Zimbabwe is a prime overlanding destination, bringing together diverse landscapes, a rich culture and friendly people. Our new Zimbabwe Self-Drive Guide is your key to unlocking the country’s magic. 

The highly anticipated Zimbabwe Self-Drive Guide is here! A guide to Zimbabwe has always been a goal for us at Tracks4Africa, but for a long time the political situation didn’t encourage visitors. With stability returning to the country, the time was right for a dedicated overlanding book. Our new Zimbabwe Self-Drive Guide is what the overlanding community has been waiting for. Discover must-see sights and scenic routes, find traveller services and places to stay, and get handy tips to ease your way.

What to expect

Like our popular books on Botswana, Namibia and Zambia, this new guide is packed with need-to-know information. It will take you right from the planning stage through to booking your itinerary and all the way to navigating your route. 

The new Zimbabwe Self-drive Guide is the same format as our other books: A4 with a glossy semi-hard cover. Over more than 420 pages it covers general country information, overlanding advice and destination descriptions. The detailed atlas pages and the travel time and distance table are essential for exploring with confidence. This guide’s been created with overlanders in mind, so it folds down flat for easy planning. What’s more, it’s also rugged enough to take on the road with you.

The guide looks at the following aspects:

Destinations

‘Where to go?’ is the number one question for self-drive travellers. The answers for Zimbabwe wait inside: you’ll find destination descriptions that paint a picture, but also provide practical travel info. For every destination there’s a summary of offerings and services, accommodation listings and a map.

Accommodation

The guide features a range of camping and lodging that will appeal to overlanders. Detailed listings indicate each spot’s location, cost, contact details, facilities and activities. Look out for the yellow paw icon, which identifies accommodation linked to a wildlife foundation or community camp. 

The Zimbabwe Self-Drive Guide covers:

• 481 lodge listings
• 205 campsite listings

Touring routes

Want to be sure you see Zimbabwe’s major attractions? We’ve done the legwork to put together five routes that showcase the country. While four routes focus on specific parts of the country, there’s a Grand Tour that takes in most of the key sights. Pictures and route descriptions will have you itching to hit the road. 

Transit routes

Every overlander knows that some days are mostly about getting to the next destination, sometimes halfway across the country. Our high-level overview maps for transit routes highlight Zimbabwe’s major access routes. Each overview provides detailed distances and driving times, as well as accommodation options en route.

Special interests

Are you an adventure biker or keen birder? Want to know more about fishing or hiking in Zimbabwe? The new self-drive guide has you covered, with dedicated chapters on special interests like these. The chapters on Kariba houseboats, Zimbabwe’s magnificent trees and the country’s national parks will also strike a chord.

Being prepared

When overlanding in Zimbabwe, visitors might have to contend with some logistical challenges and rough roads in some areas. With this in mind, the guide covers vehicle preparation, equipment checklists, and personal and vehicle safety. However, the rewards more than make up for the additional preparation. The country offers exceptional sights and experiences, and you may well find yourself alone at some jaw-dropping spots – at least for now. Explore Zimbabwe now before the rest of the world rediscovers it.

Atlas

Across 21 pages, the atlas section covers Zimbabwe in its entirety, providing authoritative distance and travel time information. The scale is the same as the Zimbabwe paper map, making it easy to move between the two.

Traveller support

Even though the road remains a bit bumpy in places, the Zimbabwe Self-drive Guide has useful advice to smooth your way:

• Country information
• Driving in Zimbabwe
• Border posts and required documents
• Communication
• Health issues and medical emergencies
• Navigation

Although this is the first edition of the Zimbabwe Self-Drive Guide, it’s essentially the fourth edition of a Tracks4Africa guide. Since we first started producing books in 2013, we’ve learned a lot and all that experience has gone into making this the best guide possible. We hope you will agree and that it will be your trusted companion on many memorable adventures.

Buy the Zimbabwe Self-Drive Guide