Harare with Kids
Family travel guide for parents planning with children
Top Family Activities
The best things to do with kids in Harare.
Mukuvisi Woodlands
A 263-hectare pocket of wilderness where zebras graze beside the parking lot and kids can track giraffe footprints in the mud. The raised wooden walkway puts toddlers at giraffe-eye level.
Wild Is Life Sanctuary
Intimate rescue center where rescued pangolins curl around your ankles and orphaned elephants trumpet for bottles. The guided tour feels like visiting a friend's ridiculously cool pets.
Kuimba Shiri Bird Sanctuary
Lake-side spot where rescued fish eagles swoop overhead and kids can hold barn owls that weigh less than a bag of sugar. The bird show happens against sunset over Lake Chivero.
Haka Game Park
Compact enough for little legs but packed with rhinos, giraffes, and zebras that wander right up to the picnic spots. The playground sits within sight of the hippo pool.
National Gallery of Zimbabwe
Central Harare's air-conditioned sanctuary with hands-on sculpture garden where kids can climb stone hippos and trace patterns in carved wood. The contemporary wing has interactive digital exhibits.
Ewanrigg Botanical Gardens
Secret garden an hour north where aloes tower overhead and kids can spot chameleons blending into technicolor succulents. The manicured lawns work brilliantly for toddlers to roam.
Best Areas for Families
Where to base yourselves for the smoothest family trip.
Harare's leafy northern suburb where embassies sit beside weekend markets and Sam Levy's Village offers stroller-friendly shopping with decent changing facilities.
Highlights: Sam Levy's playground, Village Walk restaurants with kids' menus, Borrowdale Park for weekend pony rides
Central enough for attractions but residential enough for evening walks to ice cream shops. The Avondale Shopping Centre has everything from pharmacies to toy stores.
Highlights: Avondale flea market for cheap toys, Fife Avenue shops for emergency supplies, multiple restaurants with high chairs
University area with wide sidewalks (rare in Harare) and the Botanical Gardens as your backyard. Student cafes mean good, cheap food that appeals to kids.
Highlights: National Botanic Gardens for morning exploration, University of Zimbabwe bookshop for English-language kids' books, safe evening walks
Village-like enclave where weekend farmers markets spill into playgrounds and the local sports club welcomes kids for swimming lessons.
Highlights: Greendale Farmers Market on Saturdays, Chapman Golf Club pool day passes, quiet residential streets for scootering
Family Dining
Where and how to eat with children.
Harare restaurants treat kids like honored guests rather than inconveniences. High chairs appear magically, waiters offer to cut food into tiny pieces, and nobody minds when toddlers wander. Most places have outdoor seating where kids can move around safely while parents eat hot food.
Dining Tips for Families
- Order when you sit down, service is leisurely (perfect with kids who need time to settle), but food can take 30+ minutes
- Most restaurants will split adult portions for kids at no charge - just ask
- Ice cream is everywhere, but Amanzi's homemade gelato in Borrowdale is worth the detour
Brew & BBQ at Sam Levy's has a fenced playground within sight of tables, plus decent burgers and wood-fired pizza
Holiday Inn and Rainbow Towers have extensive kids' sections with familiar cereals and fresh fruit, plus patient omelet chefs
Joina City and Avondale have Nando's, Steers, and local chains where kids recognize chicken and chips
Butcher's Kitchen in Borrowdale lets you choose meat from the display case, then cooks it while kids watch the open flames
Tips by Age Group
Tailored advice for every stage of childhood.
Harare is more toddler-friendly than you expect, plan shorter activities, extra playground stops, and relax into the local rhythm where no one bats an eye at a supermarket meltdown.
Challenges: Most restaurants skip changing tables, use the car boot or ask waitstaff (they'll find a quiet corner). Pavements vanish into dirt paths without warning.
- Bring a carrier - strollers work in malls but not most attractions
- Download the BabyOnBoard app for nursing-friendly spots locals recommend
- Pack snacks everywhere - toddler hunger strikes happen fast in the car
This age hits Harare's sweet spot, old enough for walking safaris and conservation questions, young enough to squeal when giraffes eat from their hands.
Learning: Every wildlife stop doubles as a conservation class, guides debunk rhino-horn myths and recount elephant-orphan stories. The National Gallery's sculpture garden shows how Shona stone is carved.
- Pick up the junior ranger booklet at Mukuvisi, kids earn stamps for spotting animals.
- Let them pay with Zimbabwe dollars, math comes alive when they work out how much ice cream costs.
- Encourage trading pins/badges with local kids at playgrounds
Harare hands teens Instagram gold with real conservation clout. They'll snap rescued pangolins while learning about trafficking, then edit the shots in hipster cafés.
Independence: Teens can roam Sam Levy's Village or Avondale shopping complex alone in daylight. Set WhatsApp check-ins every hour, local teens follow the same rule.
- Top up their phone with $5 for inDrive rides, safe freedom with training wheels.
- Welcome Instagram posts but nudge them toward conservation hashtags, local teens will follow back.
- Book a photography walking tour of downtown Harare, guides know the safe corners for street-art shots.
Practical Logistics
The nuts and bolts of family travel.
Taxis win every time when you're travelling with kids, drivers will buckle in the car seats you bring and most know the sneaky shortcuts between attractions. Private WhatsApp taxi groups (ask your accommodation) reliably supply car seats on request. Public kombis work if your children are school-age, but give them a miss with toddlers. Download the inDrive app for upfront pricing.
Avenues Clinic runs 24-hour pediatric emergency care with English-speaking doctors. Borrowdale Trauma Centre patches up minor injuries fast. Pharmacies in every shopping centre stock formula, diapers (Pampers and local brands), and common medications, Avondale Pharmacy carries the widest range and recognises expat brands.
Hunt for places with gardens, kids need room to run after long car rides. Ask point-blank about mosquito nets if malaria worries you (Harare is low-risk). Ground-floor rooms spare you the stroller shuffle. Many guesthouses lend cribs, give the kids' ages when you book.
- Sun hats with straps, Africa's sun is fierce and the windy afternoons will whip hats away.
- Reusable water bottles with filters, tap water is treated but tastes better once filtered.
- Light rain jackets for afternoon storms (November-March)
- Small backpack cooler for day trips, fresh fruit and cheese keep everyone cheerful.
- Ziplock bags - essential for muddy shoes and wet swimsuits
- Self-catering apartments cut costs and satisfy picky eaters, SPAR supermarkets stock familiar foods.
- Bring breakfast, most places supply tea and coffee but charge extra for a full breakfast.
- National Botanic Gardens is free for kids and cheaper than wildlife parks for repeat visits.
- Join the Harare Expat Moms Facebook group before you land, members swap secondhand car seats and strollers.
Family Safety
Keeping your family safe and healthy.
- ! Tap water is treated and safe for most. But stick to bottled water for babies under 1 year, Baby's Own brand is stocked everywhere.
- ! The African sun burns fast, reapply sunscreen every 2 hours and insist on hats even when kids gripe.
- ! Traffic keeps left and zebra crossings are decorative, cross with local families who know the rhythm.
- ! Evening mozzie spray is compulsory during rainy season, Peaceful Sleep brand works and smells like bubblegum.
- ! Lock car doors at traffic lights without stressing, locals do it too, more routine than risk.
- ! Street dogs are friendlier than fierce. But teach kids to ask owners before petting.
Book Family Activities
Top-rated family experiences in Harare.
Harare City Tour & Zimbabwe Highlights
Spend the day enjoying and experiencing the best of Harare termed the City that Never sleeps as it is lively and alive at all times. Its the best way to spend the day as you take in the sights as well
13 Day Zambezi River Private Glamping Expedition
Totally unique route only available through us as we have the vehicles, boats and Zim footprint to make this happen. You will never forget this trip, I assure you. We are proud to bring it to you.. A
Great Zimbabwe Tour from Harare
This excursions affords you the opportunity to explore the amazing Great Zimbabwe ruins, from the interesting architecture and archeology of the monuments to the refreshing breeze of lake Kyle and the
10 Day Zimbabwe and Chobe NP Tour
The tour covers some of the major tourist attractions of Zimbabwe, the great Zimbabwe monuments - where Zimbabwe gets it name from, the Matopos National Park - where Cecil John Rhodes remains are ente
7 Hour Private Guided Golf Round at Championship Course in Harare
Chapman Golf Club is a championship course. The course hosts sunshine tour events and other national golfing events. Tourists find this course convenient. It is the most challenging course in Harare a
Harare International Airport Transfers
Bonisa Excursions provides you exceptional transfer services guaranteed. Be ready to enjoy a comfortable ride to the airport in the company of professional time conscious drivers who value customer sa
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