Fawlty Towers Guest House, Livingstone

Fawlty Towers is a guest lodge and backpackers at 216 Mosi-oa-Tunya Road in central Livingstone. It is about 0.56 km from the city centre and 8 km from Victoria Falls, on the main road between the town and the Falls. The rooms are set around tropical gardens with a pool, a bar and a restaurant with an in-house chef. It has private en-suite rooms and suites as well as air-conditioned 3-, 6- and 8-bed dormitories, so backpackers, couples and small groups can all stay here.

What sets it apart is its role as an activity base. The lodge offers more than 40 activities, including bungee jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge, white-water rafting on the Zambezi, wildlife safaris, elephant and lion encounters, and leisure cruises. Most operators collect guests from the lodge. It also runs airport transfers and a shuttle to the Falls on selected days.

Breakfast is included in every rate. Pancakes, tea and coffee are served free by the pool every day. You'll also find a wood-fired pizza café, a guest kitchen, a fire pit and BBQ, and an in-house spa offering massages, manicures and pedicures. For practical comfort, it has Starlink WiFi, 24/7 security and a 150 kVA generator, so the power stays on at night.