2. Research the route options available

Check our our route map further down the page as your first port of call to get a general understanding of layover locations for flights to Zimbabwe.

My preferred tool for researching flight routes is usually Google Flights. You don’t have to book your flights there, but it’s a useful way to find the best dates, prices and airlines. You can input your dates, locations, baggage and desired duration with a few easy clicks. Perhaps the most useful aspect of Google Flights is the ‘Date grid’ function. After you’ve clicked Search, there’s a button labelled ‘Date grid’. This allows you to see the cheapest flights on specific dates in the weeks surrounding your trip. If you’re lucky enough to be flexible with your dates, this could save a lot of money. You can also remove layover airport that you’d rather avoid.

You can filter your flight results by a number of criteria, but I do not filter my searches by the number of stops. Why? Because some airlines do ‘touchdowns’ in smaller airports where you stay on the plane but other passengers get off. This isn’t a big deal for me as it doesn’t require much effort on my part. However it still counts as a stop and may alter the search results.

I usually filter my flight results by duration, because that is what I care about most. After you click Search, use the option that allows you to filter by journey duration. For flights from the UK to Zimbabwe, I only look at journeys that take under 24 hours. If price is the most important to you, filter by that. On a piece of paper or an electronic note, jot down the top four airlines, routes and prices.

Can you improve the journey by tweaking your airports?

Ask yourself whether there are other airports in your home country that might also work. Then have a play around and change your airport in Zimbabwe to a different one to see how that changes the duration, airline and price of your flight. Remember that you could add an extra stop within Zimbabwe to your holiday, see a new place, and catch an internal flight between airports.

Be open minded

As well as tweaking your departure and arrival airports, would you be willing to add a stopover in another country to tag an extra few days on to your holiday and then switch airlines? This could make for a shorter time in the air. Key stopover locations for flights to Zimbabwe are those serviced by the airlines that service Zimbabwe. The cities are: Dubai, Addis Ababa, Doha, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Frankfurt. In Google Flights, where it says ‘Return’, click on this and select ‘Multi-city’ from the drop-down instead. Add one of the cities, such as Dubai, to your journey, and see if this improves your time in the air, price, or airline options.

Some examples of route tweaks if you’re flying to Zimbabwe from the USA

Many airlines have good flight routes to Cape Town, and this is a much more scenic city than Johannesburg. You could spend a few days in Cape Town, then catch an Airlink or RwandAir flight to Zimbabwe.

Look on multiple platforms

Sometimes the most direct route isn’t the best option

In some cases, there are international flights to Zimbabwe via Johannesburg or Cape Town, which may mean flying further south than you might need to. I much prefer airports in South Africa to ones in other African countries, so if price wasn’t a factor, I would choose a layover in Johannesburg against one in Addis Ababa any day. Read my article giving advice about layovers in O.R. Tambo Johannesburg Airport here. The same principle applies with other airlines and routes: you may prefer to fly via Doha, adding extra distance to your journey, in favour of stopping in another layover airport. This comes down to personal preference based on experience or research.

3. Don’t be afraid of trying something new

Ethiopian Airlines and RwandAir are two of the key airlines flying to Zimbabwe, but many people are nervous about flying with them. Similarly, African regional airlines such as Airlink or South African Airlines can be a step into the unknown for some overseas travellers. Don’t let your hesitancy prevent you from going to a fantastic location. Firstly, remember that air travel in Africa is much safer than going by road. Secondly, do a little research before writing off an airline: there are thousands of travellers who use these airlines every year, many of which write about them in blog or on forums. Simply Google the name of the airline followed by the word “review” to read a few real-life stories from fellow travellers. Searching social media is also a valuable tool. We’ve flown Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Ababa as a family  for a number of years and it’s been absolutely fine. I’ve heard nothing but positive stories about RwandAir too.

4. Remember that it’s YOUR holiday

After doing all of this research, keep sight of what you really want out of a holiday. If you’d rather forego some comforts during your flight to save bucks to put towards that tented camp, go for the cheap flight with lots of layovers. If you can afford to book directly with one of the top airlines and enjoy a smoother journey, do it. There’s no point booking a flight that you think you’ll regret. For example, although Emirates is often an affordable and upmarket choice for flying to Zimbabwe, we don’t fly with them for the simple reason that they don’t make any allowances for passengers with nut allergies. One of our children has a severe nut allergy and we would rather pay a higher price for a flight than have to fly with an airline that shows no support for passengers with this illness. You go with the airline that suits your specific needs.