that still runs.
No general rate published
Eight sites spread across the park: Jenje Wilderness Platform, Hogwe River, View Point on the edge of the 600 m escarpment, Bonde with lake views, Maronga at the Ume mouth, Shenga Wilderness, Mhukadzapera and Matandare near the entrance. There is no infrastructure at all. Basic ablutions were planned for the start of 2026; we could not confirm them. All ages are welcome, but the park stresses that children must be supervised at all times.
2026 rate not published
A small unfenced camp on its own peninsula concession on the north-western shore, run by a small group of leaseholders, with a sister camp, Daka Plains, in Hwange. Chalets stand on stilts and are open to the view. It is solar-powered and takes children from 12. All fishing is catch-and-release. The camp puts the boat from Kariba at about an hour.
Package only
A self-catering camp on a private concession up the Ume River, which borders the park, near the old Tiger Bay Lodge. It has three twin safari tents, ten two-person dome tents and space for self-drive campers, with a kitchen and pool. Access is by the Binga and Magunje road, by the vehicle ferry and a drive through the park, by air or by boat from Kariba. We found no website of its own and no owner.
Not published
An association of privately owned homes on the Kariba shore, first built by fishing clubs about fifty years ago, and let on a self-catering basis through Kariba agents.
Not published
Four self-catering lodges sleeping six each at Charara, belonging to the National Anglers Union of Zimbabwe and aimed at anglers.
Not published
A group of numbered, unfenced self-catering houses at Charara, let through Kariba agents such as Heartveld Adventures. We found no website and no statement of who owns them.
Not published
Three self-catering chalets in Kariba, listed by the agent Heartveld Adventures. We found no website of its own and no owner.
Not published
An owner-run houseboat operating from Chawara Harbour, described by WildZambezi as an extremely well-managed fleet personally managed by its owners. It takes up to sixteen guests in four en-suite cabins. When the lake is low it may leave from Marineland harbour instead.
Not published
A 31-metre houseboat for up to 28 guests in nine cabins, moored at Kariba Safari Lodge, according to the Kariba agent Heartveld Adventures. We found no website of its own and no owner, so ask the agent for details.
Not published
A group houseboat booked through a reservations office in Harare. VisitKariba lists five cabins and a price from $850 a night for the boat, excluding diesel, food and drinks. The listing gives 20 as the maximum in one place and 26 in another. No website of its own.
From $850 per boat per night
A dry-boat houseboat for twelve in four twin cabins, listed on VisitKariba. The website that listing names does not resolve, and the contact is in South Africa. Owner not stated.
From $380 per boat per night
A large dry-boat houseboat for up to 24 guests, booked through the same contact as Phillippa. Listed on VisitKariba; no website of its own and no owner stated.
$500 to $700 per boat per night
A dry-boat houseboat licensed for twelve guests in four cabins. Its former domains are parked and only a social media page remains, so bookings go by the email on its VisitKariba listing. Owner not stated.
$450 to $500 per boat per night
A four-cabin dry-boat houseboat with a splash pool, booked through the same contact as Osprey. At $350 a night for the boat it is the lowest published houseboat price we found. No website of its own and no owner stated.
$350 per boat per night
A four-cabin dry-boat houseboat registered for twenty but comfortable for eight to sixteen, listed on VisitKariba. No website of its own and no owner stated.
$400 to $650 per boat per night
A small lodge on Mica Point that, according to the Kariba agent Heartveld Adventures, was built and is owned and run by one family. It is across the lake from the park, a base for boat transfers and day trips rather than a safari camp.
Not published
A lodge on Mica Point where the Umbozha houseboat moors and houseboat guests can park for $3 per vehicle per night. Its website no longer loads and no owner is stated anywhere we checked.
Not published
A thirteen-room boutique hotel on Mica Point whose guests take meals and drinks at its sister, Kariba Safari Lodge, down the hill, according to Heartveld Adventures. We found no website of its own and no owner.
Not published
A long-standing resort in Kariba town. African Sun, which owned it, states that it disposed of the resort with effect from 1 March 2026, without naming the buyer, and the resort's own site says only that it is launching soon. Treat listings that still show it as an African Sun hotel as out of date.
Not published
Nothing matches all of those at once. Take one filter off and try again.
To stay inside the park, choose between the park-run camps at Tashinga (campsite, cottages, Albida Camp), the park's Jenje bush camp, the wilderness campsites, and two private lodges, Changa and Rhino Safari Camp. Bumi Hills, Musango, Spurwing and the houseboats are outside the boundary. Houseboats are priced per boat, not per person, and park fees are extra almost everywhere.
If you want your money to stay in the park, book the park-run camps: the Tashinga cottages were designed, built and are operated by the park, and their profits go to its conservation work. Several of the smaller places are family businesses, and the Malachite and Peregrine houseboats belong to a Zimbabwean family firm. Twenty-one of these thirty-eight do not say who owns them; those say ownership unconfirmed rather than a guess.
Every price on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative rates read in September 2026 from each property's own website or rate sheet, and where noted from an agent or the VisitKariba directory. Watch the basis: lodges quote per person per night, houseboats per boat per night, and several Kariba town places per room or per unit. Park fees are extra almost everywhere, at $30 per international adult per day on the trust's levy, and houseboats add their own park and lake charges.
Facilities come from each property's own website or, for the park-run camps, the park's February 2026 information pack, read in September 2026. We record only what that source states. A blank means we could not check it, not that it is missing. Houseboats priced through the VisitKariba directory have no facilities recorded, because we only use the operator's own site for those.
